4.1 Executing a Search

Searches to which you have View rights are listed in the navigator pane in the Searches panel. Clicking a search in the Searches panel opens a tab in the page region and displays a search form. An example of a typical search form is displayed in the section "Search Pages".

To execute a search, do the following:

1. Click Searches to open the panel in the navigator pane. All searches available to you are displayed.

2. Click the search that corresponds to the type of document you want to locate. For example, if you are looking for an invoice that has not been paid, there may be a search titled “Outstanding Invoices.”

3. Enter the criteria you want to search for in the appropriate field on the search form. For example, when searching for an invoice there is likely an option to enter the invoice number. Required fields are noted with an asterisk (*). If the person creating the search provided additional instructions on how best to use the search, an Instruction area is displayed above the search area. Instructions are displayed by clicking the plus next to the instruction area title to expand the area.

   If you leave a field blank, the search is executed without that condition, and the part of the search that uses the parameter will be omitted. If the blank field is a required field, an error message is displayed.

   
   

   Note: Available fields are unique to each search and are determined by the person who created the search. The fields available to a person creating a search are determined by the applications that are included in the search. If you need a new search to be defined or available search criteria modified, contact the person who manages Oracle I/PM.

   
   

4. Optionally, select a search operator. In some cases a search may enable you to define a range to search for by using a search operator to help you refine your search. A search operator specifies if you are searching for criteria that is an exact match (=) to what you enter, or meets some other specified condition, such as Greater than (>), or Begins with.... For additional information on search operators, see "Picklist Data Field Input Operators".

5. Click Search after you have entered all required search criteria. Search results are displayed in a table beneath the search form in the search tab. Note that once you have executed a search, clicking the Refresh link in the main banner refreshes the page but does not execute the search again. If you or another user updates document metadata, the new metadata is not displayed in the search results table until you run the search again by clicking Search.

   An example of a typical search result is displayed in the section "Search Results Table".

Note: Broad search criteria can return many results, which may make it difficult to find the document you are looking for. You can refine your search by using additional search criteria to narrow and reduce the number of results returned. If you are unable to narrow the search down enough to find the document you are looking for then see the person who manages Oracle I/PM for help in refining the existing search or defining a new search.