Developing for Search Pages

Setting Component Properties for Classic Search Pages

You configure properties for your search pages in the Component Properties dialog box in PeopleSoft Application Designer. On the Internet tab, in the Search Page group box there are numerous settings related to your application search pages. These settings apply specifically to the Keyword search page:

Field or Control	Description
Primary Action (Keyword Search)	Enables you to set the primary action of the component to display the Keyword Search page.
Default Search\Lookup Type (Keyword Only)	Enables you to set the default look up type to be used on the Keyword Search page.
Link to Realtime Search Page	Specifies the message set and number that stores the text displayed for the Find an Existing Value link in the Add a New Value tab and Keyword Search tab if Keyword Search is enabled.
Link to Keyword Search Page	Specifies the message set and number that stores the text displayed on the Add a New Value tab and Find an Existing Value tab if Keyword Search is enabled.

Note:

The Link to Keyword Search Page value only applies if Keyword Search is enabled for that component.

The Link to Realtime Search Page value applies to all components that use the PeopleTools search page, even if Keyword Search is not enabled.

Note:

The term, Realtime, is used to differentiate between the currency of the data between the Find an Existing Value search and the Keyword search. While the Find an Existing Value search displays search results that are always a current reflection of the data in the database, the Keyword Search is only as current as the last index build or incremental index update. However, you can ensure that the indexed data is near real time by enabling real-time indexing for the component.

When implementing the Keyword search feature, make sure to adjust these settings accordingly. The general concepts surrounding these settings, along with other component properties, are discussed in the PeopleSoft Application Designer documentation.

See Application Designer Developer’s Guide: Setting Internet Properties.

Setting Component Properties for Fluid Search Pages

Similar to classic search pages, you configure properties for your Fluid search pages in the Component Properties dialog box in PeopleSoft Application Designer. On the Fluid tab, in the Search Type field, select either None, Standard, or Master/Detail.

See Fluid User Interface Developer’s Guide: Implementing Search for Fluid Components.

Working with Find an Existing Value and Keyword Search Behavior

Find an Existing Value or Standard search and Keyword search types have the same, general look and feel, however, these differences and features should be noted:

With the Find an Existing Value search, the end user selects values based on the underlying record search keys and clicks Search. Results are rendered in a standard grid format, as seen in all previous PeopleSoft versions.
With the Keyword search, the end user enters values into the Keywords edit box and clicks Search. The end user can also enter a combination of keywords in addition to using the provided search keys. The system runs this search against the search engine index. Results can be displayed in either a grid or a list format.
The Keyword search will show facets, while the Find an Existing Value search cannot.
Search operators are different between the Find and Existing Value search and Keyword search. For example, the typical Keyword search operators include contains, =, not =, where as the Find an Existing Value search operators include more, such as begins with, contains phrase, =, not =, greater than, less than, between, in, and so on.

Note:

When you use the contains phrase operator, enter a complete word or a set of words, for example desktop or desktop computer. You can also use wild card characters; the wild card characters can be used at the beginning of a word, within a word or at the end of a word. Examples of valid search text containing wild cards: *test, t*st, test*.
Keyword search fields do not contain prompts or drop-down lists. Search text needs to be added in a free-form manner, using wild cards as needed.

Note:

In the Find an Existing Value tab you specify a wild card using "%", while in Keyword search you specify a "*".

Working with Keyword Search Data Currency

The Keyword search can display only search results that are included in the index. Search Framework provides the capability to enable real-time indexing for search definitions.

In search definitions that are not enabled for real-time indexing, the index is only as current as the last incremental index update or the last full build date and time. As such, the Keyword search results will not always contain the most current reflection of the transactional data.

For example, assume that an organization has the incremental index update process schedule to run once every 3 days. If a salesperson adds a new customer to the system just after the incremental update occurred, that customer information will not appear in the Keyword Search results until the next incremental index update process has completed. Likewise, if a customer has been deleted from the system just after an incremental index update, the search results for the Keyword Search will continue to include that customer information until the next incremental index update process has completed.

The Keyword search page (real-time indexing is not enabled) displays a message indicating how fresh the search results are. For example:

Note: Search will return results last updated 5 hours ago.

If you enable real-time indexing for a search definition, the data is indexed every time an update occurs on the search definition providing you near real-time data.

The Keyword search page (real-time indexing is enabled) does not display any message to indicate how fresh the search results are because the search results are near real time.

See Understanding Real-Time Indexing.

Requirements for Keyword Search

The requirements for keyword search slightly differ depending on whether you are using Application Designer or Manage Configurable Search page to set keyword search for a component.

When you use Application Designer to set keyword search for a component, ensure that the following settings are met:

All the search and alternate search keys shown on the search page must be indexed attributes.
Only the fields marked as List Box items on the component search record will be shown.

Note:

This is true when showing the results in the grid format for the keyword search. If you switch to list format, you can display additional fields that are indexed but not marked as List Box or search keys.
All List Box item fields must be indexed attributes.

Note:

Grid-based view of the keyword search results is based on the List Box item configuration on the associated search record.

Note:

If a non-default label is selected for a search key, alternate search key, or list box item on the search record, the same label must be configured for use on the Map Search Attributes page.

When you use the Manage Configurable Search page to set keyword search for a component, ensure that the following settings are met:

All the requirements listed for keyword search through Application Designer.
Fields selected for search criteria and results must be indexed attributes.

See Working with Configurable Search.