Finding things: search, filters, and sorting
Search across project and task names and notes, filter the sidebar by billing status, deadline, or priority, and change the sort order.
Last updated
Once your sidebar fills up, three tools keep it manageable: the search field, the View Options filter, and the Sort Projects menu. This article also covers the most common surprise, a "missing" project that's really just filtered out.
Searching projects and tasks
- Click the Search projects and tasks field at the top of the sidebar.
- Type one or more words. Every word must match (case doesn't matter), and TimeBill searches project names, project notes, task names, and task notes.
- Results replace the project list, labeled Project - Active, Project - Archived, or Task in followed by the project name. Click a result to open that project or task.
Because notes are searched too, a keyword like a ticket number or client codename in a task's notes makes it findable later. The hidden fixed-price task of fixed-rate projects never shows up in results.
Filtering with View Options
Open the View Options menu in the sidebar toolbar. Besides All, you can pick exactly one filter from three groups:
- Billing Status: Billed, Unbilled, Paid (see how billing states work)
- Deadline Status: Overdue, Due Today, Due This Week, No Deadline
- Priority: Low Priority, Medium Priority, High Priority, Urgent Priority
Only one filter can be active at a time; picking a new one replaces the old. While a filter is active, a Filtered by: chip appears under the search field; click its dismiss button to go back to All. Filters apply to both the Active and Archived sections.
A quick weekly triage: filter by Overdue, deal with what appears, then switch to Due This Week (deadlines explained here).
Sorting the project list
In View Options, open the Sort Projects submenu and choose Name (A-Z), Name (Z-A), Deadline (Soonest), Deadline (Latest), Newest First, or Oldest First.
"My project disappeared"
Before assuming data loss, check in this order:
- Is a Filtered by: chip showing under the search field? Dismiss it.
- Is there text left in the search field? Clear it.
- Is the project in the collapsed Archived section? Expand it (see Archiving vs. deleting projects).
If it's genuinely gone after all three checks, it may have been deleted. Reach out via the contact form and we'll help you figure out what happened.