Global Search Box Visibility in Saleforce Tabs + Visualforce Communities

Introduction

In Salesforce, the visibility of the Global Search box is set by the user’s profile permissions and org configuration. Specifically, the Chatter Enabled permission can affect the appearance of the search box.

Steps

Here’s the steps to verify:

1. Chatter Enabled Permission:
   • If the user’s profile has the Chatter Enabled permission:
     • The Global Search Box (available in the header) is visible.
   • If the user does not have the Chatter Enabled permission:
     • The search functionality defaults to a simpler search box in the left sidebar (if Classic is enabled).
2. Global Search Features:
   • The Global Search box provides enhanced functionality, including:
     • Cross-object search.
     • Searching Chatter posts, files, and groups.
   • This feature is available in both Lightning Experience and Classic.
3. Chatter Dependency:
   • The Global Search box integrates deeply with Chatter. If Chatter is disabled, the system often falls back to basic search options, such as those available in the left sidebar in Classic UI.

Sources

https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=networks_search_behavior.htm&type=0