Every document you import is automatically read for text, including scanned exhibits, so you can search your entire case without any manual setup.
TrialPad displays detailed search results showing every document and page where your search term appears.
What to Know About Searching
- Search finds all your words, in any order, anywhere on the page. Searching "recipe trade" will find a page that says "Bare Arms Brewery must prove that the beer recipe in question was a trade secret" — the words don't need to be next to each other.
- Search also finds word endings. A search word of three or more letters matches words that start with it, so searching "brew" finds brew, brewery, brewing, and brewed.
- Search is not case-sensitive and ignores punctuation.
- Search covers the folder you're currently viewing and everything inside it. To search your whole case, run your search from the top level.
- Exhibit stickers aren't included in search, since they're labels on a document rather than text on the page.
How to Search Across Documents
Use the Search bar at the top of the sidebar to find specific words or phrases.
Tap the Search bar at the top of the sidebar.
Type your search term. As you type, TrialPad filters by file name.
Press Search or Return (depending on your keyboard setup) to search the full text of every document in the Case File.
Documents containing your search term will show a badge with a number indicating how many times your search words occur.
Tap a document to view the results. You'll see a list of pages and the number of matches on each one.
Tap a page to open it. TrialPad highlights every instance of the searched word.
Searching Scanned Documents
Scanned exhibits are read automatically using text recognition (OCR). This happens as part of indexing your case, so scanned documents become searchable just like any other document. You have the option to Re-OCR Document if you have a document that needs to be indexed again.
Indexing Your Case
When you import documents — or open an existing case for the first time after updating — TrialPad indexes your case content in the background. You'll see a progress indicator at the bottom of the Documents list while this is happening.
A few things to know:
- You can keep working, and even searching, while indexing is in progress. Just note that results may be incomplete until it finishes.
- Indexing picks up where it left off if you leave the app or close your case — it won't start over.
- Audio and video files aren't indexed for content search, but they can still be found by name.
- If a document couldn't be indexed (for example, a damaged PDF), you'll see a notice letting you know how many documents were affected and why. Blank pages or photos without text are not treated as errors.
Understanding Your Search Results
Since typing and pressing Return search two different things (file names vs. document content), TrialPad lets you know which one you're looking at:
- "No Names Match..." — Your typing didn't match any file names. Tap Search Inside Documents (or press Return) to search document content instead.
- "Searching..." — Your content search is currently running.
- "No Results for..." — Neither file names nor document content matched your search term.
- "No Results Yet for..." — Indexing is still in progress, so this term hasn't turned up yet. Try again in a moment.
Tips for Best Results
- To search a smaller portion of your case, navigate into a specific folder before searching.
- If you're sorting by Admitted or Exhibit #, keep in mind these views also filter your documents — so search results may not show everything that matches. Switch to Name or Custom sort to see every match.