How Siebel CRM Handles Wildcard Search

You can explicitly include a wildcard (*) in a search string, for example, as follows: ABC*" or "*ABC?". You can also use the AutomaticTrailingWildcards application configuration parameter and AutomaticWildcardSearch system preference to control whether a wildcard is automatically appended (and prepended in the case of AutomaticWildcardSearch) to a search string.

AutomaticTrailingWildcards Application Configuration Parameter

Siebel CRM appends a trailing wildcard if all of the following conditions are true:

Note: AutomaticTrailingWildcards applies only to Siebel applet search.

  1. The search string does not contain any wildcard. For example: "ABC".

  2. The equal sign (=) does not precede the search string.

  3. The AutomaticTrailingWildcards parameter in the InfraUIFramework section of the application CFG file is set to TRUE or does not exist. The uagent.cfg file is an example of an application CFG file.

    • If AutomaticTrailingWildcards is set to TRUE (the default value), then Siebel CRM automatically appends a trailing wildcard or adds a LIKE predicate. If you use a script, and if this script creates a query, then Siebel CRM adds a LIKE statement to the SQL that this script creates.

    • If AutomaticTrailingWildcards is set to FALSE, then Siebel CRM does not automatically append a trailing wildcard or add a LIKE predicate.

Wildcards are handled differently when you perform a wildcard search in a popup applet using either the filter search fields or the Query button as follows:

  • Filter search fields. In this case, searching for *Ave returns all records containing *Ave, for example, as follows:

    Eight Ave Gourmet Market 
Fourth Ave. Grocery 
Gourmet Market 5th Ave

    In this instance, a trailing wildcard (*) is appended to the search string.

  • Query button. In this case, searching for *Ave returns only records ending with *Ave as follows:

    Gourmet Market 5th Ave

    In this instance, a trailing wildcard (*) is not appended to the search string.

AutomaticWildcardSearch System Preference

Siebel CRM prepends and appends a trailing wildcard to a search string if the AutomaticWildcardSearch system preference is set to TRUE (the default value) or does not exist. AutomaticWildcardSearch applies when using Siebel Find, including Advanced Find functionality, and the Search Toolbar - it does not apply to Oracle Secure Enterprise Search or Siebel applet search. For more information about AutomaticWildcardSearch, see Siebel Search Administration Guide.