Salesforce Global Search Does Not Return Results for Search Terms with an Apostrophe or Special Characters

This article explains how to confirm that non-standard character encoding is causing the search issue, and how to fix it by re-entering the affected field value.

Verify the Encoding Issue

To confirm non-standard encoding is the cause, follow these steps:

1. Search for a different word in the same record to verify the record itself is searchable. For example, search "Test Account" to confirm "Anna's Test Account" appears.
2. Access the record that is missing from results (for example, "Anna's Test Account").
3. Highlight and copy the specific word that contains the apostrophe or special character (for example, "Anna's").
4. Paste that copied word into the Global Search bar and search.

If the record now appears — but other results disappear — this confirms the record contains non-standard character encoding.

Fix the Non-Standard Encoding

To allow the record to be found with normal search terms, you must clear and re-enter the affected field value:

1. Open the record in Salesforce.
2. Click Edit.
3. Note the current field value.
4. Erase the content of the field.
5. Manually type the content again using your keyboard (do not paste from Word or Outlook).
6. Click Save.

After the save, the Salesforce search index updates to use the new, standard encoding. The record will then appear in search results when using the original search term. Note that indexing may take some time to complete.