diff --git a/apps/client/src/views/editor/finder/useFinder.tsx b/apps/client/src/views/editor/finder/useFinder.tsx
index bd532866b..feb422240 100644
--- a/apps/client/src/views/editor/finder/useFinder.tsx
+++ b/apps/client/src/views/editor/finder/useFinder.tsx
@@ -28,7 +28,10 @@ type SearchableEntry = OntimeEvent | OntimeGroup | OntimeMilestone;
 
 type FinderFilter = { key: string; label: string };
 
-/** The fields common to every project, custom fields are appended at runtime */
+/**
+ * Offered to the user as filter badges. Index is a positional lookup rather than a
+ * text field, so it is handled separately from the fields a search runs over.
+ */
 const staticFilters: FinderFilter[] = [
   { key: indexFilter, label: 'Index' },
   { key: 'cue', label: 'Cue' },
@@ -58,6 +61,7 @@ type SearchOutcome = { results: FinderResult[]; error: MaybeString; total: numbe
 
 const noResults: SearchOutcome = { results: [], error: null, total: 0 };
 
+/** Groups are the only searchable entry with neither a cue nor a parent */
 function toResult(entry: SearchableEntry, index: number, eventIndex: MaybeNumber, match: FinderMatch | null) {
   return {
     id: entry.id,
@@ -71,34 +75,6 @@ function toResult(entry: SearchableEntry, index: number, eventIndex: MaybeNumber
   } satisfies FinderResult;
 }
 
-type SearchableField = FinderFilter & { value: string };
-
-/**
- * The text fields of an entry, in the order we prefer to report a match.
- * Image custom fields hold a URL, which nobody searches for.
- */
-function getSearchableFields(entry: SearchableEntry, customFields: CustomFields): SearchableField[] {
-  const fields: SearchableField[] = [];
-
-  if ('cue' in entry && entry.cue) {
-    fields.push({ key: 'cue', label: 'Cue', value: entry.cue });
-  }
-  if (entry.title) {
-    fields.push({ key: 'title', label: 'Title', value: entry.title });
-  }
-  if (entry.note) {
-    fields.push({ key: 'note', label: 'Note', value: entry.note });
-  }
-  for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(entry.custom)) {
-    const definition = customFields[key];
-    if (value && definition?.type === 'text') {
-      fields.push({ key, label: definition.label || key, value });
-    }
-  }
-
-  return fields;
-}
-
 /** Shows enough of a long value for the user to see why it matched */
 function makeExcerpt(value: string, matchIndex: number, searchLength: number): string {
   const start = Math.max(0, matchIndex - excerptPadding);
@@ -106,22 +82,44 @@ function makeExcerpt(value: string, matchIndex: number, searchLength: number): s
   return `${start > 0 ? '…' : ''}${value.slice(start, end)}${end < value.length ? '…' : ''}`;
 }
 
-/** The first field of an entry to contain the search string, if any */
+/**
+ * The first field of an entry to contain the search string, if any.
+ * Fields are tried in the order we prefer to report a match.
+ */
 function findMatch(
   entry: SearchableEntry,
   customFields: CustomFields,
   filterKey: MaybeString,
   searchString: string,
 ): FinderMatch | null {
-  for (const field of getSearchableFields(entry, customFields)) {
-    if (filterKey !== null && field.key !== filterKey) {
+  function check(key: string, label: string, value: string): FinderMatch | null {
+    if (!value || (filterKey !== null && key !== filterKey)) {
+      return null;
+    }
+    const matchIndex = value.toLowerCase().indexOf(searchString);
+    if (matchIndex === -1) {
+      return null;
+    }
+    return { key, label, excerpt: makeExcerpt(value, matchIndex, searchString.length) };
+  }
+
+  // groups have no cue, the rest is common to every searchable entry
+  const fromCue = 'cue' in entry ? check('cue', 'Cue', entry.cue) : null;
+  const match = fromCue ?? check('title', 'Title', entry.title) ?? check('note', 'Note', entry.note);
+  if (match !== null) {
+    return match;
+  }
+
+  // custom fields are named by the project, so these can only be reached generically
+  for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(entry.custom)) {
+    const definition = customFields[key];
+    if (definition?.type !== 'text') {
       continue;
     }
-    const matchIndex = field.value.toLowerCase().indexOf(searchString);
-    if (matchIndex !== -1) {
-      return { key: field.key, label: field.label, excerpt: makeExcerpt(field.value, matchIndex, searchString.length) };
-    }
+    const custom = check(key, definition.label || key, value);
+    if (custom) return custom;
   }
+
   return null;
 }