Using Advanced Search and saving searches

You can use the Advanced Search feature to search containers using any combination of fields and advanced criteria. The Advanced Search page contains a combination of fields where you can enter search strings and select criteria to create a search filter. 

You can create complex search queries and preview the results. When a search returns the desired results, you can save the criteria for later use. Until you save a search, your criteria are not saved and you can change settings and preview the results until you have achieved your goal.

Another advantage to creating saved searches is that you can select them when creating report parameters. By refining your search parameters in the Advanced Search, you can be sure that the related reports will include the data you need. For more information about reporting, see Configuring reports.

You can also choose to copy an existing saved search and modify the required fields to create a new search. For more information, see Copying a search.

The following topics are provided:

To create an Advanced Search

1. Open the Advanced Search page by using either of the following options::
   • In the top right corner of the header, click the arrow next to Select item(s) and select Advanced Search.
   • In the records list, click the View tab and select Advanced Search.
     The New Search page appears, showing the Properties pane. You must complete the sections in the order they are listed in the left pane.
2. (Optional) Complete the fields:
   1. Enter a descriptive name and description for this search.
      If you decide to save this search and do not enter a name, it will be named “New Search” followed by a number.

   2. In the Type field, accept the default of Private or select Shared.
      For shared searches, users must have at least read access to the searched-for items to be able to run the search.

   3. In the Notes field, enter any useful information about this search.
3. In the left pane, click Search In.
4. In the Search In pane, in the Available Items column, select the items that you want to be included in the search, and move them to the Selected Items column.
5. In the left pane, click Search for.
   

6. In the Search For pane, click Add new condition and complete the steps for different search conditions:

   To create a simple Advanced Search	In the first field, select a value. You can select any of the fields in the containers that you selected on the Search In page. The field names are preceded by the container and item names. If a field is shared by multiple Items or multiple containers, "Common" is inserted before the item name. You can also select age-related values. Searching by Keyword works very well for most purposes. (Optional) In the Condition field, select an operator such as is not equal to. The values in this list vary based on your selection in the first field. If you are searching for field values, in the Value field, enter the value that you want used in the search. When different values are defined for a common field in different items or containers, all of the defined values are included in the Value field. If you are searching for age-related values, in the Days, Hours, and Minutes fields, select the age parameters. If you are searching for link-related values, follow the instructions in To search for linked items. Click Create. If you search for values that occur in some but not all selected containers/items, the search results will include any matching records from all containers/items.
   To search for records assigned to your team	In the first field, select Common.Assignees or any custom assignment field. In the Condition field, select equal to. Click the Common.Assignees field, and then in the Select Common.Assignees dialog box, from the Team list, select All Teams. Select the @Team check box and click Add. Click OK. (Optional) In the Multiple Selection Option list, select a value. Click Create.
   To search for records that need the approval of a specified user.	In the first field, select Common.Approvers. In the Condition field, select equal to. In the Common.Approvers field, enter the name of the approver or in the Select Common.Approvers dialog box, select the appropriate users or to search for records that need your approval, select @Me and click Add. Click OK. Click Create.

7. In the left pane, click Display Fields.
8. In the Display Fields pane, in the Fields Available column, select the fields that you want to be displayed in the search results, and click the right arrow to move them to the Selected Fields column.
9. In the left pane, click Publishing Options.
10. (Optional) In the Publishing Options pane, select one of the following options:
    
    • Include this Advanced Search in the list of data sources for Service Analytics
    • FootPrints Mobile - to make this search available to mobile users
11. (Optional) To view the results of your search criteria, in the left pane, click Preview Results.
    Previewing is useful when designing searches that you want to save, because you can see what your users will see when they run this search.
12. When you are ready to save this search, click Save & Run and select a save option.
13. (Optional) To view the search that you created, in the top right corner of the header, click the arrow next to Select item(s) and select Manage Searches. 

To search for linked items

1. Follow steps 1 through 4 in To create an Advanced Search.
2. In the left pane, click Search For.
   

3. In the Search For pane, complete the fields by performing the following steps:

   1. Click Add new condition.
   2. In the first field, select Generic Linking.
   3. (Optional) In the Condition field, select Participate in, Every, or Any.
   4. In the Link Type field, select the relationship between the items that you want to find such as Exchanges data with.

   5. Based on the value you select in the Link Type field, in the Role field, a default value is populated.
      You can modify the value based on the direction and root item that you want to find such as Parent to Child or Child to Parent.

   6. Click Add New Condition. 

   7. In the first field, select a value.
   8. Select a value in the Condition field. 
   9. Based on the value you select in the Condition field, in the Value field, specify a value.
   10. Click Create.
4. Click Create.
   The results list will include links to the linked items.
5. To finish defining this search, continue with steps 7 through 12 in To create an Advanced Search.

Related topics

Searching in FootPrints

Filtering search results

Getting started quickly for administrators