# Searching for specific values in your data in Quick Sight
Searching for specific values

When filtering your visual data, previewing anomalies, or using list or dropdown controls in a dashboard, you can quickly search for values that interest you.

You can search for specific values or all values that contain a specific search query. For example, searching for *al* in a list of U.S. states returns **Al**abama, **Al**aska, and C**al**ifornia.

You can also use wildcard search to search for all values that match a specific character pattern. For example, you can search for all U.S. states that end with the letters *ia* and narrow the results down to California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

**To search for values in a filter or control**, enter a search query in the search bar. 

## Using wildcard search


The following wildcard characters can be used to find values in Quick Sight filters, list and dropdown controls, and anomaly previews.
+ **\$1** - Use an asterisk symbol to search for values that match zero to many characters in a specific position.
+ **?** - Use a question mark to match a single character in a specific position.
+ **\$1** - Use a backslash to escape the **\$1**, **?**, or **\$1** wildcard characters and search for them in your query. For example, you can search for phrases that end with a question mark.

Following are examples of how supported wildcard characters can be used in a Quick Sight search query.
+ **al** - This query searches for all values with **al** and returns Alabama, Alaska, and California.
+ **al\$1** - This query searches for all values that begin with **al** and end with zero to multiple characters. It returns Alabama, and Alaska in a list of U.S. states.
+ **\$1ia** - This query searches for all values that begin with zero to multiple characters and end with letters **ia**. It returns California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
+ **\$1al\$1** - This query searches for all values with zero to multiple characters before and after the letters **al**. It returns Alabama, Alaska, and California.
+ **a?a?a?a** - This query searches for all values with a single character in the exact positions between the **a** letters. It returns Alabama.
+ **a?a\$1a** - This query searches for all values with a single character between the first two **a** letters and multiple characters between the second two **a** letters. It returns Alabama and Alaska.
+ **How\$1\$1?** - This query searches for values that begin with **How**, followed by zero to multiple characters, and end with a question mark. The backslash (\$1) in this query informs Quick Sight to search for question marks in each value, rather than use the question mark symbol as a wildcard character. This query returns the questions, How are you? and, How is this possible?
+ **\$1\$1\$1** - This query searches for values that begin with an asterisk and are followed by zero to multiple characters. The backslash (\$1) in this query informs Quick Sight to search for an actual asterisk in the values, rather than use the asterisk symbol as a wildcard character. This query returns values such as \$1all, \$1above, and \$1below.
+ **\$1\$1\$1** - This query searches for values with a backslash, followed by zero to multiple characters. The first backslash (\$1) in this query informs Quick Sight to search for the second backslash (\$1) in each value, rather than use the backslash symbol as a wildcard character. This query returns results such as \$1Home.
+ **???** - This query searches for values that contain three characters. It returns values such as ant, bug, and car.