diff --git a/modules/restserver/src/main/scala/docspell/restserver/webapp/Flags.scala b/modules/restserver/src/main/scala/docspell/restserver/webapp/Flags.scala
index ebea34ee..b430e91a 100644
--- a/modules/restserver/src/main/scala/docspell/restserver/webapp/Flags.scala
+++ b/modules/restserver/src/main/scala/docspell/restserver/webapp/Flags.scala
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ case class Flags(
     signupMode: SignupConfig.Mode,
     docspellAssetPath: String,
     integrationEnabled: Boolean,
-    fullTextSearchEnabled: Boolean
+    fullTextSearchEnabled: Boolean,
+    maxPageSize: Int,
+    maxNoteLength: Int
 )
 
 object Flags {
@@ -26,7 +28,9 @@ object Flags {
       cfg.backend.signup.mode,
       s"/app/assets/docspell-webapp/${BuildInfo.version}",
       cfg.integrationEndpoint.enabled,
-      cfg.fullTextSearch.enabled
+      cfg.fullTextSearch.enabled,
+      cfg.maxItemPageSize,
+      cfg.maxNoteLength
     )
 
   implicit val jsonEncoder: Encoder[Flags] =
diff --git a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/App/View.elm b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/App/View.elm
index 376f5153..e33feb29 100644
--- a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/App/View.elm
+++ b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/App/View.elm
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ viewQueue model =
 
 viewUserSettings : Model -> Html Msg
 viewUserSettings model =
-    Html.map UserSettingsMsg (Page.UserSettings.View.view model.uiSettings model.userSettingsModel)
+    Html.map UserSettingsMsg (Page.UserSettings.View.view model.flags model.uiSettings model.userSettingsModel)
 
 
 viewCollectiveSettings : Model -> Html Msg
diff --git a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/ItemCardList.elm b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/ItemCardList.elm
index 78d21a89..d818f35c 100644
--- a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/ItemCardList.elm
+++ b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/ItemCardList.elm
@@ -197,6 +197,22 @@ viewItem settings item =
                     )
                 ]
             ]
+        , div
+            [ classList
+                [ ( "content", True )
+                , ( "invisible hidden"
+                  , settings.itemSearchNoteLength
+                        <= 0
+                        || Util.String.isNothingOrBlank item.notes
+                  )
+                ]
+            ]
+            [ span [ class "small-info" ]
+                [ Maybe.withDefault "" item.notes
+                    |> Util.String.ellipsis settings.itemSearchNoteLength
+                    |> text
+                ]
+            ]
         , div [ class "content" ]
             [ div [ class "ui horizontal list" ]
                 [ div
diff --git a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/UiSettingsForm.elm b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/UiSettingsForm.elm
index 4b256e13..86f4f0cd 100644
--- a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/UiSettingsForm.elm
+++ b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/UiSettingsForm.elm
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import Comp.ColorTagger
 import Comp.IntField
 import Data.Color exposing (Color)
 import Data.Flags exposing (Flags)
-import Data.UiSettings exposing (StoredUiSettings, UiSettings)
+import Data.UiSettings exposing (UiSettings)
 import Dict exposing (Dict)
 import Html exposing (..)
 import Html.Attributes exposing (..)
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ type alias Model =
     , tagColors : Dict String Color
     , tagColorModel : Comp.ColorTagger.Model
     , nativePdfPreview : Bool
+    , itemSearchNoteLength : Maybe Int
+    , searchNoteLengthModel : Comp.IntField.Model
     }
 
 
@@ -36,7 +38,7 @@ init flags settings =
       , searchPageSizeModel =
             Comp.IntField.init
                 (Just 10)
-                (Just 500)
+                (Just flags.config.maxPageSize)
                 False
                 "Page size"
       , tagColors = settings.tagCategoryColors
@@ -45,6 +47,13 @@ init flags settings =
                 []
                 Data.Color.all
       , nativePdfPreview = settings.nativePdfPreview
+      , itemSearchNoteLength = Just settings.itemSearchNoteLength
+      , searchNoteLengthModel =
+            Comp.IntField.init
+                (Just 0)
+                (Just flags.config.maxNoteLength)
+                False
+                "Max. Note Length"
       }
     , Api.getTags flags "" GetTagsResp
     )
@@ -55,6 +64,7 @@ type Msg
     | TagColorMsg Comp.ColorTagger.Msg
     | GetTagsResp (Result Http.Error TagList)
     | TogglePdfPreview
+    | NoteLengthMsg Comp.IntField.Msg
 
 
 
@@ -80,6 +90,22 @@ update sett msg model =
             in
             ( model_, nextSettings )
 
+        NoteLengthMsg lm ->
+            let
+                ( m, n ) =
+                    Comp.IntField.update lm model.searchNoteLengthModel
+
+                nextSettings =
+                    Maybe.map (\len -> { sett | itemSearchNoteLength = len }) n
+
+                model_ =
+                    { model
+                        | searchNoteLengthModel = m
+                        , itemSearchNoteLength = n
+                    }
+            in
+            ( model_, nextSettings )
+
         TagColorMsg lm ->
             let
                 ( m_, d_ ) =
@@ -139,19 +165,32 @@ tagColorViewOpts =
     }
 
 
-view : UiSettings -> Model -> Html Msg
-view _ model =
+view : Flags -> UiSettings -> Model -> Html Msg
+view flags _ model =
     div [ class "ui form" ]
         [ div [ class "ui dividing header" ]
             [ text "Item Search"
             ]
         , Html.map SearchPageSizeMsg
             (Comp.IntField.viewWithInfo
-                "Maximum results in one page when searching items."
+                ("Maximum results in one page when searching items. At most "
+                    ++ String.fromInt flags.config.maxPageSize
+                    ++ "."
+                )
                 model.itemSearchPageSize
                 "field"
                 model.searchPageSizeModel
             )
+        , Html.map NoteLengthMsg
+            (Comp.IntField.viewWithInfo
+                ("Maximum size of the item notes to display in card view. Between 0 - "
+                    ++ String.fromInt flags.config.maxNoteLength
+                    ++ "."
+                )
+                model.itemSearchNoteLength
+                "field"
+                model.searchNoteLengthModel
+            )
         , div [ class "ui dividing header" ]
             [ text "Item Detail"
             ]
diff --git a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/UiSettingsManage.elm b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/UiSettingsManage.elm
index 70730e72..6f6b601b 100644
--- a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/UiSettingsManage.elm
+++ b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Comp/UiSettingsManage.elm
@@ -115,10 +115,10 @@ isSuccess model =
     Maybe.map .success model.message == Just True
 
 
-view : UiSettings -> String -> Model -> Html Msg
-view settings classes model =
+view : Flags -> UiSettings -> String -> Model -> Html Msg
+view flags settings classes model =
     div [ class classes ]
-        [ Html.map UiSettingsFormMsg (Comp.UiSettingsForm.view settings model.formModel)
+        [ Html.map UiSettingsFormMsg (Comp.UiSettingsForm.view flags settings model.formModel)
         , div [ class "ui divider" ] []
         , button
             [ class "ui primary button"
diff --git a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Data/Flags.elm b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Data/Flags.elm
index 16fd0122..052c8aa3 100644
--- a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Data/Flags.elm
+++ b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Data/Flags.elm
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ type alias Config =
     , docspellAssetPath : String
     , integrationEnabled : Bool
     , fullTextSearchEnabled : Bool
+    , maxPageSize : Int
+    , maxNoteLength : Int
     }
 
 
diff --git a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Data/UiSettings.elm b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Data/UiSettings.elm
index 91b7be97..587271b2 100644
--- a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Data/UiSettings.elm
+++ b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Data/UiSettings.elm
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ type alias StoredUiSettings =
     { itemSearchPageSize : Maybe Int
     , tagCategoryColors : List ( String, String )
     , nativePdfPreview : Bool
+    , itemSearchNoteLength : Maybe Int
     }
 
 
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ type alias UiSettings =
     { itemSearchPageSize : Int
     , tagCategoryColors : Dict String Color
     , nativePdfPreview : Bool
+    , itemSearchNoteLength : Int
     }
 
 
@@ -48,6 +50,7 @@ defaults =
     { itemSearchPageSize = 60
     , tagCategoryColors = Dict.empty
     , nativePdfPreview = False
+    , itemSearchNoteLength = 0
     }
 
 
@@ -64,6 +67,8 @@ merge given fallback =
             )
             fallback.tagCategoryColors
     , nativePdfPreview = given.nativePdfPreview
+    , itemSearchNoteLength =
+        choose given.itemSearchNoteLength fallback.itemSearchNoteLength
     }
 
 
@@ -79,6 +84,7 @@ toStoredUiSettings settings =
         Dict.map (\_ -> Data.Color.toString) settings.tagCategoryColors
             |> Dict.toList
     , nativePdfPreview = settings.nativePdfPreview
+    , itemSearchNoteLength = Just settings.itemSearchNoteLength
     }
 
 
diff --git a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Page/UserSettings/View.elm b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Page/UserSettings/View.elm
index 42b3a74a..c8adb9da 100644
--- a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Page/UserSettings/View.elm
+++ b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Page/UserSettings/View.elm
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import Comp.ImapSettingsManage
 import Comp.NotificationManage
 import Comp.ScanMailboxManage
 import Comp.UiSettingsManage
+import Data.Flags exposing (Flags)
 import Data.UiSettings exposing (UiSettings)
 import Html exposing (..)
 import Html.Attributes exposing (..)
@@ -14,8 +15,8 @@ import Page.UserSettings.Data exposing (..)
 import Util.Html exposing (classActive)
 
 
-view : UiSettings -> Model -> Html Msg
-view settings model =
+view : Flags -> UiSettings -> Model -> Html Msg
+view flags settings model =
     div [ class "usersetting-page ui padded grid" ]
         [ div [ class "sixteen wide mobile four wide tablet four wide computer column" ]
             [ h4 [ class "ui top attached ablue-comp header" ]
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ view settings model =
                         viewScanMailboxManage settings model
 
                     Just UiSettingsTab ->
-                        viewUiSettings settings model
+                        viewUiSettings flags settings model
 
                     Nothing ->
                         []
@@ -72,8 +73,8 @@ makeTab model tab header icon =
         ]
 
 
-viewUiSettings : UiSettings -> Model -> List (Html Msg)
-viewUiSettings settings model =
+viewUiSettings : Flags -> UiSettings -> Model -> List (Html Msg)
+viewUiSettings flags settings model =
     [ h2 [ class "ui header" ]
         [ i [ class "cog icon" ] []
         , text "UI Settings"
@@ -84,6 +85,7 @@ viewUiSettings settings model =
         ]
     , Html.map UiSettingsMsg
         (Comp.UiSettingsManage.view
+            flags
             settings
             "ui segment"
             model.uiSettingsModel
diff --git a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Util/String.elm b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Util/String.elm
index c5d637f3..d40cd2ea 100644
--- a/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Util/String.elm
+++ b/modules/webapp/src/main/elm/Util/String.elm
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 module Util.String exposing
     ( crazyEncode
     , ellipsis
+    , isBlank
+    , isNothingOrBlank
     , underscoreToSpace
     , withDefault
     )
@@ -31,7 +33,7 @@ ellipsis len str =
         str
 
     else
-        String.left (len - 3) str ++ "..."
+        String.left (len - 1) str ++ "…"
 
 
 withDefault : String -> String -> String
@@ -46,3 +48,14 @@ withDefault default str =
 underscoreToSpace : String -> String
 underscoreToSpace str =
     String.replace "_" " " str
+
+
+isBlank : String -> Bool
+isBlank s =
+    s == "" || (String.trim s == "")
+
+
+isNothingOrBlank : Maybe String -> Bool
+isNothingOrBlank ms =
+    Maybe.map isBlank ms
+        |> Maybe.withDefault True