Tips & Hints for Searching
In BOMControl, it’s easy to find the search results you want, quickly. You can also customize how search results are displayed, and use special commands to interact with your search results.
Search with a Wildcard
Full Workspace?
To avoid a search which could take a few seconds to return, BOMControl does not display all objects in a world that contains more than 2,000 objects.
When you know what you’re looking for, but not the exact name or number, use an asterisk to represent the wildcard character.
- Search for all objects in a world by entering only a wildcard in the final text field.
- If you know part of the object name or number, enter the asterisk before the text string.
- In BOMControl, you never need to type a trailing asterisk; it’s always assumed.
Use the List Browser
List Browser Behavior
You can set User Preferences for how BOM, List and Change Browsers behave in BOMControl—click User Preferences from any BOMControl screen and look for the Browsing section.
The List Browser lets you keep your list of search results open in a separate window while you browse the results in the main window. The view displayed in the main window remains constant as you browse from one record to the next, allowing you to compare the same type of information in multiple objects.
- Perform a search in any world.
- Click the Browse Results command from the Command bar. Like the BOM or Change Browser, the List Browser opens in a new window.
- Click an object number in the List Browser window. It opens in the main window.
- Click another object number in the List Browser window. This object will open in the main window, showing the same View and Subview you last visited for the previous object. For example, if you click the Where Used view for the first search result, and then click the next search result in the List Browser window, you’ll be taken to the Where Used view for that search result.
Save Your Searches
World Bar Menus
Saved searches also appear in the World bar menus in each tab of the World bar. Hover your mouse pointer over the down-arrow to activate the drop-down menu.
When you use the same search frequently, it’s a good idea to save it to your Dashboard for one-click access.
- From search results in any world, click the Save Search to Dashboard command. Next time you visit your BOMControl Dashboard, you’ll see your search in the relevant section.
- Delete a saved search at any time with the trash can icon.
- When you save a search in BOMControl, you’re saving the search, not the search results—that means a new search is performed every time you click the saved search.
Build a Kept Items or Files List
Removing Kept Items
Remove Kept Items or Files from the Kept list by selecting their checkboxes and clicking Remove at the bottom of the list.
In the Items and Files worlds, you can use the Keep button to build a list of dissimilar search results, so you can perform bulk commands on all objects in the list.
- Perform a search.
- Use the checkboxes to select the search results you want to keep. Remember, you can use shift-click to select a range of results.
- Click the Keep button at the bottom of the screen. Notice that there is now a list of Kept Items below the search results.
- Perform another search; the Kept Items table is retained.
Search with Multiple Parameters
If you want to specify more than one set of search parameters—for instance, all Items created by Bob where the Item number begins with “080”—use the Search within checkbox. This is also useful when your first search returns a long list of results.
- From any list of search results, select the “Search within these results” checkbox.
- Perform a new search. The search will be performed only within the last set of results.
Go Back to the Last Search Results
Switching Worlds
Your last search is retained when you switch worlds.
At any time, you can revisit your last search results. Just click Back to Last Search Results from the Back bar, right under the Search bar.
- You can also clear the last search results with the Clear Search command.
Set Search Options in User Preferences
Universal Preferences
Because you use one login for all workspaces, your User Preferences apply to all the workspaces you visit.
You can customize the way search results are displayed and how search links work in the Items world.
- Click Preferences in the header of any BOMControl screen.
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In the Search section:
- Number of Results Shown Choose to show more than ten results per page, or even show all results.
- Single Search Result Action Choose how BOMControl should react to a search that returns a single result— display the list view, go straight to the object at the last view you visited in that world, or go straight to the object at the default view that you set in the Detail Views section of your User Preferences.
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In the Navigation section:
- Linked Item Revision Choose whether Item links in lists of search results in the Items world open to the effective or working revision.
Display Categories in the Search Bar: Admins Only
Category Configuration
Set up categories in the Categories view of the Account Administration tool.
Account Administrators can choose whether or not to show top-level categories in the Worlds drop-down menu—the first menu in the Search bar.
- In the Settings subview of the Profile view in the Account Administration tool, look for the Search section.