Using the Pre-search tool in Tender Navigator
The Tender Navigator Pre-search tool (also written Presearch or Pre-Search) lets users search the live tender database before creating or changing a filter. It runs on the homepage, on the public search page, and inside the dashboard, where a search can be saved as a filter.
Last updated Published 4 min read
What the Pre-search tool is
The Pre-search tool is the search box in front of Tender Navigator. You type a few keywords, optionally narrow by country, classification code or budget, and get live notices back from the tender database Tender Navigator ingests from 200+ procurement portals. Nothing in these results has been evaluated by AI: every row carries a Not evaluated badge. The tool exists to help you build a good filter, and it ends with a Save as Filter button for that reason.
The search itself is free and unlimited, and it does not consume the AI evaluations of your plan.
Where it runs
| Surface | Who sees it | What is different |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage hero and the Tender search page | Everyone | A compact version. Visitors get a five-result preview as cards, each with a ring showing the time left to bid, and a locked strip pointing to signup. A signed-in user with an active plan is taken straight into the dashboard tool with the same query. |
| Public search page | Visitors only | The full form and a five-result preview of the tenders found, with Sign in and Get Started buttons. Signed-in users are redirected to the dashboard version. |
| Pre-search tool in the dashboard sidebar | Signed-in users with an active plan | Everything: 20 rows per page with paging, a side panel for each notice, and Save as Filter. |
| Partner websites | Visitors of a partner site | The same search inside an embedded widget. See The embeddable tender search widget. |
Running a search
- Keywords. Type a word or phrase and press Enter (or a comma) to add it as a chip. Add several if you like. Pending text is included when you press Search, so one keyword needs no Enter.
- Countries. Optional. Pick one or more countries; empty means any country.
- CPV, NAICS, UNSPSC. Optional. Start typing a code or a word from its label and pick from the list. All three systems are always available, whatever countries you chose. See CPV, NAICS and UNSPSC codes.
- Budget. Optional. A minimum, a maximum, a currency, and a switch for notices that publish no budget. See Filtering tenders by budget.
- Press Search. Every press runs a fresh search, even if nothing changed.
At least one keyword, country or classification code is required; the form says so and sends nothing until one is set. Reset clears the form and the results.
Under an empty form the tool suggests a few queries to try (for example "cloud migration", "MRI", "battery storage", "construction", "cybersecurity"). Each runs a keyword-only search immediately.
Reading the results
Each row shows the facts of the notice: a ring with the days left to bid, the Not evaluated badge, the New and Deadline soon tags when they apply, the title and the beginning of the description with your keywords highlighted, the deadline (or "No deadline"), the publication date and the budget when one is stated. Nothing on a row scores or ranks the tender. In the dashboard, Open shows the notice in a side panel next to the results, so the form and the list stay where they are. The panel shows the buyer country, language, publication date, deadline, estimated budget when the notice states one, source, external ID, classification codes, the AI summary, and the description. See Reading Pre-search results and The tender notice page.
Turning a search into a filter
Press Save as Filter above the results (or inside a notice). Tender Navigator creates a paused filter with the same keywords, countries and codes and a seeded AI prompt, and opens it for you to finish. See Turning a search into a filter.
Search results are not evaluated
Search results carry no Evaluate button. Tender Navigator evaluates tenders through filters, on a daily run; on-demand evaluation of a single notice is not available yet. An open notice says so in one sentence, has a How evaluation works link that opens How AI tender evaluation works in a new tab (so your search stays where it is), and offers Save as Filter, the path that produces Matched and Unmatched results.
While a search runs
A cold search across the whole database can take several seconds. After a brief moment the tool shows what it is doing ("Searching published tenders") and a skeleton shaped like the results. If the request takes unusually long, a line says so and confirms the request has not timed out. If the search service cannot be reached, the tool says so and offers Retry. See Search takes longer than expected.
Related articles
- Keywords, countries and codes: how search criteria workHow Tender Navigator combines keywords, countries and classification codes in a search: every list widens the search (OR), one constraint is required, and multi-word phrases stay intact.
- Reading Pre-search resultsWhat a Pre-search result row shows in Tender Navigator: the time left to bid, Not evaluated, New and Deadline soon, highlighted keywords, the five-result preview for visitors, and paging in the dashboard.
- Turning a search into a filter (Save as Filter)How Save as Filter in Tender Navigator turns a Pre-search query or an open notice into a paused filter with a seeded AI prompt, what carries over, and what to finish before switching it on.
- The tender notice page (Tender Detail)What a tender notice shows in Tender Navigator: title, buyer country, language, dates, deadline, estimated budget, source, external ID, classification codes, AI summary and description, and what is locked for visitors.