# Search() function with external CSV file **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [August 16, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://forum.getodk.org/t/search-function-with-external-csv-file/21505 "2019-08-16T19:11:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 6
**Author:** ![LN](https://getodk.b-cdn.net/user_avatar/forum.getodk.org/ln/32/1605_2.png) [@LN](https://forum.getodk.org/u/LN)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://forum.getodk.org/t/search-function-with-external-csv-file/21505/6 "2024-02-28T18:46:08Z")
The `search()` appearance/function does not work in web forms. Unless you have more than 50k or so rows in your CSV or are using slow devices, we generally recommend using [`select_one_from_file`](https://docs.getodk.org/form-question-types/#select-from-external-dataset) with a `choice_filter` which works exactly the same way as a select from a choice list in the form. You can use any kind of expression in the `choice_filter` column to filter the list from the CSV. If you need to access specific columns from your CSV after you've selected an item, you can use [list lookups](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v9Bumt3R0vCOGEKQI6ExUf2-8T72-XXp_CbKKTACuko/edit#gid=1323124532) with `instance()`. --- _[View the full topic](https://forum.getodk.org/t/search-function-with-external-csv-file/21505)._