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Users who want to generate a search in the Classic UI
Reporting authorities, roles, and record access controls restrict data visibility.
The ability to extract and analyze data is a key component of an application. In all applications, anytime an item is created or changed we feed it to an in-memory search engine. This allows us to perform keyword searches and have results returned virtually instantly - in most cases within 100ms, regardless of the number of records returned.
To run a simple search, enter a word or phrase in the search box in the search bar (use Ctrl-E shortcut). Search Prompt will begin to narrow results as you type. The search prompt shows a few individual items most closely matching your search term above the line. Below the line it shows result sets for each application.
If you click an item above the line, it will open that item directly. If you click the result set below the line, it will open the list of items in a new tab.
You can also ignore the search prompt and hit the Enter key or the magnifying glass icon. Doing so will open a list of all results in all applications.
Tip - Refine your search to the desired module
Before you enter a search term you may also choose to restrict your search to a particular type of item. To do this select the type of item you are looking for in the "Search All" dropdown list.
Search Tips
General
Multiple-word search terms perform an OR search, where each word can appear anywhere in the result. Only one word in the term is required to be part of the result.
Entering a "+" or "-" in front of the words of your search term will force inclusion or exclusion of that word from the result. For example, a search term of +valve -leak requires that valve be in the result and that leak must not be in the result. You would not use this for exact match searching. The first character in the search window cannot be a "-" character.
Enclosing your term in quotes results in an exact match. All words must appear in the result and in the order that they are submitted.
All searches, including exact match searches, will attempt to return additional forms of the words in your search term. For example, the search term valve leak will also return results that include valves, leaking, etc. This applies even to search terms enclosed in quotes.
Results are returned, and sorted, based on Last Updated date. Note that this means updated by any user, or any process. Using the Sort button, you can change the list to display the results according to the search engine's relevancy ranking algorithms. For example, objects that contain instances of your search terms more often or closer together will be ranked higher than objects that do not.
You can use leading or trailing wildcards, e.g. *ference or prefere* will both return results containing the word preference.
Since the search engine tokenizes on case, to avoid confusing it, you should avoid searching with mixed-case terms unless you know it will return a match. For example, if you've indexed the term McAfee, then MCAFEE, mcafee, and McAfee will all return results but mCAfee will not. To avoid missed results due to typos like this, you should always search using all lowercase letters unless you have a specific reason not to.
For dynamic search results, where the criteria are relative to when the search is run, use one of the predefined options, e.g. Today, Tomorrow, Last Week, Next Month, Last Year, Last 365 Days, etc.
Using the Between option you can enter a date range.
This date range can also be dynamic, by using the Today keyword. For example, you can search for items due between 3 days from now and 10 days from now. The Today keyword can be used in lieu of selecting an actual date for all date field search options, not just the Between option. It can also be used with "-" to subtract days from today.
Attachments
Your search can be configured to also scan attachments for key words.
Dynamic attachment searches The use of quotes, "+", and "-" are not supported when searching attachments for key words.
Search Results
The Search screen contains two regions. On the left are the search criteria and on the right is the results list. By default, results are returned as a list. In the bottom right you will see how many results were returned and how long it took to find them. If your search returned more than one page, the top right of the screen will display a page navigator.
Whether you're searching for a specific application or across all data, you have access to a predefined list of five basic criteria, such as who the object is assigned to. Hover over the help icon for more details about each filter. Note that these filters are not available for datasets since datasets may or may not include this information.
If you filter by a particular application or dataset, you can further refine your search by entering field-specific criteria. Simply choose a field from the filter list and enter your criteria. Multiple fields can be added as search filters. Multiple filters perform an AND search, meaning the results displayed will be only items that meet the criteria for every filter.
Quickly find your filter field If your module or dataset contains a lot of fields or measures, you can whittle down the list by entering part of the field name you're looking for and clicking your 'Enter' key or the magnifying glass icon.
When entering field criteria, keep these rules in mind:
You can choose one of the following operators:
Is one of the default selections, returns items that have the criteria selected
Is not one of Returns items that do not have the criteria selected
Is empty Returns items that do not have a value for the selected field
Is not empty Returns items that have a value for the selected field
Contains Returns items that contain the selected item(s) or text
Does not contain Returns items that do not contain the selected item(s) or text
If you are searching against a hierarchical reference field, you have two more options available:
Is at or below Returns items at an authority level equal to or below the selected item. For example, when searching for a person you can choose "at or below" to return all items initiated by anyone who falls below the selected person's reporting chain.
Is below This being the same as "at or below" except it does not include the selected item.
There are four separate panes displayed in BI: The Side pane, Search Options, Fields, and the BI Filters pane. All of these can be expanded or collapsed as needed.