Searching for Application Data with DataSearch

Use the DataSearch form to search for information stored anywhere in the application. The search results are listed numerically or alphabetically by data source.

For example, you could search for all instances of the text string "Young" across all data sources. The results list every data source in the system where "Young" is found, for example in customers, orders, items, vendors, purchase orders, and so on. You can expand the data source to see a list of every occurrence within that data source.

To search for a value:

  1. Open the DataSearch form.
  2. Specify the search value, which can include an asterisk (*) as a wildcard.
    Note: 
    • Searches are not case sensitive: The system treats "Test" the same as "test" when querying.
    • The wildcard is not generally needed, because all value interpreters except Exact Phrase use implied wildcards. The Begins with value interpreter, for example, treat search terms like this: Search Term*

    When using Any of these words or All of these words as the value interpreter, you can specify multiple values to search for, separating them with spaces. Other value interpreters treat whatever is in the Search field as literal values, including spaces, unless the asterisk is used.

  3. Specify how to interpret the value:
    This value interpreter: Handles the search term(s) like this:
    Any of these words The search retrieves all data with values that have any one of the search terms, similar to a Boolean OR clause.
    All of these words The search retrieves only data that has all of the specified search terms, similar to a Boolean AND clause.
    Contains

    The search retrieves only records that contain the search term exactly as specified.

    For example, a search for the term "testuser" would retrieve records containing both "testuser" and "testuser1".

    Begins with

    The search retrieves only records that contain the entire search term, exactly as specified, but only when the search term is used at the beginning of the field value in which it is found.

    For example, a search for the term "test user" would retrieve a record that contains the value "Test User John", but not for record "John Test User".

    Ends with

    The search retrieves only records that contain the entire search term, exactly as specified, but only when the search term is used at the end of the field value in which it is found.

    For example, a search for the term "test user" would retrieve a record that contains the value "John Test User", but not for record "Test User John".

    Exact Phrase

    The search retrieves records that contain only the search term, exactly as specified.

    For example a search for the term "testuser" would retrieve records containing "testuser" but not "testuser1".

    Note:  Queries that use the value interpreters Any of these words and All of these words search across all searchable properties. In these cases, each word is treated as a separate term and searched for individually.

    In contrast, the other four value interpreters are variants on phrase-matching, where the whole search expression is treated as one phrase that must be matched within each searchable property.

  4. Optionally, specify which data sources to look in.

    By default, all data sources are used.

    Note:  You can define additional custom DataSearch Sources.
  5. To perform the search, click the search (magnifying glass) button.

    The results are displayed, initially grouped by data source. The Count field indicates how many records in the data source include the search term, not how many instances of the search value were located.

    Note:  If the search term is found in a property that was both searched and displayed, it is highlighted with an amber background. If the search term is found in a property that was searched but not displayed, then nothing in the information that is displayed is highlighted in this way.
  6. To expand a data source and view the results in a grid, click the + button.

Once the DataSearch query has been done, you have many of the same layout, display, print, and export options as for any other type of DataView display.

There are some differences, however. For one thing, display options are fewer and more limited, basically to expanding or collapsing the results from each DataSearch Source and to rearranging columns.

Also, you can only have a single layout for each DataSearch Source at each level of scope.

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