Creating search filters for BMC applications

BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround supports creating filters to narrow down search results in BMC applications based on predefined conditions. These filters use article tags as filtering criteria. A single filter can combine multiple article tags by using the AND, OR, and NOT operators. When users search for knowledge articles in a BMC application that uses a specific filter, the search results return only the articles that include a tag or a combination of tags defined in the filter. 

You can create and use search filters for the following BMC applications:

• BMC Helix Virtual Agent
• BMC Helix Digital Workplace Advanced
• BMC HelixGPT

As an administrator of BMC Helix Innovation Studio, you can create search filters for supported BMC applications. After you create a search filter in BMC Helix Innovation Studio, you must enable it in the BMC application. For more information about enabling search filters for the required chatbot instance in BMC Helix Virtual Agent, see Defining a knowledge search provider for chatbot. Learn how to enable search filters for BMC Helix Digital Workplace Advanced in Configuring search.

The following image shows the benefits of using search filters:

Static and dynamic tags

When you create search filters in BMC Helix Innovation Studio, you can use the following types of tags:

The following table provides information about dynamic tags available by default, and their structure. You can also find information about the formatting patterns that static tags in the knowledge articles must follow for proper mapping with each dynamic tag. 

Scenarios for creating search filters 

The following scenario describes how a company creates and uses a search filter that includes static tags for BMC Helix Digital Workplace Advanced. However, the process of creating and utilizing search filters with static tags is identical for BMC Helix Virtual Agent.

The following scenario describes how a company creates and uses a search filter that includes a dynamic tag for BMC Helix Virtual Agent. However, the process of creating and utilizing search filters with dynamic tags is identical for BMC Helix Digital Workplace Advanced.

(Optional) To create a process that constructs a dynamic tag

As an administrator of BMC Helix Innovation Studio, you can create a process to construct a dynamic tag. 

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and navigate to the Workspace tab.
2. Click the application for which you want to create a dynamic tag:
   1. To create a dynamic tag for BMC Helix Virtual Agent, click BMC Chatbot.
   2. To create a dynamic tag for BMC Helix Digital Workplace Advanced, click Digital Workplace. 
3. Click the Processes tab and click New. 
4. On the Process Properties pane, specify the following fields:

   1. Name—enter a name for the process.

      Important

      The name must start with CONTENT TAG to filter out processes that create dynamic tags. For example, CONTENT TAG Get Organization. Otherwise, the created dynamic tag won't be displayed in the list of tags available for selection. 

   2. Run as—Select Administrator. 
5. On the Process Properties pane, add the Output process variable required for the workflow.
   1. In the VARIABLES section, click Add/ Remove Variables. 
   2. Click Add Variable.
   3. In the Name field, enter tag.
   4. In Variable type field, select Output.
   5. From the Data Type list, select Text.
   6. Click Save.
      
6. In Workflow designer, drag and drop the Get Records by Query element on to the canvas and map the required process input variables: 
   1. On the  GENERAL tab, in the INPUT MAP section, from the Record Definition Name list, select the CTM form you want to query. For example, select People.
   2. In the INPUT MAP section, click Click to build an expression and build the following expression that queries the selected CTM form: 
      
      This expression queries the selected CTM form for the current user. 
   3.  In the OUTPUT MAP section, to add the process output parameter, click Add and specify the following output parameters:
      1. From the Name field, select tag.
      2. Click Click to build an expression for the Source parameter. 

      3. In the expression builder, construct an expression that will be returned as a tag. Enter the attribute of the tag as text and select the tag value from the list of available form values. See the following image for the example structure of the dynamic tag: 
         

         Important

         • You must create a single output parameter. If multiple parameters are added, the system returns only the tag parameter.
         • You must construct the entire string that will be returned as a tag. 
      4. Click Ok.
7. Click Save. 

The new dynamic tag is created. You can select it from the list of tags while creating a search filter. 

(Optional) To edit the process of a predefined dynamic tag

As an administrator of BMC Helix Innovation Studio, you can edit processes that define dynamic tags provided by default.

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and navigate to the Workspace tab.
2. Click the BMC Chatbot application to edit the following predefined dynamic tags:
   1. Get Company
   2. Get Department
   3. Get Region
   4. Get Site
   5. Get Support groups
3. Click the Shared Services application to edit Get Knowledge Set and Get Line of Business dynamic tags. 

4. Click the Processes tab and select the process of the predefined dynamic tag that you want to edit. For example, select CONTENT TAG Get Region.

   Note

   For dynamic tags, the process names start with CONTENT TAG. 

5. On the canvas, click the Get Records by Query element.
6. On the  GENERAL tab, in the OUTPUT MAP section, to add the process output parameter, click Click to build an expression for the Source parameter.
7. In the expression builder, edit the defined expression that is returned as a tag. See the following image for the example edited structure of the dynamic tag:  
   
8. Click Save. 

To create a search filter

1. Log in to BMC Helix Innovation Studio and click Administration. 
2. Select Knowledge Management > Search filters. 
3. On the Search filters page, click New search filter. 
4. Enter the name for a search filter in the Name field.
   
5. To define the Filter criteria, click Click to build an expression.
   The expression builder is opened in a new window.
   
6. Write an expression with tags by using either of the following options based on your needs:
   • To create a simple filter that doesn't combine tags by using operators: Click   to add and select one or multiple article tags from the list of available tags to create a simple filter that doesn't combine tags by using operators. With this search filters, only articles that include the selected tag will be returned.
   • To create a complex filter: Select one or more logical operators, such as AND, OR, or NOT, and build a logical expression for the filter criteria by using selected tags.
     To build an advanced search filter, use parentheses to combine the operators and tags. The following examples illustrate the combinations:

     • Single operator to return articles related to HR and specifically about benefits:
       Line of Business = HR AND Category = Benefits.

     • Multiple operators to return articles for Finance users in the US, excluding archived content: 
       (Line of Business = Finance AND Region = US) AND NOT (Knowledge Set = Archived)

7. Click OK to save the expression.
   The following image shows a sample search filter:
   

8. Click Save.
   You have created the search filter, which is displayed on the Search filters page. To modify a created search filter, open the filter by clicking its name, and click the expression.

Considerations and limitations for creating search filters

• Only existing static and dynamic tags are shown in the Available Values list. The list is organized into two sections: Tags and Dynamic Tags.
  
• You can combine static and dynamic tags in a search filter along with the operators. ​​​​​​ However, you can add new static tags to the articles or create custom dynamic tags. The tags must be between 3 and 256 characters. They can not start with white space characters, and can not consist only of white space characters. Tags do not support single quotes or double quotes characters. For instructions on how to create a dynamic tag, see (Optional) To create a dynamic tag. 
• ​​You can add up to a maximum of 20 tags when creating a combined search query.
• If the expression for the filter criteria is invalid, an error message appears when saving the filter.
• When you edit existing filters, the Save button becomes available only after you make any changes to the filter. ​​​​​​

Upgrade scenario

The upgrade from version 25.2 to 25.3 or later ensures that existing filters are preserved and transitioned to the new format without data loss, provided the data meets the required conditions. In version 25.3 and later, the existing fields, such as Tags, Dynamic tags, and Operator are retained. No data is deleted. A new field, Query expression, is added to the record definition. For a smooth upgrade, consider the following guidelines:

• All tags should be listed in the correct syntax, such as comma-separated format, and enclosed in double quotes.
• The total number of tags used in a filter should not exceed 20.
• Avoid manually editing the old fields after the upgrade, as doing so might interfere with the automatic population of the new field.
• If data isn't fetched or errors occur, the upgrade may fail. Verify data and contact BMC Support if needed.

Upgrade behavior for search filters across applications

In case of BMC Helix Virtual Agent, during the upgrade from version 25.2 to 25.3 or later, the data is retrieved and populated the first time you open a search filter via Administration > Knowledge Management > Search filters. To verify the populated data, navigate to Workspace > Applications > BMC Chatbot > Records > ComAround Search Filter. You will see the fetched records in the list.

​​​

Where to go from here

After you create a search filter, you must enable it for your BMC application.