How to say thank you for someone tried but could not help me?

Today someone tried to help me to find something but failed, so I said "thank you anyway" to her in the end.

Is "thank you anyway" appropriate in this situation? And what phrase should I use to politely say thank you to someone who tried to help me but failed?

Solution 1:

"Thanks anyway" is perfectly acceptable. You could also use phrases such as "I appreciate your help," or "thanks for trying." There is no specific phrase I can think of reserved for this scenario, though.

Thanks to @CandiedOrange for suggesting an improvement.

Solution 2:

I would go with, "Your effort (was/is) appreciated." was/is depending on the relationship temporally to the effort; That being said, the other answers are also good.

Solution 3:

Some good responses are:
"Thanks/ thank you anyways/anyway"
"I appreciated that"
"Thank you for your time/effort"
"That was greatly appreciated"
Basically anything that shows your gratitude for them spending time and effort is acceptable.

Solution 4:

I think "Thank you all the same" can be used in this situation.