Search preferences reference
Reference for Search preferences.
Read time 2 minutesLast updated 14 days ago
Change search settings, provider settings, and index settings to meet your search needs.
To open the preferences, go to Edit > Preferences > Search (macOS: Unity > Settings > Search).
General search settings
Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Track the current selection in the search view | Invoke the The callback pings assets in the Project and Hierarchy windows, which can slow search navigation in large projects. |
| Generate an asset preview thumbnail for found items | Display thumbnails for items that are currently visible in the results pane of the Search window. When you disable this setting, the Search window displays a generic icon. This is useful in large projects, where generating thumbnails can slow navigation. |
| Refresh Search views in Play Mode | Refresh results when Play mode causes changes in the hierarchy. |
| Select the typing debounce threshold (ms) | Set the time the system waits for the user to finish typing before executing the search. |
Search provider settings
Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Provider order | Use the arrows to change the order in which the Search window lists results. All items of a given provider priority appear before any lower priority provider items. |
| Default action dropdowns | Choose the default actions to run when you select (for example, double-click) an item in the search results. |
| Reset Provider Settings | Resets all providers to their default state, action, and priority. |
Search engines settings
Select how to search in object fields, the Project window, and the Hierarchy window: classic search or advanced search. For more information, refer to Use the Advanced Object Picker.
Indexing settings
To customize indexing, go to Preferences > Search > Indexing.
Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Custom indexers list | Enable and disable custom indexers. For more information, refer to Create custom search indexers. |
| Index on Editor startup | Start indexing automatically when the Unity Editor launches. When disabled, indexing only occurs the first time any Search API or tool is used. The option is disabled by default. |
| Deep scene and prefab indexing | Index the full content of scenes and prefabs. This process is longer than normal indexing. This option is disabled by default. |
| Packages indexing | Index the content of all the packages in the project. This process is longer than normal indexing. This option is disabled by default. |
| Ignored properties | Enter properties you want the index to ignore. The default list of ignored properties is appropriate for most use cases. |
Additional resources
For more information, refer to the following resources: