Work with predefined searches
IBM FileNet Connector for SharePoint Web Parts supports two types of predefined searches, stored searches and search templates. A stored search contains a complete search that is ready for you to run. A search template requires that you provide values for some or all of the search criteria before running the search.
These searches are created and maintained by search designers or administrators who have access rights to Search Designer, which is available in Workplace or Workplace XT. The search designers determine the criteria to be used in the searches and the columns and sort order of the results that are returned.
Stored searches or search templates, if available, appear as documents in the IBM FileNet Browse web part. You can use these searches to search for content located in an IBM FileNet P8 object store.
Running a stored search
To run a stored search, click the stored search name in the Browse web part.
The search results display in the Browse web part. For more information, see Working with search results.
Running a search template
To run a search template:
- On the IBM FileNet Browse web part, click the name of the search template.
- On the Search Template page, review the search criteria.
- Enter values for properties that you can access and modify. For more information, see Specifying search criteria.
- Click Search.
The results display on the Search Template page. Click the + or – button next to Search Settings to view or hide the search criteria. For more information, see Working with search results.
Specifying search criteria
The search designer determines which properties are to be included in the search and which conditions of the search that you can view or modify. These conditions can be
- Required: You must specify a value for this property. The search designer might have specified a default value, which you can change. A red asterisk, which is the Required icon, appears to the right of any criteria where an entry is required.
- Editable: You can optionally specify a value for this property. If you leave the condition blank, the condition is ignored when the search is run.
- Read-only: You can view this search condition, but not change it.
- Hidden: You cannot see this search condition. A hidden condition affects the search results, but cannot be viewed or modified.
The Search Template page displays the non-hidden search conditions
TIP Click Reset to restore all conditions to the original values contained in this search.
SCREEN READER TIP For a complex set of nested conditions, you must read the conditions line by line.
Selecting a search folder
If the search folders are editable, click the Select button next to a folder field and navigate to the folder that you want to search.
Selecting an object-value property
If a search template includes an object-value property condition with the View assigned as Editable and the Operator assigned as "Is Equal to" (=), you can select an object for the object-value property. If you do not select a value, the condition is discarded when you run the search template.
Selecting a class
When you select the search template, any viewable pre-selected classes are displayed; however, if no classes have been pre-selected or all pre-selected classes are hidden, the Class option isn't available.
You can optionally clear the viewable pre-selected classes:
- In the Class field, click the arrow to display the list of classes which can be included in the search.
- To include or exclude a class, select or clear its check box.
NOTE You cannot clear the check box for a class that the search template designer specified as read-only.
The remaining selected classes, including any hidden classes, determine the properties you can use to set search conditions. Because properties can be defined globally or can be customized for one or more classes, the property definitions might be in conflict if more than one class is selected. If the selected classes have no conflicts, the property definition for the class is used. If no classes are selected, or if the selected classes result in conflicts, the property definition comes from the global property definition.
NOTE If the search template includes hidden classes, your search results might contain items that match classes other than those displayed.
Specifying document and folder conditions
For editable search conditions, enter values for any required conditions and for any optional conditions that you choose.
A search designer might specify a property that applies to both documents and folders as common. In this case, the condition appears in both the document and folder sections of the search template. Specifying a value in one section automatically updates the value of the corresponding property in the other section. Common conditions are identified by their icons; the paired document and folder property share the same name and relative position in the list of search conditions.
Using wildcards
For string-based property values using the starts with, ends with, and contains options, search automatically inserts the wildcard character (%) in the appropriate location (at the end, beginning, or both) when running the search. You can optionally include additional wildcard characters as needed.
- Use a percent sign (%) to represent zero or more characters. For example, searching for FileNet P8%Guide with the contains option could find documents called FileNet P8 Troubleshooting Guide and FileNet P8 Security Guide 4.0.0.
- Use an underscore (_) to stand for a single character. For example, searching for r_n with the contains option finds documents or folders whose names contain ran or run, but not rain. You cannot, however, include an underscore in your search text as a literal, because search automatically treats the underscore as a wildcard character. For example, using the starts with option to search for all folders that start with Folder_ would return results such as FolderA as well as Folder_1 and Folder_2.
Performing content searches
A content search returns documents that contain the text you specify in its content or indexed properties. If search includes a content-based condition, the search prompts you to type text to search for.
NOTE If the object store to be searched is not indexed for content-based searches, the associated conditions are not displayed.
If the search template prompt says... | the search looks for documents with content matching... |
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content contains (single word or phrase only) | a single word or phrase. Use an exclamation mark (!) to exclude the word or phrase from the search results. For example, searching for !music excludes any documents containing the word music. Typically you would use this in conjunction with another content-based condition. For example, in another condition you might type bass; excluding music in this condition allows you to see documents pertaining to sea fishing but excluding documents about bass quartets. |
content contains (all) | all words or phrases, in any order. You must type at least one word. |
content contains (any) | any words or phrases. You must type at least one word. |
content contains (in proximity) | the words or phrases, in order and near each other. A proximity search looks for all the words you specify, and ranks the results based on the proximity of the matches. You must type two or more words or phrases. |
content contains (in the same paragraph) | all words or phrases, in the same paragraph. You must type two or more words or phrases. |
content contains (in the same sentence) | all words or phrases, in the same sentence. You must type two or more words or phrases. |
HTML/XML tag <tag name> | all words or phrases contained within the specified HTML or XML tag. You must type at least one word. |
content matches VQL query | a structured query using the Autonomy K2 query language. See the Autonomy K2 documentation for further information about structured queries. This is specific to legacy Content Search Engine. Search templates that use IBM Content Search Services will not have this field type. |
Here are some tips to help you maximize the effectiveness of your content search.
Matching an exact word or phrase | To match an exact phrase, enclose the phrase in double quotes. This is especially useful for proper names or common phrases. For example, searching for John Adams would return documents containing U. S. presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Searching for "John Adams" would return only those documents containing John Adams. A content search not only looks for your search terms, but also for words that are similar to those terms. For example, searching for the word month would return documents containing the words month or months. To exclude variations of a single word, you can enclose the word in double quotes. |
Matching case | Enclose a word or phrase in double quotes to force the search results to match case. |
Searching for common words | By default, a content search automatically ignores common words such as the, in, or and. To search for common words as part of a phrase, enclose them in double quotes. |
Using wildcard characters | If you are not sure of the spelling or other variation used in the document you are searching for, you can use a wildcard character in your search term.
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Selecting versions to search
If the search template includes an editable version condition, you can change the version as follows:
- Click Document versions.
- Select one of the following options:
- Current: The most current version of a document, which could be a minor version.
- Released: The most current major version.
- All: All versions of a document.
Working with search results
The search designer specifies one or more columns to sort the results by. For a search on property-based conditions, you can re-sort the results by clicking a column heading. Click the heading again to reverse the sort order. To restore the default sort order of search results sorted by more than one column, you must re-run the search. If you leave the search to browse or search elsewhere, the search results are discarded; to redisplay the results, you must re-run the search.
The search results from a search that includes a content-based condition are displayed differently. Note that a search can have a content-based condition that has been hidden by the user designing the search. You can tell if a content-based condition exists because the search results are ranked based on how well they match the content-based conditions. The documents with the highest ranking sort to the top.
If the search includes a combination of content-based and property-based conditions, where it looks for one set or the other, the documents matching the content conditions are displayed first, followed by the unranked documents matching the property conditions. If the search includes a combination of content-based and property-based conditions, where it looks for one set and the other, and the search results contain 200 items or less, you can re-sort the results by clicking a column heading. Click the heading again to reverse the sort order.
You can select one or more documents to view or to perform various actions. You can view the available actions in the context menu.
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