Print      Open PDF Version of Online Help

Getting Started > Working with Records > Finding Records > Using Advanced Search > About Advanced Search of a Single Record Type

About Advanced Search of a Single Record Type

You can perform an advanced search of a single record type from the Advanced link in the following locations:

• The Action bar.
• Lists of related records on a parent record, if the related information sections on your record Detail pages appear as tabs, and if the Enable Enhanced View for Tabs check box is selected on the company profile.
• Lookup windows, if targeted search is enabled for your company.

An advanced search of a single record type is similar to a targeted search in the Search section of the Action bar. You can search using multiple fields on the record type. However, an advanced search also allows you to do the following:

• Specify whether the search is case sensitive or case insensitive.
• Select the fields you want to search. For more information, see the About the Search Fields section of this topic.
• Enter the conditions, filter values, and operators (AND, OR) that define the filter.

  NOTE: In an advanced search of a single record type, you do not use the equal sign (=) to search for an exact match. Instead, you use the Equal to condition or the Equals any condition to search for exact matches.

• Specify which fields to display in the search results. This feature is available only in searches that you perform from the Advanced link in the Action bar.
• Specify the initial sort order for the search results.

About the Search Fields

When you perform an advanced search of a single record type from the Advanced link in the Action bar or the Advanced link in a Lookup window, your user role determines which record types you can search and which fields on each record type you can search, as follows:

• If your company administrator does not make any search fields available in the search layout that is assigned to your user role for a record type, then you cannot specify any search criteria for an advanced search of that record type. Running an advanced search without any search criteria returns all of the records of that record type that your user role and access settings allow you to see.
• If the All Fields in Search and Lists privilege is enabled on your user role, then you can search all of the search fields that your company administrator makes available in the search layout that is assigned to your user role for the record type.

  NOTE: It is recommended that company administrators do not enable the All Fields in Search and Lists privilege for most user roles. When the privilege is not enabled, fields that your company does not use are not visible in search and list pages. This reduces clutter and makes it easier for users to see the fields that they are most interested in.

• If the All Fields in Search and Lists privilege is not enabled on your user role, then you can search a field only if it meets both of the following criteria:
  • The field is an available search field in the search layout that is assigned to your user role for the record type.
  • The field is displayed on the Detail page layout that is assigned to your user role for that record type. If dynamic page layouts are defined for your role, then the field must be displayed on at least one of the dynamic page layouts.

    NOTE: Dynamic layouts are page layouts that show different sets of fields for different records of the same record type, depending on the picklist value that you select in a certain field on the record.

For information about how Oracle CRM On Demand determines which fields you can search when you perform an advanced search from the Advanced link in a list of related records, see About Advanced Search of Related Records.

About the Search Results

The fields that are displayed in the records that are returned by an advanced search of a single record type are determined by the location from which you start the search, and on your user role, as follows:

• Searches from the Advanced link in the Action bar. You can select the fields that you want to display as columns in the list of records that is returned by the search. Your user role determines which fields you can select to display, as follows:
  • If the All Fields in Search and Lists privilege is enabled for your user role, then you can select any field to display as a column in the list of records that is returned by the search.
  • If the All Fields in Search and Lists privilege is not enabled for your user role, then you can select a field to display as a column in the list of records that is returned by the search only if the field is displayed on the Detail page layout that is assigned to your user role for the record type. If dynamic page layouts are defined for your role, then the field must be displayed on at least one of the dynamic page layouts for the record type.

    The search results appear in a List page. If there are too many records in the list, then you can filter or refine the list in the List page. For information about filtering and refining lists in List pages, see the following topics:

  • Filtering Lists
  • Refining Lists Within List Pages

    For more information about managing lists of records, see Working with Lists.

• Searches from the Advanced link in a list of related records. The search results appear in the page where you clicked the Advanced link. The layout of the related information section on the parent record Detail page determines which fields are displayed as columns in the list of records that is returned.
• Searches from the Advanced link in a Lookup window. The search results appear in the Lookup window, and the layout of the Lookup window determines which fields are displayed as columns in the list of records. In most cases, the search layout that is assigned to your user role for the record type determines the layout of the Lookup window. However, there are some preconfigured Lookup windows that are not affected by the search layouts for user roles.

About the Sort Order for Search Results

Lists with no specified sort field are automatically sorted on the displayed column that provides the most efficient performance. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not specify a sort field for searches. In the standard application, a sort field is automatically selected in the Advanced Search page for a single record type, but you can clear the sort field. Your administrator can set up the search layout for a record type for your user role so that a sort field is not automatically selected. For information about setting up search layouts, see Managing Search Layouts.

You can optionally specify the initial sort order for the list of records that is returned by an advanced search of a single record type. You can select up to three sort fields. For example, for a list of contacts, you might choose to sort the list first by Last Name, then by First Name, and then by Department. For each of the three sort fields, you can specify whether the records are to be sorted in ascending order or in descending order.

If you specify the sort order, then as a best practice use the most restrictive available field as the first sort field, particularly if the search is for a record type that has a large number of records. For example, a search on the Email field for the Contact record type is more efficient if the results are also sorted on the Email field rather than another field such as the Contact Last Name field. If you start an advanced search from the Action bar, then you can add fields to the search results and use those fields as sort fields.

After you select the first sort field, only the sort fields that are stored directly on the same record as the first sort field are available for you to select as the second and third sort fields. For example, when searching for contacts, you might select the First Name field on the contact as the first sort field. In that case, only the remaining sort fields that are stored directly on the contact record are available for you to select as the second and third sort fields. Fields that are stored on other records, such as the Account field, which is stored on the account record, are not available.

NOTE: For searches from the Advanced link in Lookup windows, only the fields that are displayed in the Lookup window are available for you to select as the sort fields in the advanced search.

What Happens If a Search from the Action Bar Returns Only One Record?

You can specify how a record is displayed if it is the only record returned by a search. The record can be opened directly in a record Detail page, or it can be shown in a list page. The option that controls this behavior is the Navigate Directly to Detail Page If Only One Record Is Returned check box, in the Quick Search Options section of the Action bar layout page in your personal setup. This option applies to advanced searches of single record types that you perform from the Advanced link in the Action bar only, as well as to searches that you perform directly in the Action bar. It does not apply to searches that you perform from the Advanced link in a list of related records, or to searches that you perform from the Advanced link in Lookup windows, or to searches of multiple record types. For information about setting up your Action bar layout, see Changing Your Action Bar Layout.

For step-by-step instructions for performing advanced search of a single record type, see Performing Advanced Search of a Single Record Type.