# Search

## Simple Search

The top of every page in FAIRsharing contains a free-text search box. Just type what you're looking for and press `enter`.

![Describe what you need to find in our quick search in the header of every page](/files/-MkcaIqDMKyzIV4LtEuG)

## Browse and Search Registries

You can use the registry buttons (e.g. "standards") to the right of the search box to go straight to a list of those registry's records.

![Choose a registry (standards, databases, policies) to view, or browse our collections of records.](/files/-MkccVUWQNePDyWRH7wB)

If you wish to search within a subset of our registry types, there is a filtered search available partway down our [homepage](https://beta.fairsharing.org/).

![You can select or de-select any of the record types available within FAIRsharing prior to searching.](/files/-MkcdWHl--AkxasfZ813)

## Faceted Searching

Our richest searching is available from our main [search page](https://fairsharing.org/search). There are more than a dozen different facets for users to manipulate, which includes a free text search within the current search results.

![A portion of the left-hand menu in our search pages, showing just a few of the available facets.](/files/AUzmIJ4QwK2euQMNEkmo)

## Search Results

Search results are displayed on our search page either in a **stack** or a **grid**. You can choose between these two display options via their icons in the top right of the search results. You can also change the default **sort** method using the icon in the top left of the search menu (name - ascending or descending, abbreviation - ascending or descending, or best match).

![The right-hand menu within the search results contains links to the two display types: stack and grid. The left-hand menu allows you to sort results according to a number of criteria.](/files/wL0dLDnq2xugs4xHfajS) ![When logged in, you will also be able to access the "Download" button, which provides a summary of the search results.](/files/t9MIyIqDRtb1doPVheGR)

When you are logged in, there is also a "Download" button just below the paginated navigation. This allows you to download a summary spreadsheet of your search results for offline reference. Please note that:

* The delimiter for this file is the pipe symbol ("|"),
* row 1 is a header row, which defines the contents of each column: FAIRsharing URL, FAIRsharing DOI (where present), Record Name, Record homepage URL, and Search URL,
* row 2 is always empty except for the Search URL column, which displays the URL you used to create the spreadsheet,
* rows 3 onwards contain the search results themselves, and
* downloading search results that return large numbers of records could take a minute or more.


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://fairsharing.gitbook.io/fairsharing/how-to/searching-and-browsing/search.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.