The Search form is the user-friendly form that allows you to quickly get to the data you need.
The form can be accessed straight from the main menu for products (Product information management > Products > Products search) and released products (Product information management > Products > Released products search), but is also available from many other forms such as the sales order, purchase order, transfer order, BOM etc. On these forms, just above the lines there is not just the standrad Add button, but also a button called Product search, which opens up the search form and any selections made from the search results can then be added straight to the order you started from.
The Search form works exactly the same way, regardless if it's being opened from the menu or and order, so the features and options mentioned in this topic are valid no matter which way the search form is accessed.
At the top of the form there is a text search bar. Here you can type any words that you want to search on. Based on parameter settings, the search uses simple or advanced (full lycene) syntax. This parameter can be set in the configuration parameters and depending on the selected setting, can also be changed on the search form itself.
Depending on if simple or advanced syntax is selected, the query syntax that can be used for searching is different. For more information on the usage of simple syntax click here, more information on the usage of advanced syntax (=full lycene syntax) can be found here.
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The left side of the form shows the Category hierarchy tree. The tree is collapsible (to open up more space for the filters below it) and if the Search configuration has been linked to multiple hierarchies, there is also box that displays the selected hierarchy and gives the option to switch to a different (linked) hierarchy. If only one hierarchy is linked to the search configuration, only the tree itself is visible.
The tree works as a filter: by clicking on a category the search result is immediately limited to results of that category (and it's sub-categories) and the tree will then show the names of any sub-categories etc. You can keep clicking on lower levels in the tree to keep refining the search result.
The tree also provides information on how many results match the current search criteria by showing counts for every (visible) category. This count includes results from any sub-categories for that level.
Below the Category hierarchy on the left side of the form there is room for filters. If and how many filters are displayed here is dependant on the created setup. Filters only display here if they have been setup on the currently selected category or any parent category. Any filters set up on lower levels are not visible until that level (or even lower) is selected in the Category hierachy tree.
For each filter it is possible to select 1 or more values that should be used as a filter for the data. A filter that has zero results will be completely hidden. This happens when the form is opened, but also if due to selections made in other filters (or search terms) any previous matches are no longer valid. The entire filter option will then also be hidden and only appear again when other filters are removed or the entire search is reset.
When a filter is used for data that allows multiple values (for example a filter based on a multi-value attribute or on the data area ID entity field) there is an option to choose between an 'any' or an 'all' setting. With 'any', the results will include any record that matches with at least 1 of the selected values. With 'all' a record will only be included in the result if it matches with all the selected values. The default setting for this option is determined in the setup, but on the search form itself this setting can be adjusted. This option appears as soon as 2 or more values within the filter are selected. At the bottom of the specific filter a toggle switch with the words 'Any' and 'All' appears and clicking on the word will switch it to that setting. (The active setting is highlighted by a box around it.)
A filter could have a long list of different values to choose from. The amount of values displayed in the list below the filter is determined in the setup for each filter (and this amount can be adjusted). If the list of possible values is longer than the amount being displayed, a 'more' button will appear at the bottom of the list. When this button is clicked, the additional values will appear. Depending on how many more values there are this happens in the list in the filter itself, or for very large amounts in a separate pop-up where you can make your selections and apply them. Note that when using filters with large amounts of different values, especially numeric ones, it can be useful to use Value ranges. More information on value ranges can be found here.
The values within a filter can either be sorted based on the record count or get sorted in alphabetical order. This sorting is determined in the setup and can only be adjusted there, it is not possible to adjust it on the Search form itself. The setting is available for every filter and can thus be different between multiple filters.
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The main part of the search form shows the results of the searches. Each result has its own card on which all information (as set up) is displayed. Some of the information might be set up to only show when the result card is expanded. When a result card can be expanded, a small downward pointing arrow is visible in the top right corner of the result card. If the result is already expanded, the arrow will be pointing upwards and can be used to collapse the expanded view of a result card.
Every result card has a little checkbox at the top right, by selecting this, you can select the record. It is possible to select multiple records, even across multiple categories and even across multiple searches. At the top of the form it states how many records have been selected and would be included when for example opening the view/compare form or when adding lines to orders (when starting the search form from an order etc.). Using the reset button will clear all search criteria including all selected records.
This button is only available on the Released products search form. It can be used to open (a selection of) the search result in the Released products form. If 1 record is selected, the Released products details view of the selected product opens when using this button. If multiple records are selected, the Released products grid form will open with the selected products on it. If no results are selected, the entire result list will open in the Released products grid when the button is used.
Using the back button will bring you back to the Released products search form (and the current search / result).
When one or more records have been selected, it's possible to use the 'View/Compare' button. This will open up a pane with the selected records displayed in a view that makes it easy to view and/or compare all characteristics of the selected products.
The 'View' button at the top gives the option to switch between views that show all characteristics, only the ones with the same values or only the ones with different values. On the view that shows all characteristics, the ones with the same values are a little greyed out, while the ones with different values are shown in regular black.
The 'Settings' button also gives a couple of options. There is an option to show or hide the product image, an option to show the characteristics grouped or not (based on the groups used to add them to the products) and an option to display the properties within the hierarchy. This option can be usefull when the charcteristics have been set up over multiple hierarchies for the same product, so the hierarchy source of the property is visible by activating this option.
It is possible to open (a selection of) the search result in the Products form. If 1 record is selected, the Products details view of the selected product opens when using this button. If multiple records are selected, the Products grid form will open with the selected products on it. If no results are selected, the entire result list will open in the Products grid when the button is used.
This button will completely reset the search form, removing all selections and text searches, making it ready for a completely new search. Note that if a saved search has been set as the default, this search will be loaded as part of the reset.
The little cogwheel on the search forms gives access to several settings. The availability of most of these settings depends on parameter settings on the Search configuration. Dependent on the selected setting, they can also be changed on the search form itself.
Auto-expand filters: When this setting is enabled, the filters on the left hand side are all fully expanded by default when opening the Search form. They can still be closed (and expanded again) manually, both individually and all together at once with the arrows on the search form itself.
Auto-expand result: When this setting is enabled, the result cards are fully expanded by default when using the Search form. They can still be closed (and expanded again) manually individually with the arrows on the search form itself..
Show fieldname info: When this setting is enabled, a little clickable information icon is available next to the properties on the results card. When clicked a little information cloud appears which shows the actual (technical) name of the field in the Azure index. This can be helpfull when using (advanced) syntax in the text search bar that searches for values in specific fields.
Hide empty categories: When this setting is enabled, the Category hierarchy tree that is visible on the left hand side of the Search forms will hide any categories that have zero results based on the given search criteria. Using this setting can be especially helpfull when using extensive trees with a lot of (empty) categories as it can drastically improve the available space for filters displayed below the tree.
Use advanced syntax: When this setting is enabled, the test search uses the full lucene syntax. When the setting is disabled, the simple syntax used. More links with info on the differences can be found here in the text search section of this topic
Match all words: When this setting is enabled, the search result(s) have to match on all words used in the text search to be included in the result. When the setting is disbaled, a match on any of the used words is enough to be included.
Auto-wildcards: When this setting is enabled, wildcards are automatically used at the begining and end of any word used in the text search (without typing them yourself), meaning you can also get results based on partial matches (so using the word 'design' would also give 'redesigning' as a result as the search word is included with noth extra's at the end and at the beginning). When this setting is disabled, no wildcards are used and only exact matches on the word(s) used in the text search are included in the result. Note that when using simple syntax, typing the wildcard in your syntax only works as a suffix, a prefix wildcard is not allowed. So to be able to use simple syntax and search for any words that 'end with' the search term, enabling this setting is neccessary.
Any Searches that have been saved by a user wil be shown here. Here you can also set or unset them as the default search, delete any of your saved searches and/or share them with other Search user groups.
Note that a search that is still shared, used on a workspace and/or set as the default search cannot be deleted.
The results on the search forms are sorted by relevance by default. The relevance is calculated by the cognitive search service itself, which uses multiple factors to determine the relevance used (which cannot be manipulated with this solution).
It is possible to set up additional sort orders based on the available fields, such as the product names, numbers or any other property being used. The sorting can then be done either form A-Z or from Z-A. If any other sorting orders have been set up, they are available in the drop down of the sorting field (which says 'relevance') on the right hand side above the search results of the search form.
This button is only visible to users with System administration rights and contains options to help (HSO) troubleshoot issues.
This section and its options are the standard Microsoft options. Important to emphasize however is that the 'add to workspace' option is fully supported by Product Search. So whenever a search has been used or created (either pre-saved or not), the 'Add to workspace' option can be used to create tiles, lists or links to that specific search on a workspace. When using the tile option, the tile can even display the results count (and this count will update based on changes in the search data).