Searching for records

Search helps you find correct, structured, and useful information at the correct time and place. In the end-user console, you can search for catalog services, knowledge articles, appointments, locations, and even other users. Be specific when you enter the search phrase to get the best results. The application returns results that are the closest match to your search query and are sorted by relevance.

Using global search

When you select the global search field, the application displays your ten most recent searches and available quick links.

When you start typing, suggestions appear based on previous searches stored in the browser's local storage, and matching characters are highlighted. You can enter the keywords and select the most relevant suggestion. This feature reduces the time and effort required when you search for the same item again.

The recent searches are private. However, the suggestions are shared across users on the same browser. Clear the browser's local storage to remove autosuggestions from the global search field. If the typed text is a new string with no common words to the last 50 searched key terms, suggestions do not appear.

Scenario

Britney, an employee of Apex Global, works in the procurement department. Britney wants to purchase cutlery for the corporate office pantry.

After logging in to the end user console, she starts typing the keywords purchase order in the search field. She finds the relevant search results and submits a Purchase order execution service request.

The following week, she wants to submit an invoice for her purchase order to get it reimbursed. She logs in and starts typing "Pur." At the same time, she gets suggestions for Pur, highlighting the matching characters, based on her search history. She selects the Purchase order from the suggestion list without having to type the complete phrase because of the autocompletion feature and performs the search.

After performing the search, the results that are the closest match to the search text are displayed. Britney finds the relevant service request in the search results list: Purchase order invoice submission.

With the help of the autocompletion feature, Britney was able to search her keywords and quickly submit her request.

Important

For end users upgrading, refer to the following autocompletion search behavior:

A recent search list for a user is maintained after the upgrade.
The users do not see recent searches based on other users' search strings when they perform a search after the upgrade.

Types of search and searchable entities

As an end user, search and filter options help you quickly and easily find what you need. Use the search feature from the following areas of the end-user console:

Global search is available on the following pages:

Catalog page
My Activity page
Studio pages—In search bars added to studio pages. For information about this feature, see Creating-pages-in-the-studio.

Global search allows you to find any searchable item by entering your search query in the search bar. Search displays only those items you have access to.

Types of records	Records
Catalog items	SRDs from BMC Helix ITSM (BMC Service Request Management) Quick links from BMC Service Request Management Services and bundles from the enhanced catalog
Knowledge articles	Knowledge articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows and BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management Knowledge articles from BMC Helix Business Workflows synchronized with BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. Knowledge articles from BMC Helix ITSM: Knowledge Management synchronized with BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround.
Submitted requests	Submitted requests through BMC Helix ITSM (BMC Service Request Management) Submitted requests through BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog
Approval requests	Approval requests from BMC Helix ITSM Approval requests from BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog
Other BMC Helix Digital Workplace items	User profiles How-to links Assets Location Appointments

The Locations and My Stuff pages have search bars that allow you to search on those pages.

Active events can be searched by keywords, similar to the Global search. Users can apply filters to find events in Active or Past events sections on the My Activity page or a studio page that has an events component added to it.

The following table describes filtering options for Active and Past events:

Event type	Filtering option				View type
Event type	By text	By type	By status	By date	List	Card
Active	✅️	Requests Approvals Appointments	Pending Waiting Approval In Progress (Shows service requests in the In Progress and Initiated statuses) More Information On Hold The following statuses are available with BMC Helix Digital Workplace Advanced Approved Rejected Completed Closed Canceled Failed If at least one service request in an order is an Active event while others are Past events, this order is displayed in Active events.	Today Last 7 days Custom date range	✅️	✅️
Past	✅️	Requests Approvals Appointments	Approved Rejected Completed Closed Cancelled Failed	Today Last 7 days Custom date range	✅️	❌️

To disable the On Hold status, clear the appropriate check box in approval settings; see Enabling-users-to-put-approvals-on-hold . To disable the More information status, clear all the check boxes for approval types; see Enabling-approvals.

Important

To filter appointments by date, you must know the date of their creation. For example, on April 3, Sam creates an appointment for April 7. He clicks the Filter by date icon > Custom date range > On > April 3. Sam sees the appointment for April 7. If Sam selects April 7, he will not see the appointment for April 7.

You can search for the following records in the Social section on the user preferences page:

Users
User groups

Locations
Assets

Search tips

Search results contain only those items you are permitted to view that fulfill all search criteria.

Use the following tips to refine your search:

Select the correct term or phrase when you search. Be as specific as possible to exclude common or less relevant results. For example, if you want to find an article about replacing a cartridge in an HP printer, instead of entering cartridge in the printer, enter replace cartridge HP.
Check your spelling.
Use wildcards. Your administrator decides whether you can use wildcards in search or what kind of search results you can get.
If wildcard search is enabled, you can enter partial strings with the percent (%) symbol. Avoid using a leading wildcard, which can slow down the search.
Important
Leading wildcards are not supported if the search is performed on fields that are indexed for Full Text Search (FTS). Only trailing wildcards are supported for these fields.
For more information about wildcards, see How search with wildcards works.
Enclose the search phrase within double quotation marks to find an exact match to your search query.
In People searches, enter a user's full name or part of the name without a backslash.

To search for records using the global search box

Enter your search phrase in the search box.
Click Search or press Enter.

How search results are displayed

Based on the search text, the application retrieves data from all enabled search sources, such as catalog items, articles, appointments, and so on. The results that are the closest match to the search text are displayed, irrespective of their source or type. The search ranking is shared across all source types, with the most relevant results appearing first in the list.

Search results are displayed to end users according to the following principles:

The All tab displays all search results. The results are paginated when there are more than 25 items to display. To see results related to a category or source, users can click the respective category tab.
Search results are sorted based on their relevance to the search query—from the most relevant on top, down to the least relevant. Results that have the same relevance are sorted alphabetically.
If no search results are found, the application displays "No results found," and the filter menu is hidden.
For SRDs from BMC Service Request Management, search results are displayed in the following order:
- SRDs that are marked as popular by the administrator in BMC Service Request Management are displayed at the top.
- SRDs that are requested more times than other SRDs are displayed after the popular SRDs.
- All SRDs that follow are displayed alphabetically by the SRD title.
If the search does not work as expected, you can view the logs to troubleshoot. For more information, see Configuring-logs-for-BMC-Helix-Digital-Workplace.

Searching for records

Using global search

Types of search and searchable entities

To search for records using the global search box

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