Bridge 4 Public Safety is designed as a collaboration platform where information is shared across agencies, teams, and incidents. Because so much information is shared, often across numerous channels, search is a key part of the Bridge experience and allows users to quickly find people, channels, files, and past messages when they need them.

Here's a quick guide on how to search on Bridge4PS for users, channels, files and messages:


Searching Users, Channels, Files and Workspaces


Global Search allows you to search for:

  • Users on the platform

  • Public channels and workspaces

  • Private channels and workspaces you're a member of


Global Search is done through the Search bar at the top of the channel box on desktop or through the magnifying glass above the chat list on mobile. Results appear as you type. The search bar can find any user on the platform, but private channels and workspaces only show up if you are a member. Note that global searches are limited to 5-7 results, so if you cannot find the user or channel, simply navigate to the corresponding Directory for a comprehensive search.


Searching for Channels

When performing a Global Search or searching from a Directory:

  • You can enter names exactly as they appear or any part of the channel name

  • Spaces do not need to be replaced with hyphens


Search typing example: Bridge4PS Announcements & Resources


Searching for Users

Users can be searched by their name or username.

  • User names follow this format: Last Name, First Name (with a comma) followed by the agency suffix: Doe, John (Agency, TX)

  • When searching, you can use either the user's name or username: doe.john.agc-tx

  • To mention a user in a message, type: @username. Usernames follow the format last.first.suffix. If you do not know the username, simply start typing the last name followed by a period and continue typing the first name until the list filters to the person you want and click that person from the list.


Channel Links

  • Channels are referenced in a message using the hashtag: #channel-name. 

  • Similar to mentions, results will appear as you type and can be selected from the list.

  • For channel links, replace spaces with hyphens ( - ).

Example:

  • Channel name: Bridge4PS Announcements & Resources

  • Channel Link format: #bridge4ps-announcements-and-resources


Searching for Messages

You can search messages within a room using various filters:

  • By sender: from:me, from:username

  • Starred messages: has:star

  • Pinned messages: is:pinned, has:pin

  • Messages with links: has:url, has:link

  • Messages with location data: has:location, has:map

  • By date: before:mm/dd/yyyy, after:mm/dd/yyyy, on:mm/dd/yyyy (supported formats include mm/dd/yyyy, mm-dd-yyyy, mm.dd.yyyy)

  • To sort messages by ascending timestamp: sort:asc

  • You can combine this last filter with other filters, example: from:me order:asc


Searching for Files

On desktop, tap the paperclip icon at the top of a channel to view a list of all files posted in the channel. You can search by name and/or filter by file type from the dropdown menu.


On mobile, you can view the consolidated list of files by following these steps:

  • Open the channel

  • Tap the room name at the top

  • Choose “Files”