Set the search criteria

Use the Criteria tab to enter a filter condition to view specific items, and to determine the order in which the results display.

For example, you can filter all items with "Expense Report" in the Subject field to see only those items related to expense reports.

TIP If you don't enter any filter condition, you can see all items.

To set the search criteria

  1. Select the type of information and the areas to search. See steps 1 through 4 in Search for workflows. Select the Criteria tab in the search specification pane.
  2. From the Search Fields list, select the search field you want to use in the filter. (Search fields consist of the system and data fields that are exposed for the workflow roster, queue, or event log.)
  3. In the Operator box, select the operator you want to use with the selected field. See Operators for more information.
  4. In the Value box, enter the value or expression you want to compare to the search field.
    • When searching using string comparisons, you can use the LIKE operator combined with a wildcard character to find inexact matches. See About wildcards for more information.
    • For time fields, use a valid format. Process Administrator converts the time you enter to a format understandable by Process Engine when inserting it into the edit box. See Date/Time formats for more information.
    • For boolean fields, Process Administrator converts the value you enter when inserting it into the edit box as follows: true = 1, false = 0.
    • For string fields, Process Administrator automatically encloses the string in single quotes when inserting it into the edit box. If the string contains a single quote, Process Administrator adds another single quote to it. For example, the string Tom's workflow appears in the edit box as 'Tom''s workflow'. Searches made against a SQL Server database are not case-sensitive; searches made against an Oracle or DB2 database are.
  5. Click Insert to move the criterion to the edit box below.

    TIPS

    To search for null fields, use the IS NULL operator.

    To search for an empty string:

    • For Microsoft SQL Server, enter =".
    • Oracle database treats an empty string as a null field.

    When searching for a specific value of the F_WobNum field, the expression in the edit box must be in the format appropriate to the database. On a SQL Server database, you must precede the value with "0x" and remove the single quotes surrounding the value in the edit box. On a DB2 database, precede the value with "x" and leave the single quotes surrounding the value in the edit box. For example, to search for an F_WobNum value of '1234567890', enter the following in the edit (lower) box (not in the Value box):

    Oracle: F_WobNum='1234567890'
    SQL Server: F_WobNum=0x1234567890
    DB2: F_WobNum=x'1234567890'
  6. To add additional criteria, click the AND or OR button, and then repeat steps 2 through 5. Use parentheses to modify the precedence of the operators in an expression. Clicking the AND, OR, (, or ) buttons places the corresponding text or symbol at the end of the filter conditions in the edit box.
  7. You can determine the order in which your results display by selecting from the available pre-defined indexes in the Use index list. If you do not select an index, Process Administrator uses the system's default index. If you select an index and the index has searchable fields, you can click Advanced to further restrict the search results by entering minimum and maximum values for the indexed fields. See Specify advanced criteria for additional information.
  8. To limit your search to one or more specific users when searching in user queues, click the Users tab, and select the desired user names. By default, the search returns all users. See Search for work assigned to specific users for more information.
  9. Modify the columns to display in the results pane in the Results Options tab if desired. See Set the results options for more information.
  10. Click Find Now.

See Search examples for examples of use.

SEARCH TIPS

Fields beginning with "F_" are system-defined fields. See System fields for field definitions and notes.

You can manually edit or create filter conditions in the edit box. For example, you might want to add more complicated expressions, to place or rearrange parentheses, or to modify AND and OR operators.

Click Clear to clear out the edit box and start over.

Use New Search to reset the Criteria and Results Options tabs. The top portion of the search specification pane remains the same.