Learning About Object Queries on the MIDM

Before you can view or update object information, you need to perform a search for the object. There are several different search capabilities within the MIDM. You can perform lookups for specific object profiles using unique identifiers, such as the EUID or local ID, and you can perform broader searches using data from the parent or child objects as criteria.

The following topics provide information about working with general searches that are designed to find specific records in the master index database. Most of these searches are performed from the Record Details page, but some are performed from the Dashboard. Searches for specific functions, such as finding potential duplicates or assumed matches, are described in the topics for those functions.

• About the MIDM Search Function

• Searching by Ranges on the MIDM

• Required Fields on the MIDM

About the MIDM Search Function

There are several different methods of searching for objects, depending on the search criteria you enter. By default, the Record Details page includes three different search types: Advanced Lookup (Alpha), Advanced Lookup (Phonetic), and Simple Lookup. You can also perform an EUID lookup from the Dashboard to view record details. The design of the search functionality provides flexibility in designing database queries. You can narrow a search for a specific object or a range of objects using various fields on the search pages and then view your search results in the search results list. When you select a specific object from the Search Result page, detailed information for that object appears on the Record Details page in view mode.

The names of the search types are configurable. Searches are described in the following sections by their default names, and images show customized search criteria. See your system administrator if you have questions about how your search pages are configured.

Simple Lookup

The Simple Lookup on the Record Details page allows you to perform lookups using unique identifiers to find a specific object profile. By default, the unique identifiers you can use as search criteria include the EUID and the local ID and system. When you perform this type of search, the search results list is generally bypassed and the Record Details page appears in view mode displaying information about the matching profile.

You can perform an EUID Lookup from either the Dashboard or the Record Details page. Other simple lookups include system and local ID lookups, which can be performed from the Record Details page or the Source Record page. To increase search accuracy, you can only select a system listed in the drop-down list and the Local ID field is case-sensitive.

Advanced Alphanumeric Lookup

The Advanced Alphanumeric Lookup on the Record Details page allows you to perform various types of searches against the database using a field or combination of fields as criteria. This type of search is an exact match search, meaning it only returns profiles that exactly match the criteria you specify. You can specify any combination of fields as long as any fields that are required for the search are entered. Most fields in this search allow wildcard characters if the exact value is unknown.

The fields displayed on the Search page are configured by the system administrator. You can enter as much information as needed to narrow down the search appropriately.

Advanced Phonetic Lookup

The Advanced Phonetic Lookup on the Record Details page allows you to perform various types of searches against the database using predefined combinations of fields as criteria. This type of search compares the phonetic values of certain fields entered as criteria. The object profiles returned by a phonetic search are assigned a matching probability weight to indicate how closely they match the search criteria. Phonetic searches are not exact match searches and allow for misspellings or data entry errors.

The fields displayed on the Search page are configured by the system administrator. You can enter as much information as needed to narrow down the search appropriately. For phonetic searches, certain combinations of criteria are required to perform a search. The search is only carried out for the combinations that have complete data.

For example, in a master company index, a blocking search might be configured to search on the following combinations:

• Company Name and Sales Region

• Company Name and Address Line1

• Tax Payor ID

• Stock Symbol and Address Line1

If Company Name, Address Line1, and Stock Symbol are entered as criteria, only the second and fourth combinations are carried out. The returned result set would include any records that match on Company Name and Address Line1 or that match on Stock Symbol and Address Line1. If only Company Name is entered as criterion, no records are returned since it does not fulfill any of the combination requirements.

EUID Comparison Lookup

The Comparison Lookup function on the Dashboard allows you to perform a search for one or more object profiles by entering their EUIDs. The matching records for this type of search appear on the Record Details page in a side-by-side comparison view. Use this type of search if you want to compare object profiles and you know the EUIDs of the object profiles to compare.

The Search Results List

The search results list appears under the search fields and displays a list of object profiles found in the database that closely match the search criteria you entered. The results list appears in a table, with the number of profiles returned for the search displayed above the table. This page displays information to help you identify the object profile, such as the EUID or address information. The search results list appears differently depending on which type of search is performed and how the lists are configured. For more information about search results, see Working with Search Results on the MIDM.

Searching by Ranges on the MIDM

Your system administrator can configure the search pages to allow you to enter a range by which to search for certain fields. For example, you might want to search for profiles with a specific name, but with a date that falls within a five-year range. If a field is defined for searching by a user-defined range, the MIDM displays a ”from’ field and a ”to’ field so you can specify the range (for example, “Date From” and “Date To”). If you only enter a value in the ”from’ field, the MIDM searches for profiles with a value greater than or equal to that value. If you only enter a value in the ”to’ field, the MIDM searches for profiles with a value less than or equal to that value.

Ranges can also be defined as the entered value plus or minus a specific value. For example, a date field can be configured to search for dates that fall within a range five years earlier than the date you enter and five years later than the date you enter. Finally, ranges can be defined as specific upper and lower limits. These limits are used when no value is entered. For example, if you perform a search without the date, the MIDM searches between the defined lower and upper limits. If you enter only a ”from’ date, the MIDM searches between the date you entered and the defined upper limit. For more information about how your system has been configured for range searching, see your system administrator.

Required Fields on the MIDM

Certain fields might be required for the searches on the MIDM. If a field is marked with an asterisk (*), it is required. If multiple fields are marked with daggers (†), at least one of those fields must be populated in order to perform the search. The required fields can vary depending on the type of search you are performing.