Standalone search box: [filedeck_search] Free

The [filedeck_search] shortcode puts a document library search box anywhere on your site — a homepage hero, a sidebar, a footer — separate from the library itself. Visitors type their query where they are and land in your document library with that search already applied, so people can find files without first navigating to the library page.

The shortcode is included in the free plugin.

When to use it

Every library already has search built in (see instant search, sorting, and filters), so you do not need this box on the library page itself. It earns its keep everywhere else: a "Find a document" box in the homepage hero, a search field in the sidebar of your support section, or a footer search that works from any page.

Adding the search box

Place the shortcode anywhere WordPress renders shortcodes — a Shortcode block in the block editor, a classic widget area, a page builder’s shortcode element, or a theme template:

[filedeck_search]

By default, submitting the search opens your library page (the one FileDeck created during setup) with the query applied.

Attributes

Attribute	Values	Default	What it does
placeholder	Any text	Search documents…	The placeholder text shown in the empty search field.
target	A URL	Your library page	The page the search opens. Point it at any page containing a FileDeck library — for example a category-scoped library page.

A search box in a "Newsletters" section that searches a newsletters-only library page:

[filedeck_search placeholder="Search newsletters…" target="/newsletters/"]

Because target can be any page with a library on it, and a library can be scoped to a category, this is how you scope a standalone search box to one part of your collection.

What visitors experience

Submitting the box opens the target page with the query pre-filled in that library’s own search field, and the library’s instant search applies it immediately — matching documents are already filtered when the page loads. From there visitors can download files or refine the results with the library’s full search, sort, and filter tools.

FAQ

Is the standalone search box a Pro feature?

No. The [filedeck_search] shortcode is included in the free plugin, like in-library search itself. See free vs Pro.

Is there a standalone search Gutenberg block?

Not a dedicated one — use a Shortcode block containing [filedeck_search]. The result is identical.

Can I put the search box in my sidebar?

Yes. Place [filedeck_search] in any widget or template location that renders shortcodes.

Can I limit the search box to one category?

Point target at a page whose library is scoped to that category (for example [filedeck category="newsletters"]). The search box opens that page, so it only ever searches those documents.

The shortcode outputs nothing — why?

It needs somewhere to send the search: either your auto-created library page must still exist, or the shortcode needs an explicit target. If you deleted the library page, add target="/your-documents-page/".