Search in Slack and Teams: Filters, Modifiers and Shortcuts
Everyone knows the search box exists; fewer people use the modifiers and filters that make it useful. Slack leans on typed modifiers, Teams leans on filter menus with a small set of typed operators. Here is what each help page documents.
Miles Crawford
The quick version
In Slack, click the search field at the top (or press Cmd+G on Mac, Ctrl+G on Windows) and add modifiers like in:#channel, from:@person, before: a date, or quotation marks for an exact phrase, then click Filters to refine further. In Teams, type in the Search box and use the filter options, or press Ctrl+F to search inside the chat or channel you are in. Teams also supports four typed KQL modifiers: From:, In:, Subject: and Sent:.
Slack: modifiers that narrow results
Slack's modifier list is long. Quotation marks find an exact phrase. A dash in front of a word omits results containing it, and a dash also negates the in: and from: modifiers. The in: modifier scopes to a channel, coworker or section; from: limits to one person's messages; has: with an emoji code finds messages with that reaction, and hasmy: finds ones you reacted to. The is:saved and has:pin modifiers find your saved items and pinned messages, is:thread searches within threads, with: searches threads and DMs with a specific person, and creator: finds canvases someone made. Dates work with before:, after:, on: and during:. Modifiers combine, so marketing report in:#team-marketing from:@Sara is a valid search. An asterisk after at least three characters matches words that begin with those letters.
Slack: results, filters and history
After you search, the sidebar switches between Messages, Files, People, Channels and Canvases, and the Filters button refines further; on mobile, tap More filters. To search inside one conversation, press Cmd+F on Mac or Ctrl+F on Windows from that channel or DM. Clicking the search field shows recent searches, and the clock icon toggles your search history. Slack's page also promotes optional AI features that answer questions in your own words and add relevant filters automatically.
Teams: the Search box and filters
Type a keyword or a person's name in the Search box and Teams returns results immediately, sometimes with filter suggestions as you type. Select Messages, Files, Group Chats or Teams and Channels to switch result types, and View all messages when the first page is not enough. Message filters include Type (chats or channels), Teams and channels to scope one conversation, From for a sender, Date with a custom range, and a More menu for @Mentions of you, messages with attachments, and hiding messages about apps and bots. File filters cover team, file type, person and date. Typing / in the Search box offers commands like /goto to jump straight to a chat or channel.
Teams: in-place search and KQL
Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on macOS) searches within the chat or channel you are viewing, with results listed in a Find in chat pane. Inside a channel, opening channel details and choosing Find in channel searches that channel's posts. For typed modifiers, Teams supports KQL: From: for a person, In: for a channel or group chat, Subject: for a keyword from a channel post with a subject line, and Sent: for a date. Microsoft stresses there is no space between the colon and the term. An asterisk matches any word with that prefix, quotation marks force an exact phrase, and people searches tolerate some misspellings and nicknames.
Which one for what?
Our read: if you live in search, Slack's modifiers reward memorization; five of them (in:, from:, quotes, a date, and the dash) cover most hunts. In Teams, learn the filter menus instead, keep Ctrl+F for the conversation in front of you, and fall back to From: and Sent: when the menus are not enough. If you keep losing the same decision, search is a workaround; pinning it is the fix.
What to be careful about
- KQL needs tight syntax. Microsoft says no space between the colon and the term, so From: Sam works and From: Sam may not.
- Slack's asterisk needs three characters. Shorter prefixes do not get partial-word matches.
- Teams filters vary by context. Microsoft notes available filters depend on what you are searching for and where you search from.
- Dashes subtract in Slack. A hyphenated word can silently exclude results; quote it if you mean it literally. This is our reading of the modifier rules, not a separate Slack warning.
- Exact phrases need quotes in both apps. Both pages say quotation marks force an exact match.
Sources
Checked October 23, 2026. Modifiers, filters and shortcuts follow each product's own help articles. The starter sets are our suggestion.