Search tips
You can search for words and phrases contained in almost any field, search in one container or in multiple containers, and search for specific tickets by ticket number.
Only fields that are designated as Searchable by your administrator can be searched using the Search field that appears on any Home page that lists records. The Searchable option is available for text, selection, and hyperlink field types. For example, you cannot search Created By or Updated By fields by entering search values in the Search field, but you can still search these fields and most others by selecting the Advanced Searches option in the Search menu.
Search is case-insensitive. You can use asterisks (*) as wildcards and search for multiple values and for phrases. However, the search runs more quickly when you enter terms that you know are in the system, because it does not have to search every field entry in the entire database to find matching items.
For complex searches, you may want to create an Advanced Search where you can limit the search to the most likely places (containers and items) where the information you seek will be found. You can build multiple logically connected search parameters using almost any field, with different operators. You can create a shared or a private search to search for records that are assigned to your team or search for records that need approval of a specified user. For more information, see Using Advanced Search and saving searches.
Saved searches can be used to create reports
The searches that you save can be used in report definitions. If a search takes some time to complete, and you use it in a report, running the search may impact system performance. This is especially true for shared searches that may be run by several users at once and also run in the background for reporting.
To create searches that work efficiently and reduce potential impact on performance, review the information in this topic for guidance in defining search terms. In particular, avoid slow performing searches such as:
- Running advanced searches that use the Keyword option and include double wildcards or numbers.
- Running Equal searches that use double wildcards.
The following topics are provided:
Searching with wildcards
You can search with a wildcard from any Home page as long as the wildcard character is at the end of the word. However, in address books, you can also search using wildcards in other positions. For more information about searching in address books with wildcards, see Searching for contacts.
The Search function looks at the beginning of words to find a match. This means if you add an asterisk (*) after your search term, the search is quicker than if you add an asterisk before or within your search term. Where you place the asterisk also affects which words are returned.
Example
If you search for ball*, the search returns ballpark but not football.
Searching for multiple values
When searching for multiple values, you must separate the values with spaces or commas, which function as OR operators. You can also use the AND operator to create search terms.
Examples
If you search for password OR login, the system returns any record that includes either value.
If you search for password AND login, the system returns only records that include both values.
Searching for dates
You can search for dates only by using Advanced Search. When you search for dates, the date that you enter (for your selected time zone) is transformed into UTC format and saved. When a user in another time zone opens the same Advanced Search they see the same date value but interpreted for their time zone.
Example
If you create a ticket at 1:00 p.m. in Kiev (Eastern European Summer Time or UTC/GMT +3 hours), and the next agent to work on the ticket is in Pune (India Standard Time or UTC/GMT +5:30 hours), that agent will see the value in the Created On field as 3:30 p.m. IST.
Searching for contacts
When you search from the Address Book Home page, an additional operation Equals is available. If you use the default operator Contains to search, any contact record that includes the search string in any field is returned. If you use the Equals operator, only exact matches are returned. Wildcard characters are taken into account but partial matches are not returned. You must enter the exact value that is in the system.
To search with wildcards for all contacts that include a certain value, insert asterisks to represent the unknown values. You can use an asterisk before, after, or within a search string.
Examples
If you search for ir* using the Equals option, the system returns any record that includes 'ira' and 'irina'.
If you search for "ir*"' (including the double quotes) using the Equals option, the system returns any record that includes "ir*" (with the double quotes).
Searching for contacts with included spaces
To search for a term that includes spaces, place double quotes around the entire string.
When you search for terms that include numbers within an alphabetical search string, use the Contains option to find the term within other strings (the term and its forms) and the Equals option to find only exact matches for the term (not strings with additional character before or after the term).
Double quotes and wildcard characters
Because all characters enclosed by double quotes are treated as literals when you use the Equals option, if your search term includes an asterisk, the system treats the asterisk as an alphanumeric character and tries to match it. No variations of your search term are returned.
Examples
If you search for Jan* using the Contains option, the wildcard character (asterisk) is processed as a wildcard character and only exact matches are returned. See the following table for specific examples.
| Found | Not found |
|---|---|
| Jan Greg | J*n Sm!th |
| Jane Bailey | John Dicen |
If you search for J*n using the Equals option, the returned record list is slightly different. See the following table for specific examples.
| Found | Not found |
|---|---|
| John Dicen | Jane Bailey |
| Jan Greg | J*n Sm!th |
Searching for ticket numbers
When you search for ticket numbers, select ID operator and type only the number in the Search text field, or you can include the prefix and a dash before the ticket number.
Note
Examples
If you search for 12345, the system returns all records that include those numbers. It returns only records with this particular number and any prefix. Records with ticket numbers that have more characters (or less) are not returned. For example, PR-1234567 will not be returned.
If you search for INC-12345, the system returns only records that include that particular number and may return only one record. Records that do not exactly match the search term are not returned.
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