Advanced Search allows users to find specific data using search criteria that can be combined with other search criteria. Adding search operators (And, Or, and Not) further allows users to find the most relevant information to meet their needs.
The Advanced Search link can be added to the Web UI homepage for convenient user access. In addition, the search criteria panel itself is configurable so Web UI designers can present users with criteria relevant to their range of tasks.
Adding Advanced Search to the Homepage
To add a link to Advanced Search on the homepage:
- Log in to the Web UI. User must have privileges to edit Web UI configurations.
- Enter design mode.
- The link must now be configured to display in the Links Widget.
Select HOMEPAGE from the screen dropdown in the designer and select the Links Widget in the applicable Widget Grid (found under Home Page Properties > Child Components > Content).
If the Links Widget has never been configured to display on the Homepage, it will need to be added to a Widget Grid. Details on how to do this can be found in the Adding Widgets to a Homepage topic in the Getting Started documentation here.
- Within Links Widget Properties, go down to the Child Components section and click the Add button.
- Choose the Navigation component and click Add.
- On the Navigation properties screen, click the Add button to the right of the Screen field.
- Select 'Advanced Search Screen' and input a Screen ID. Click Add.
The Screen ID you use should be something descriptive (e.g., Advanced Search or Search Advanced) since this will be the name shown on any design component list in the Web UI. Screen IDs cannot be reused and must be unique.
- Fill in the Label field with the name that will show on the links widget, then click Add.
- You can move the Links widget Child Components up and down based on your preference for how they show on the homepage.
- Click Save in the Properties Configuration dialog box.
- The Advanced Search link will now show under Quick Links and is identified by the name you gave the link in Step 8.
Note: Additional information regarding Web UI Designer (entering design mode, selecting screens to edit, and more) can be found in the Web User Interfaces / Getting Started documentation
Editing Advanced Search Screen Properties
Admin users can configure Advanced Search to better meet their data / job needs. This includes modifying existing search criteria for a better user experience (e.g., relabeling a criteria with a more descriptive title), and removing unused search criteria to lessen the risk of unintended and unrestricted searches.
Advanced Search properties can be edited at any time. However, it is best to configure the properties early on. Removing search criteria later may impact searches you have already built and saved. If removed, a criterion remains accessible through a saved search. However, the criterion will say 'No Title' and be unidentifiable to the end user.
- Log in to the Web UI. Again, user must have privileges to edit Web UI configurations.
- Navigate to the Advanced Search screen (set up using the instructions above) and enter design mode from that page. Or, alternatively, enter design mode on the Homepage and use the screen dropdown to select the Advanced Search screen ID.
- Edit the Title, if desired. Placeholders can be used in conjunction with, or in place of, that text to automatically insert workflow-specific information into the screen title. These placeholders ({WorkflowID}, {WorkflowState}, {WorkflowName}, and {StatusFlag}) can be used individually or together and display exactly what the name implies. The placeholders are ideal for identifying workflow information when accessing the Advanced Search screen via a Status Selector (Homepage / Sidebar) widget selection, and also when the search criteria is collapsed upon entering the screen.
- Enable the Should Search Data Containers parameter, if desired. When enabled, the search shall also include data containers in its results.
- Leave the Show Title parameter enabled if the Advanced Search Screen should display the title. Disable the parameter to hide the title and its associated white space.
- Enable the Collapse Search Canvas parameter, if desired. When enabled, the search canvas where search criteria can be dragged and dropped to, is collapsed (not showing) when the screen is loaded. The tab with Search Criteria and/or My Searches is also removed from the screen.
This can be beneficial to users who use Advanced Search as a results screen when clicking on a task within a Status Selector. If the user already knows the search criteria being used to return the results, then there may be no need to review the criteria each time they navigate to the Advanced Search page.
- The Enable Workflow Selection does not need to be enabled for setting up and running standard Advanced Searches.
However, if clicking on an object ID in the Advanced Search results set should route users to different display screens based on the workflow and state tasks are in, then read more about the required setup for Forwarding Switch Screens in the Mapping Task List to Workflow State section of the Using a Web UI documentation here.
- Search criteria can be added (Add), removed (Remove), reordered (Up / Down), and renamed (Edit) to meet specific needs. This organization is done in the Search Criteria value field, and allows an admin user to limit the number of search criteria (if some are unused) and rename all of the search criteria with more indicative titles to help end users better understand the intended use. Some criteria can be pre-configured to always use certain nodes, and it may be best to have more than one of these pre-configurable criteria set up. Search criteria is described in detail in the Adding and Modifying Search Criteria section of this topic, below.
- Click the Advanced heading to display the Unrestricted User Groups parameter. Initially, it is okay to leave this field blank. If there are no groups added, then all users will get access to the configured Advanced Search interface.
More details about restricting and sharing searches can be found in Restricting and Sharing Advanced Searches section of the Using a Web UI documentation
Adding and Modifying Search Criteria
The available Search Criteria are listed below along with a description of each. The default criteria titles are shown, but these can be changed to something more meaningful to the end user.
- Hierarchy and Multiline Hierarchy
Search objects at or below a STEP Workbench Tree tab hierarchy node.
Using the Top Nodes section, these criteria can be configured to specify the exact data locations (hierarchy nodes) under which a user can search. Also, there can be more than one instance of the Hierarchy and Multiline Hierarchy under each set of search criteria. Each instance can point to different top nodes.
The Hierarchy search allows you to search under one node at a time. If the object you are looking for can be found under different nodes, the Multiline Hierarchy criteria can be used. Using the Multiline Hierarchy search criterion can make even highly specific searches less complex and easier to define.
Click on the Add button next to Top Nodes, and then click on a node by expanding / collapsing the folder structures as needed, or manually type in a selection (under Search). When picking multiple nodes, press the control button on your keyboard and click on each node (Ctrl+click). Save your choices and continue editing other search criteria or save the properties and exit out of design mode.
- Attribute
Search or browse attributes to determine which one you want to search. Attributes include metadata, category-specific attributes, business rules, and bound (to a STEP attribute) Workflow Variables. Once an attribute is selected, choose an operator, and then enter a value. Most operators allow you to search for specific attribute values, but there are also operators that allow you to search for empty attribute value fields.
The Attribute criteria can be configured to restrict which attributes can be selected to a set of pre-selected attribute groups. When clicking the Node Picker button in the topmost field (
), users may either browse through the hierarchy for the desired attribute, or search for it. If the attribute selection has been restricted, only the configured attribute groups will display in the 'Browse' tab, and only attributes from those configured attribute groups can be selected using the 'Search' tab.
Note: The seven operators to choose from are less than (<), less than or equal to (≤), greater than (>), greater than or equal to (≥), equal to (=), search for missing values in current context (!), and search for missing values in all contexts (!!).
If a referenced attribute has a 'Date,' 'ISO Date,' or 'ISO Date and Time' validation base type, a date picker displays, allowing a user to select a date value.
Wildcards
Two different wildcards can be used in any manual entry fields. These wildcards allow users to perform searches on partial text strings. The wild cards are asterisk (*) and question mark (?). The asterisk (*) represents any number of characters in a string, and the question mark represents exactly one character. Wildcard characters can go at the beginning, end, or middle of a search.
Examples of wildcard character usage are shown under the Name, ID and Attribute value search section of this documentation.
- Object type
Search through attributes, users, classifications, products, assets, entities, and other object types. These objects are maintained through the STEP Workbench, on the System Setup tab, and under the Object Types & Structures folder. Start typing in the field or drill down through the hierarchy to make a node selection.
- Search From List
Users may input a list of IDs and Names to search rather than searching through all system objects. Data can be entered manually or by pasting in data from another source such as an Excel spreadsheet or Smartsheet. Searches can be based on lists of IDs, names, attribute values, or unique keys.
As an example, a product manager may own a certain set of SKUs. They only want to work with those objects, so they put in their list and (or set up the properties to) use that data - combining, if desired, with other search criteria - to identify specific projects needing work (e.g., in a particular workflow state or having a missing value for a mandatory attribute).
- Name, ID and Attribute value search
Search names, IDs, and attribute values. This parameter is very similar to the Advanced Search tab functionality in STEP Workbench.
Also, similar to the Attribute criterion, wildcard characters (* and ?) may be used when searching. Check the 'Match case on names and values' option if applicable.
- Approval status
This criterion is used to identify objects that are not currently approved. These include classifications, products, images and documents, and entities setup to be Workspace revisable. There are three options to use: 'Never approved or modified in main,' 'Never approved,' or 'Modified in Main.'
- Missing mandatory entries
Search for product attributes and reference types that are required but missing. The mandatory attribute or reference type must be set as mandatory using standard methods. The Missing mandatory entries search works the same in Web UI as it does in STEP Workbench. Both are driven by Workbench mandatory settings.
This means that any attribute values marked as mandatory in just the Web UI (and not in STEP Workbench) will not show in the results. Also, mandatory workflow states and transitions will not show in the search results either.
In workbench, mandatory items have a red checkmark on the validation base icon to the right of the attribute / reference name. For example: 
.
- Workflow
Workflows can be monitored using this criterion. Click on each dropdown menu and select a workflow, workflow state, state assignee, and status flag (if applicable and configured to display).
Choosing the '[any State]' state option allows for you to search the entire workflow, if choosing a specific state is not preferred. Choosing 'All' under the assignee field will allow for a broader search. Users may want to refine the search to review only workflow tasks that are directly applicable to them or their group.
A status flag dropdown can be added to the Workflow criterion by checking the 'Status Flag Enabled' parameter within the Advanced Search Workflow Properties. When doing a search with the Workflow criterion, the status flag selector can be left as 'All status flags' if desired, or may be populated to restrict the search to only tasks with specific status flags applied.
When accessing the Advanced Search screen via a workflow selection, make note of the default screen behavior, with the third bullet being key to this functionality:
- The Advanced Search screen is configured as the result screen for a Status Selector (Homepage / Sidebar) widget
- A Status Selector task selection has been made
- The Workflow criteria is removed from, or not initially configured as one of, the valid Search Criteria selections through the Advanced Search Screen Properties
When users make a task selection in the widget operating under this scenario, the workflow criteria fields display on the screen (as long as the search canvas is not collapsed). The search criteria values are read-only, and the workflow criteria cannot be removed from the search area. Privileged users can add / remove additional criteria to do more focused searches, but the user is always left with the original workflow search criteria that they began with. This allows for end users to focus on their tasks without any concern that they may inadvertently take action on tasks that they do not own.
When accessing Advanced Search via any other method (e.g., a link in the Quick Links widget), the screen behavior is as expected.
- Translation Status
The Translation Status criterion allows users to:
- Perform an advanced search for the translation status of Products, Classifications, Assets,
- Choose a language and specify that language as the source or target
- Choose one or more of the provided filters to narrow down their search results
For more information regarding translations, refer to the Translations topic here.
- Referenced By and References
The Referenced By and References criteria work similarly. The 'Referenced By' search criteria will return target objects. The 'References' search criteria will return source objects. Both options require a reference type selection to begin. Reference types are setup in the STEP Workbench System Setup tab in the Reference Types folder.
Once a reference type is entered, no additional options need to be filled in to start a search. Use the information at a high level or fill in the other values to drill down further. Select a reference source under Referenced By and a target under References, or locate reference objects based on attributes and attribute values residing on the target or source object. Plus enter specific attributes, values to search reference metadata. For searches using either the source / target attribute or metadata search criteria, users may also select the appropriate search operators when refining the search to include values: less than (<), less than or equal to (≤), greater than (>), greater than or equal to (≥), and equal to (=).
Users may also populate the 'Enter Source' or 'Enter Target' fields with collections. This enables Advanced Search users to further refine a collection, itself a pre-refined group of objects, to create a granular search result.
Additionally, by checking the 'Search Below' box found in both the 'References' and 'ReferencedBy' criteria (as found in the screenshot above), users can expand the search to include any nodes beneath the node selected in the 'Enter source' (ReferencedBy) or 'Enter target' (References) field. This results in a search result that includes reference objects either referencing or referenced by the children of the specified object.
- Data Container Type
The data container criterion enables users to search either for entity objects for which specific data container types have been made valid, or for entities that may have specific attributes and attribute values linked via a data container.
The data container criterion enables a few different kinds of searches.
- Search by data container type, which will display all entities for which a data container has been added to the data container type being searched.
- Search by attribute name / attribute value to view entity objects that have any data containers populated with a specific value or values.
- Search a combination of both of the searches listed above: data container type and attribute name / attribute value.
Important: Any criteria with a dropdown menu allows for a user to click on the dropdown and make a choice. No manual typing can be done in those fields. Any place the Node Picker icon ( 
) shows, click on it to expand the options and select / search nodes. Users may also start typing in any of those value boxes to view a list of available choices.
Completed Search Criteria
The next screenshot shows an example of what the Search Criteria looks like under Advanced Search. The criteria properties have not been renamed in this example and each criteria is only used once.
Note: The 'Or' and 'Not' operator fields are standard and cannot be removed or renamed.
Advanced Search is now set up and ready for use.