# Category search function not working
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [May 18, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854 "2020-05-18T17:04:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Dani1](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Dani1)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/1 "2020-05-18T17:04:36Z")
Hi. My category search function isn’t working.
The screenshot is from ‘new topic’, but it’s the same when editing a category, or moving posts between categories.
(I’m not referring to newly created categories that might require a refresh, but to all of them.)
It’s working in yours, I checked before posting, so any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/2 "2020-05-18T19:45:03Z")
Is there something unusual about your categories? If we can’t repro it here or on [try.discourse.org](http://try.discourse.org) that indicates it is possibly a local config problem.
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### Author:  [@Dani1](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Dani1)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/3 "2020-05-18T21:28:43Z")
Hi Jeff,
I’ve tested on my phone, a different browser, a guest account, and they none of them have a working search function.
If there is anything unusual about my categories, it’s unintentional.
Where can I check / reset things?
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [May 18, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/4 "2020-05-18T22:36:36Z")
You can try looking at your site in [safe mode](https://meta.discourse.org/t/53504?silent=true) - if that works, then you know it’s a most likely a theme component or third party plugin.
```
https://SITEURL/safe-mode
```
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### Author:  [@Dani1](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Dani1)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2020, 1:06pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/5 "2020-05-19T13:06:20Z")
Hi Tobias, thanks for your suggestion.
I went into [safe mode](https://meta.discourse.org/t/53504?silent=true) and tried, but still nada:
It’s as if they don’t load. The “No match” reply occurs instantly, from the moment I start typing the first letter…
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### Author:  [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/6 "2020-05-19T13:28:48Z")
Sorry to hear you continue to have trouble with this.. it must be frustrating!
You’ve probably checked all this but… do you have unusual category security settings limiting access? Does the user account have access to post to any category?
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### Author:  [@Dani1](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Dani1)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/7 "2020-05-19T16:56:55Z")
Hi Tobias, thanks for thinking along!
My admin account has access to everything.
But I had left one thing untested: an incognito window.
And lo and behold: it works _there_, both for my test account and for admin.
So then I thought some setting in my regular browsers must be interfering, like maybe my AdBlocker ‘preventing pop-ups’, but I’m using my regular browser with AdBlocker for _this_ Discourse instance as well, and ‘search’ works here on Meta - but not on mine.
So that would imply a setting in my Discourse instance - one that also affects performance in [safe mode](https://meta.discourse.org/t/53504?silent=true).
Hang on… that wouldn’t explain it working in incognito… dang…
Does anything come to mind for you?
Edit: The adblocker does interfere.
For a moment there i thought that resolved everything, but unfortunately not…
---
### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2020, 3:48am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/8 "2020-05-20T03:48:28Z")
Interesting, great catch – I guess one of the categories must have the words “ads” in it? 🤔
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### Author:  [@Dani1](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Dani1)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/9 "2020-05-20T13:35:06Z")
Actually, I was wrong, ☹ or at least partially:
It now works on _some_ searches, like when you’re in a category and you want to find a specific sub-category. But it still doesn’t work in others.
Will dive back in in a few days. I really need to spruce up some categories, but seeing how the search function works incognito, I’ll do it there.
Meanwhile I’ll just let it stew for a bit, see if I (or you, 😃 ) have any other epiphanies…
Meanwhile thanks for your help!
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### Author:  [@Johani](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Johani)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/10 "2020-05-20T13:45:05Z")
The next time it happens, try to check if there’s any errors in your [browser console](https://documentation.concrete5.org/tutorials/how-open-browser-console-view-errors). It’s usually a pretty good indicator.
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### Author:  [@Dani1](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Dani1)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2020, 3:51pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/11 "2020-05-20T15:51:35Z")
You’re not going to believe this… 🤣
spot the difference:
 
Being unable to interpret the details of Joe’s suggestion (but still: thanks!) I asked someone else to dig into that for me.
Him: “But it works…”
Turns out my search function doesn’t like capital letters…
This doesn’t apply to other browsers: my incognito takes capitals just fine!
Your Meta Discourse -for me- also doesn’t accept capitals. the first time I checked, a few days ago, I didn’t use capitals because you don’t use them in your category title.
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### Author:  [@tobiaseigen](https://meta.discourse.org/u/tobiaseigen)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2020, 4:22pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/12 "2020-05-20T16:22:32Z")
Huh. I have repro here on meta. Type in “s” and matching categories show up. Type in “S” and no matching categories. That’s interesting!
In safari and chrome on my mac, and chrome on my iphone.
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### Author:  [@Dani1](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Dani1)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/13 "2020-05-20T16:31:04Z")
I went back to check I was right about my guest browser (cos yes/no using capitals isn’t something I paid any attention to in all the testing).
Turns out that in the category listings search works with capital, but not when you’re in a topic and want to move that topic to another category.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/14 "2020-05-20T19:01:38Z")
> [@tobiaseigen](#):
>
> Huh. I have repro here on meta. Type in “s” and matching categories show up. Type in “S” and no matching categories. That’s interesting!
I thought we dealt with this @techapj? I hate case sensitivity…
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### Author:  [@j.jaffeux](https://meta.discourse.org/u/j.jaffeux)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2020, 9:05am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/18 "2020-05-21T09:05:41Z")
This will be fixed by:
[https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/9850](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/pull/9850)
Thanks for report 👍
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### Author:  [@Dani1](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Dani1)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2020, 11:26am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/19 "2020-05-22T11:26:07Z")
Hi Joffrey, thanks, I see this works on this site.
But… Installing/executing the above is way outside my competence, so: will the next update fix this for me?
thanks!
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### Author:  [@j.jaffeux](https://meta.discourse.org/u/j.jaffeux)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2020, 11:36am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/20 "2020-05-22T11:36:59Z")
Yes it will be in next update for sure.
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### Author:  [@j.jaffeux](https://meta.discourse.org/u/j.jaffeux)
#### Post date: [May 26, 2020, 7:13am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-search-function-not-working/151854/21 "2020-05-26T07:13:19Z")