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Administering Oracle CRM On Demand > Application Customization > Record Type Application Customization Page > Managing Search Layouts

Managing Search Layouts

For most record types you can specify the fields, both standard and custom fields, which users can use when searching for records. Also, you can specify the fields that are displayed in the search results page. You specify the search fields in a search layout, and you assign a search layout for each record type to user roles as required, see Adding Roles.

You can copy an existing search layout and then modify it to your requirements, or you can edit existing search layouts. The default search layout is read-only. You can copy it, but you cannot delete or edit it. To specify the fields that are used in searches and the fields that are displayed in the search results, you use the Search Layout Wizard.

NOTE: There are limits to the number of characters that you can use in search layout names. For more information, see About Custom Layout Limits.

CAUTION: When you create or edit a search layout for the User record type, do not add both the Reports To field and the Reports To (Alias) field to the same search layout. If both of these fields were made available on a search layout, then searches using that search layout would fail. For more information about the Reports To and the Reports To (Alias) fields, see About the Reports To and Reports To (Alias) Fields on User Records.

Managing the Behavior of Lookup Windows

You can also use the Search Layout Wizard to manage the behavior of Lookup windows and to enable smart-associations. The following options are available for configuring the behavior of the Lookup window for each record type. All of these options are selected in the default search layout:

• Configure Lookup Window With Default Fields. If this check box is selected, then the fields in the default search layout are used.
• Show Search Results When Lookup Window Opens. If this check box is selected, then the list of available records is displayed in the Lookup window when it is opened. If the check box is deselected, then no records are displayed when the Lookup window is opened.

  NOTE: If manager visibility is enabled for the company, then the list of records in some Lookup windows can be slow to populate, and in some cases, the Lookup window might time out. To prevent a timeout, deselect the Show Search Results When Lookup Window Opens check box for the record type associated with the Lookup window. The Lookup window then displays no records, and users can specify the search criteria to find the records that they want.

• Auto-Resolve Enabled. If this check box is selected, then smart associations are enabled. Smart associations in Oracle CRM On Demand are automatic searches that make it easier for users to associate records of different record types, such as account, contact, opportunity, activity, and so on with each other. When smart associations are enabled, users can type all or part of the name of the record that they want to associate with a main record in the appropriate field, and then allow Oracle CRM On Demand to automatically resolve the association. When the user tries to save the changes, Oracle CRM On Demand searches for a match for the name that the user entered. If Oracle CRM On Demand finds a unique match, then the matching record is used, and the user’s changes are saved. If Oracle CRM On Demand does not find a match, or if it finds multiple potential matches, then the user is presented with a Lookup window. In the Lookup window, the user can perform additional searches, and then select the appropriate record. If smart associations are not enabled, then users must click the Lookup icon next to a field to open the Lookup window, where they can search for records.
• Show Context-Sensitive List as Lookup Window Default. This check box is available only if the Record-Type Lists in Lookup Windows menu is set to Enabled on the company profile. If the Show Context-Sensitive List as Lookup Window Default check box is selected and the record type has one or more context-sensitive lists, then all such lists appear before the other lists in the record type List field in the upper-left corner of the Lookup window. Context-sensitive lists are most likely to contain the records that users require. For more information about the record type List field and context-sensitive lists, see Searching for Records in Lookup Windows. For more information about the Record-Type Lists in Lookup Windows menu, see Setting Up Your Company Profile and Global Defaults.

  NOTE: If you select Disabled in the Record-Type Lists in Lookup Windows menu on the company profile after you set up the search layouts, then the Show Context-Sensitive List as Lookup Window Default check box is no longer available in the Search Layout Wizard. Also, the context-sensitive lists are not available in Lookup windows, and the initial search for a record of a given record type in a Lookup window is performed on all records of that record type that the user can access, regardless of whether the Show Context-Sensitive Lists as Lookup Window Default option was previously selected. However, Oracle CRM On Demand stores the setting for the Show Context-Sensitive List as Lookup Window Default check box for each search layout. If you later select Enabled or Mixed in the Record-Type Lists in Lookup Windows menu on the company profile again, then the setting for the Show Context-Sensitive List as Lookup Window Default check box for each search layout is restored and becomes effective again.

If you are creating a search layout for the Product record type, then the following option is available if you want the search layout window to display products by division:

• Configure Lookup Window with Division as the Default Search Field. In Oracle CRM On Demand when you create a search layout for the Product record type in the Search Layout wizard, you can configure the product search layout to list products by divisions by selecting the Configure Lookup Window with Division as the Default Search Field check box. By displaying products by division in the Product Lookup window, this allows users to perform a search within a set of relevant products, and it reduces user error when searching and selecting from a list of products. For more information, see Considerations When Creating Product Search Layouts.

If you are creating a search layout and you want to configure the search result page of enhanced keyword search to display specific result fields for the Account, Opportunity, Contact, Appointment, and Task record types, then the following option is available:

• Configure Enhanced Keyword Search with Selected Search Results Fields. If this check box is selected, then the fields defined in the search layout are displayed in the search result page for enhanced keyword search. If this check box is deselected, then the key fields for the record type are displayed in the search result page.

If you are creating a search layout and you want to specify the first field in the list of targeted search fields as the default search field in the Lookup window, then the following option is available:

• First Targeted Search Field as Default Search in Lookups. If this check box is selected, then the first field in the list of targeted search fields in the search layout is used as the default search field in the Lookup window. If this check box is deselected, then the default search field is the same as the field on which the lookup is mapped.

Before you begin. To manage search layouts, your role must include the Customize Application privilege.

The following procedure describes how to create or modify a search layout.

To create or modify a search layout

1. In the upper-right corner of any page, click the Admin global link.
2. In the Application Customization section, click the Application Customization link.
3. In the Record Type Setup section, click the record type for which you want to create or modify a search layout.
4. In the record type Application Customization page, click the record type Search Layout link.
5. In the Search Layout list, do one of the following:
   • Click Edit or Copy to modify an existing layout.
   • Click the New Layout button to create a new layout.
   • Click Remove to delete an existing layout not currently assigned to a role.

     The Search Layout Wizard guides you through the process.

6. In Step 1, Define Layout Name, enter or modify the name and optionally a description for the layout.
7. Click Next.

   In Step 2, Specify Search Fields, there are three lists:

   • Not Available Search Fields. This list displays all the fields that will not be available for search.
   • Targeted Search Fields. This list displays all the fields that are available for targeted search and will be displayed in the Targeted Search applet for the record type in the Action bar. The Targeted Search applet can display a maximum of ten fields. If you add more than ten fields to the list, and try to save the layout, then an error message is displayed. If you use Targeted Search fields, then the following also happens:
     • The fields are available as the prepopulated default fields in the Advanced Search criteria form.
     • The selected fields appear as the prepopulated default fields in the filter criteria when creating or refining lists.
     • The selected fields appear as the set of fields that you can search in the Lookup window.

       If no fields are specified in this list, then the record type appears in the Targeted Search applet but no search fields are displayed in the applet.

   • Additional Search Fields. This list displays the fields that are not displayed in the Targeted Search applet but that are available in other searches, such as advanced search. Indexed fields are displayed in green text. Indexed fields that are case-insensitive are displayed in blue text.

     NOTE: For optimal performance, use indexed fields when defining your search fields. If either the Targeted Search Fields or Additional Search Fields list contains any fields that are not optimized, then a warning message appears.

     You arrange the fields within a list by clicking the up arrow and down arrow, and you move fields between the lists by clicking the right arrow and left arrow, or up arrow and down arrow. The order of the fields in the lists is used in the Targeted Search applet in the Action bar and in the search criteria forms.

     NOTE: The fields that are displayed in purple text are always case-insensitive. These fields are not optimized for fast searches.

8. In Step 2, move the fields to the Not Available Search Fields list, and arrange the fields in the Targeted Search Fields and Additional Search Fields lists, as required.
9. (Optional) If you plan to select the First Targeted Search Field as Default Search in Lookups check box in Step 3, then use the up arrow and down arrow to position the first field in the list of targeted search fields as required.
10. (Optional) Select the Configure Lookup Window with Division as the Default Search Field check box if you want the search layout window to display products by division.

    NOTE: This option is only available when specifying a search layout for the Product record type. For more information, see Considerations When Creating Product Search Layouts.

11. Click Next.

    In Step 3, Define Search Results Layout, there are three lists:

    • Not Available Search Results Fields. This list displays all the fields that will not be displayed in the search results.
    • Lookup Window Search Results Fields. This list displays the fields that will be displayed in the search results for the Lookup window. This list has a limit of nine fields.
    • Additional Search Results Fields. This list displays the extra fields, in addition to those in the Lookup Window Search Results Fields list, that will be displayed in the search results other than for Lookup window searches.

      The total number of fields allowed for the Lookup Window Search Results Fields and the Additional Search Results Fields list is 20, which means the search results cannot display more than 20 columns. For more information about searching for records, see Finding Records.

      CAUTION: It is recommended that you add fields to the lists sparingly because the number of columns in the lists can affect performance. The performance varies dramatically by record type and by field type. Each additional field can increase the loading time for the list.

12. In Step 3, Define Search Results Layout, move fields to the Lookup Window Search Results Fields and Additional Search Results Fields lists, and rearrange them, as necessary.

    NOTE: The Lookup Window Search Results Fields list determines the layout of the search result fields for single-association lookup windows only. You cannot specify the layout of the search result fields for multi-association lookup windows.

13. Select or deselect the following check boxes as required to configure Lookup Windows behavior:
    • Configure Lookup Window With Default Fields
    • Show Search Results When Lookup Window Opens
    • Auto-Resolve Enabled
    • Show Context-Sensitive List as Lookup Window Default
    • Configure Enhanced Keyword Search with Selected Search Results Fields
    • First Targeted Search Field as Default Search in Lookups
14. Click Finish.

Related Topics

See the following topics for related information:

• Customizing Related Item Layouts
• Customizing Static Page Layouts
• Creating Record Homepage Layouts