The Compact List / Directory layout is intended for larger collections that should remain readable and easy to scan.
Set:
3. Layout → Display Layout → Compact List / Directory
Client-side Search
Enabled by default.
The Search box filters only the items already loaded by this module. It does not send a new Joomla query, perform AJAX loading or change the underlying source dataset.
Search is case-insensitive and normalizes text for practical matching.
Only content that is configured as visible is included in the searchable display data, with the item title remaining searchable even if the standalone Directory title is hidden.