At Instructure, we believe that great ideas can come from anywhere—including our Hackweek, a week when engineers pause their regularly assigned work to explore passion projects and dive into innovative possibilities. One such idea turned into something game-changing: Global Search.
With Impact’s recent navigation redesign, engineers had trouble finding things for testing, as they had to manually explore and browse through menus. One engineer took this pain point head-on during Hackweek, creating a proof of concept for a search experience to simplify navigation. He hypothesized that a robust, indexed search function would dramatically improve efficiency and satisfaction. From there, Global Search was born! What started as a quick flow improvement for engineers quickly proved to be an essential upgrade—and now, it’s live for all Impact Admins!
Core Components
🚀 Two Ways to Engage
Select the magnifying glass/search icon in the top right corner of the main navigation OR double press the shift key from anywhere in Impact to engage.
🔎 Search Across the Entire Application
Type a keyword, and Global Search retrieves pages, actions, messages, walkthroughs, articles, campaigns, campaign (and walkthrough) templates, contexts, and monitors—instantly.
🤏 Narrow Focus with Filtering
Click the filter icon before or after inputting your key word(s) to narrow down search results to one or more specific areas of Impact for fewer results.
🎯 Immediately Actionable Search Results
Click on your desired result to go directly to that area of Impact saving you time and streamlining your workflows!
⚡ Built for Speed & Accuracy
Engineered to prioritize relevant results, ensuring searches lead to a successful click and next step.
What This Means for You
- Less time searching, more time acting – Quickly locate reports, campaigns, settings, and more!
- Easier onboarding for new admins – No need to memorize menu structures—just search and go!
- A smoother experience overall – Whether you need to manage your actions or content, check analytics, or troubleshoot, everything is now at your fingertips.
Try It Today!
Global Search is available now in Impact! Simply look for the search icon in the main navigation, start typing, and experience a faster, more intuitive way to navigate.
Got feedback? Drop us a comment below!
