Configuring the Search Bar widget

The Search Bar widget in GravityView lets visitors filter and search entries in your View. You can control which fields are searchable, how the fields are displayed, and how multiple search conditions are handled.

This guide walks you through adding and configuring the Search Bar widget in GravityView.

Adding a Search Bar widget

After creating a new View, click the Add Widget button in either of the widget areas, then select Search Bar to add it to your View.

After adding a Search Bar widget to your View you can configure it by clicking on the gear icon next to the widget label.

Adding fields and designing the layout

You can add fields to the search bar the same way you would add fields to a View. Not only can you add  and configure individual search fields, you also have full control over the layout of those fields.

• Click the Add Row button to add a new row with up to 4 columns.
• Within a column, click the Add Search Field button to choose a field to add to your search bar.

Rows and fields can be moved or reordered by simply dragging and dropping them.

Column settings

Hovering over a column reveals two new options—a link to clear all fields within a column, and a gear icon that opens the column settings panel.

Clicking the gear icon opens a side panel containing settings specific to that column. Currently, there is a single option giving you control over how search fields are arranged within a column (vertically stacked or side by side).

Search field settings

Individual search fields also have options associated with them that you can configure. To open the search field settings, click the gear icon next to the search field label.

This opens a side panel with various options, allowing you to change the input type for that field, add a custom label, adjust visibility settings, add a custom CSS class, and more. The options that appear here will depend on the type of field it is.

Supported search fields

Any field in your form can be added to a Search Bar widget in GravityView. Entry meta fields are searchable as well, including:

• Entry Date – The date and time when the form entry was submitted.
• Entry ID – A unique numeric identifier assigned to the entry when it’s created.
• Entry Creator – The WordPress user who submitted the entry, if the user was logged in.
• Is Starred – Indicates whether the entry has been marked as starred.
• Is Read – Indicates whether the entry has been marked as read.

Special search fields

Along with Gravity Forms fields and entry meta fields, the Search Bar widget supports several special fields that provide additional flexibility and functionality:

• Search Everything – Searches across all searchable fields in the View at once.
• Submit Button – Adds a button that submits the search.
• Search Mode – Controls how search terms are matched when a search is performed (see below for more information).
• Geolocation Radius – Filters entries based on distance from a specified location. This field is added by the GravityView Maps Layout. Learn more about radius search.
• Approval Status – Search entries based on their approval status. Learn more about entry approval.

Field-specific behavior

Different field types offer different input options and search behavior. For example, text fields support keyword searches, choice fields use dropdowns, radio buttons, or links, and date and number fields can be searched by range.

Search mode

By default, the Search Bar widget includes a Search Mode field. This field controls how search terms are matched when a new search is performed.

• Match Any Fields – An entry is shown if at least one of the search fields contains a match.
• Match All Fields – An entry is shown only if every search field contains a match.

Use Match Any Fields for broader results, or Match All Fields for more precise filtering.

Advanced search

The Advanced Search area lets you include additional search fields that are hidden by default and shown only when users choose to expand the search options.

This is useful for:

• Keeping the main search bar simple and uncluttered
• Providing optional, more specific filters for advanced users
• Separating commonly used search fields from less frequently used ones

Fields placed in the Advanced Search area are hidden until the user clicks on the Advanced Search link. Once expanded, they work the same way as regular search fields and are included when a search is performed.