About Search Functionality

You can perform a text search across multiple components, fields, and files, in one operation using the Search Toolbar, which is located on the application toolbar. A search operation allows a broad search by not requiring you to specify specific fields to search on. In contrast, you use a query (see About Queries) to locate one or more records that meet specified criteria. Search operations are case insensitive, and you can use boolean operators to create a more precise query.

Note: Drilldown from Find is not supported for multiple results. Only a single result is supported for drilldown.

You can perform search operations on indexed data sources using Search. The Search Toolbar displays Advanced Find and OSES Advanced Search categories.

  • For Advanced Find, a drop down list of categories to search against appears.

  • For OSES Advanced Search, the Look In field displays the business components that have been indexed for the Search Definition.

The search categories map to individual business components. Multiple search categories can be grouped into logical collections, to enable a single search to be executed against multiple search categories.

The Look In field is preconfigured with different search categories, depending on the application. For a list of preconfigured search objects provided for each application, see Siebel Search Administration Guide.

Administrators can configure the search categories in the Search Definition view of the Search Administration UI. Users can perform queries against business component records from anywhere in their application.

Search provides the following functionality:

  • Single Term Search. A search operation on a single search term. The search term must contain more than one character. Oracle Secure Enterprise Search does not support single character searches.

  • Multiple Term Search. A search operation on a multiple search terms. The implicit Search Term Separator is AND. For example, if you enter the text performance tuning, it is executed as performance AND tuning. Only results that contain all search terms are returned.

  • Phrase Search. A search operation on a phrase. The phrase must be entered in quotation marks.

  • Wildcard Search. A wildcard search operation using the asterisk wildcard operator. You use the wildcard character either to represent a single character, or a sequence of characters. For example, searching for the string Ora* finds documents that contain all words beginning with Ora such as Oracle and Orator. You can also insert an asterisk in the middle of a word. For example, searching for the string A*e finds documents that contain words such as Apple and Ape. For more information, see How Siebel CRM Handles Wildcard Search.

  • Special Character Search. This search operation retrieves special characters other than those facilitated by wildcard searches. For example, if you search for the term on?line, the search returns matches to on line, on-line, on;line and on.line.

  • Searching Logical Collections. Users can choose from several categories listed in the Look In list against which they can search. Multiple search categories can be grouped in a single logical collection, for simultaneous searching.

  • Logical collections are defined by the administrator in the Search Indices Parent Category View of the Search Administration UI. For information on defining logical collections, see the topic about Creating a Logical Collection in Siebel Search Administration Guide.

  • Automated Suggested Keywords. The automated suggested keywords feature displays alternate search queries that are based on related keywords. The automated suggested keywords are displayed in the form of a Did you mean: [Suggested Keyword(s)] message. This automated message is useful for fixing common errors in search queries, for example, entering Orcle instead of Oracle. Also, synonyms can provide more relevant results, for example, cellular phones for cell phones. Alternate keywords can also be used for product code names, acronyms, and abbreviations.

  • Smart Answer Integration. The Search Center supports integration with the Smart Answer knowledge base for manual or automated searches. For information on configuring and using Smart Answer, see Siebel Smart Answer Guide.

  • Computer Telephony Integration. The Search Center supports Computer Telephony Integration for automated searches. For information on using Computer Telephony Integration, see Siebel CTI Administration Guide.