I. What does the Guideline search cover?
Does the search include library pages and assets?
Yes. It includes all library pages linked to your guidelines, along with the assets on those pages.Is content on the Cover Page searchable?
No. Content added to the Cover Page isn’t included in search results at the moment.Are uploaded images or documents searchable?
No. Currently the search does not index standalone files uploaded directly to guideline pages.
II. How does search work with different languages?
When a user performs a search, results are shown in the language they’ve selected to view the guidelines in.
If they switch to another language (assuming translations are available), the search will return results in that translated language.
III. How is the order of search results determined?
Frontify uses OpenSearch (based on Elasticsearch) to deliver results that are sorted by relevance. Here’s how we prioritize:
Titles and headings are ranked higher than body content.
Exact keyword matches are shown before partial matches.
All other content is weighted equally.
[Pro tip]: To help users find content faster, include commonly searched terms in titles or headings.
IV. Search Behavior and Limitations
Can I force an exact match?
Not right now. Exact-match search isn’t supported in guideline search.
Are search operators like AND, OR, NOT supported?
No. these are only available on the library page search — not within guideline search.
Do searches include content on draft pages?
Yes, for editors: They’ll see draft content in their search results.
No, for viewers: They’ll only see published content.What about targeted content — will it show up?
Yes. Search results are personalized. Users will only see content they’re allowed to access based on their targets and permissions.
V. Cross-guideline search
What is cross-guideline search?
It lets users search across all guidelines and connected library pages they have access to—within the same brand.
Can I turn this feature off for specific guidelines?
Yes. Guideline owners can control this in Settings > General > Guideline Search. It’s turned on by default, but you can toggle it off at any time.
How can I influence what’s shown in cross-guideline search?
You can:
Add or remove users or targets from specific guidelines.
Move guidelines into the brand where you want them to be searchable.
Disable cross-guideline search in the settings of individual guidelines.
Can users search across different brands?
Not yet. Currently, cross-guideline search only works within the same brand. We’re actively exploring how to expand this in the future.