From 02b19d0cdee8778dbba71287f5243218ef85b0e6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Dan Stillman <dstillman@zotero.org>
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:52:37 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] Match multi-level search condition against any ancestor level
 for descendant results

A field that exists at more than one level (e.g., Title, on both
top-level items and attachments) targeting a descendant result level
only matched the closest ancestor, so searching annotations by Title
found nothing, since it checked the parent attachment's title rather
than the top-level item's. Map down from each ancestor level and union
them, testing the predicate once so its bound parameters aren't
duplicated.

Addresses #5978
---
 chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/data/search.js | 35 ++++++++++++++++++++++
 test/tests/searchTest.js                   | 35 ++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 70 insertions(+)

diff --git a/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/data/search.js b/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/data/search.js
index 3dbcc73c85..c9897e3834 100644
--- a/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/data/search.js
+++ b/chrome/content/zotero/xpcom/data/search.js
@@ -2311,6 +2311,41 @@ Zotero.Search.mapPredicate = function (sql, fromLevel, toLevel, negated = false)
 		return s;
 	};
 
+	// A multi-level field (e.g. title, which exists on both the top-level item and an attachment)
+	// targeting a descendant should match if *any* of those ancestor levels has the value -- an
+	// annotation matches when its parent attachment OR its top-level item has the title (and a
+	// snapshot's URL stays matchable at the attachment level). Map down from each such ancestor
+	// and union them, testing the predicate once (a single `anc IN (...)`) so its bound parameters
+	// aren't duplicated. A negation keeps the single-level behavior below.
+	let ancestorLevels = fromLevels.filter(
+		l => l != 'any' && Zotero.Search._isAncestorLevel(l, toLevel));
+	if (!negated && ancestorLevels.length > 1) {
+		// (toLevel itemID, ancestor itemID) pairs, walking from toLevel up to `anc`. A standalone
+		// attachment/note has no parent, so it stands in as its own top-level item (COALESCE).
+		let pairsTo = (anc) => {
+			let levels = [];
+			let l = toLevel;
+			while (l != anc) {
+				levels.push(l);
+				l = Zotero.Search._levelParent[l];
+			}
+			let aliases = levels.map((_, i) => 't' + i);
+			let fromSQL = `${Zotero.Search._levelChildTable[levels[0]]} ${aliases[0]}`;
+			for (let i = 1; i < levels.length; i++) {
+				fromSQL += ` JOIN ${Zotero.Search._levelChildTable[levels[i]]} ${aliases[i]}`
+					+ ` ON ${aliases[i]}.itemID = ${aliases[i - 1]}.parentItemID`;
+			}
+			let last = aliases[aliases.length - 1];
+			let lastLevel = levels[levels.length - 1];
+			let ancExpr = Zotero.Search._levelCanBeStandalone[lastLevel]
+				? `COALESCE(${last}.parentItemID, ${last}.itemID)`
+				: `${last}.parentItemID`;
+			return `SELECT ${aliases[0]}.itemID AS itemID, ${ancExpr} AS anc FROM ${fromSQL}`;
+		};
+		let union = ancestorLevels.map(pairsTo).join(' UNION ALL ');
+		return `itemID IN (SELECT itemID FROM (${union}) WHERE anc IN (${matches}))`;
+	}
+
 	let mapped = Zotero.Search._isAncestorLevel(toLevel, from)
 		? mapUp(matches, from, toLevel)
 		: mapDown(matches, from, toLevel);
diff --git a/test/tests/searchTest.js b/test/tests/searchTest.js
index f188c71365..a079e8c19b 100644
--- a/test/tests/searchTest.js
+++ b/test/tests/searchTest.js
@@ -356,6 +356,41 @@ describe("Zotero.Search", function () {
 					await other.eraseTx();
 				});
 
+				it("should match an annotation by its top-level item's title", async function () {
+					// Title exists on both items and attachments, so targeting annotations must
+					// reach the top-level item's title, not just the parent attachment's
+					var title = 'zanntitle' + Zotero.Utilities.randomString();
+					var item = await createDataObject('item', { title });
+					var attachment = await importPDFAttachment(item);
+					var annotation = await createAnnotation('highlight', attachment);
+
+					var s = new Zotero.Search();
+					s.libraryID = userLibraryID;
+					s.addCondition('resultLevel', 'annotation');
+					s.addCondition('title', 'contains', title);
+					assert.sameMembers(await s.search(), [annotation.id]);
+
+					await item.eraseTx();
+				});
+
+				it("should match an annotation by its parent attachment's title", async function () {
+					// The other half of the union: an attachment's own title still matches
+					var title = 'zatttitle' + Zotero.Utilities.randomString();
+					var item = await createDataObject('item');
+					var attachment = await importPDFAttachment(item);
+					attachment.setField('title', title);
+					await attachment.saveTx();
+					var annotation = await createAnnotation('highlight', attachment);
+
+					var s = new Zotero.Search();
+					s.libraryID = userLibraryID;
+					s.addCondition('resultLevel', 'annotation');
+					s.addCondition('title', 'contains', title);
+					assert.sameMembers(await s.search(), [annotation.id]);
+
+					await item.eraseTx();
+				});
+
 				it("should match annotations by type and color", async function () {
 					var item = await createDataObject('item');
 					var attachment = await importPDFAttachment(item);