1. Make a duplicate of the default admin template
2. Edit index.php and add the search field as the first child element within the <header> element.
Code: Select all
<header class="header<?php echo $header_is_light ? ' header-inverse' : ''; ?>">
<form action="index.php?option=com_content&view=articles" method="post">
<div class="btn-wrapper input-append">
>input name="filter[search]" id="filter_search" value="" placeholder="Search" data-original-title="" title="" type="text">
<button type="submit" class="btn hasTooltip" title="" data-original-title="Search">
<span class="icon-search"></span>
</button>
</div>
</form>
</header>