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Version: Cloud

Data object search

The search functionality allows you to search in data object data. Searches can be conducted using the global search which is available in the header of the site or by using the column search - when available. The search data for a data object is updated every time the data object is saved.

info

The search functionality performed for an auto-complete function in a reference property field works slightly different than column search and global search. Firstly, it searches on display name with right truncation, and if one or more objects are matched, then those objects are returned as a result. Only if such search does not find anything in the display name search, it performs a global search on all properties of the referenced objects.

Indexing of search data

In addition to the sequence number and display name of the data object, the following table depicts which data are indexed as search data:

Property typeWhat is indexed (data type)
VALUE
  • Text
  • Integer
  • Hyperlink
  • MultiLangText – Values for all languages
  • Log text (if the data type is text, and the property has a log defined)
SET
  • Selected values (Values for all languages)
REFERENCE
  • Display names of selected values
  • Attribute values – if the reference property contains any

For the following data object types, some additional data are indexed:

Property typeWhat is indexed (data type)
User
  • User name
Process
  • Sequence number
  • Display name of the target object
Activity
  • Name and display name of the activity assignees
note

Data object type property bindings which has security defined are not indexed. In addition, it is possible to manually exclude a specific data object type property binding from the search index, by checking the Exclude from search checkbox in the data object type property binding.

Search modes

The search functionality, regardless of search mode, uses right truncation, that is, the search term matches the beginning of the search word and not something in the middle.

Standard SQL search on-prem

The searches are performed using SQL like operators. In large databases, using the standard search mode can be significantly slower than the full-text search. It is not recommended to use this search mode in a production environment.

This is the default search mode in ES. This search mode utilizes the full-text search index of the searchdata column in tbldataobject. The mode requires that the customer setting DisableFTISearch is set to false and the full-text search indexes have been created in the ES database. This is done automatically unless the Full-Text search engine hasn't been installed in SQL Server.

note

This setting can be edited only by Platform administrators.

Implicit and operator

When using the global search, all search words delimited by space will have an and operator between the words, for example, searching for William Parker will result in a search for William and Parker.

or operator

You can also search using multiple search words and an or operator, for example, searching for William or Parker will result in a search for William or Parker.

The or operator is case-insensitive. Searching for William Parker or Kenneth Johnson results in the following search: William and (Parker or Kenneth) and Johnson.

not operator (-)

Using the - character in front of a search word indicates that the word should be excluded from the search, for example, searching for William-Parker results in the following search: William andnotparker.

Search using quotes

It is possible to search for a phrase in quotes in order to search in indexed data which are in quotes.

Operator rules

The following rules applies for the usage of operators:

  • The or and not operator cannot be used in conjunction
  • The not operator cannot be used in front of a quoted sentence
  • The or operator cannot be used in front of the first search word

Quick filter

The quick filter is a filter based on search strings that acts on different columns. It is an input text field that allows for searching for one or more values.

When you start entering text, your search string is filtered in different columns at once. For example, if you type the letter "g", you get results from various columns starting with this letter.

You can find the quick filter, for example, in the Access request process, when you select a resource and add attributes. A side pane opens with the following grid:



note

This filter is also available in all list views and side panes for forms, for example:

  • Countries
  • Tasks
  • Identity owners