Set Up Autosuggest for Global Search

Use global search configurations to determine what's available to users in the autosuggest. You select the suggestion groups to include in configurations. The configurations also determine how the autosuggest looks and behaves.

Prerequisite

Create a global search configuration or edit an existing one. Follow these steps:

1. In the Setup and Maintenance work area, go to the following:

   • Functional Area: Application Extensions

   • Task: Manage Applications Core Global Search Configurations

2. On the Manage Applications Core Global Search Configurations page, click the Create icon to create a global search configuration, or select an existing row and click the Edit icon to change it.

Defining the Content

To define synonyms, select suggestion groups and determine how they're displayed in the autosuggest:

1. On the page to create or edit global search configuration, click the Autosuggest tab.

2. In the Synonyms section on the Autosuggest tab, select Enable Synonyms to let users search using synonyms.

3. Optionally, enter the following:

   • Synonym Context Code: A logical grouping such as a product family, navigation group, or work area that determines the subset of synonyms to search on. For example, if you enter Academics, every time the user enters a term and clicks the Search icon, the search runs on all terms related to Academics and their synonyms.

   • Synonym Object Type: A business object name that would determine the subset of synonyms to search on. For example, if you enter Curriculum, every time the user enters a term and clicks the Search icon, the search runs on all terms related to Curriculum and their synonyms.

4. Click Manage Synonyms.

5. To add search terms and create synonyms for them, on the Manage Synonyms page:

   1. Click the New icon and do the following:

      • Enter a short name in uppercase, with no spaces. This name is required as an identifier.

      • Select a module name, which is required to map the data with a specific product or area. There are no restrictions on where the synonyms can be used.

      • Optionally, enter a context code and object type. This information can be used to ensure that certain synonyms are only used when a global search configuration having the same values is in effect.

      • Enter the primary synonym, which is the main term or business object to which other synonyms are to be matched.

      • Enter at least one synonym that matches the primary synonym.

   2. Click Save and Close.

6. Select the Enable personalization of search groups check box to allow users to override your configuration. Users can hide, show, and reorder suggestion groups for their autosuggest.

7. In the Suggestion Group section on the Autosuggest tab, move the groups you want to include into the Selected Groups pane. Use the Move, Move All, Remove, and Remove All icons to move the groups.

   The Enabled column in the Available Groups pane indicates if the group is defined (on the Manage Suggestion Groups page) to be displayed by default or not in the autosuggest.

8. In the Enabled column in the Selected Groups pane, select one of the following values:

   • Inherit: In the autosuggest, the group is displayed or hidden by default depending on what's defined for the group.

   • Yes: The group is displayed by default, no matter what's defined for the group.

   • No: The group is hidden by default, no matter what's defined for the group.

   Note: The Displayed by Default column shows the resulting behavior in the autosuggest, based on what you select in the Enabled column.

9. Using the Move to Top, Move Up, Move Down, and Move to Bottom icons, order the selected groups as you want them to appear in the autosuggest.

Tip: Click Manage Suggestion Groups at any time to edit or create suggestion groups. When you return to the Autosuggest tab, click Refresh to reflect the changes you made to suggestion groups.

Defining the Appearance

Optionally define settings in the Appearance section on the Autosuggest tab:

• Show Suggestion Group Headings: Select this option to display suggestion group headings (text and icon) in the autosuggest. Even if you do so, if a group is defined on the Manage Suggestion Groups page to not show headings, then its heading won't be displayed.

• Show Icons: Select this option to display icons next to suggestions in the autosuggest.

• No Suggestions Message: Enter the message that appears when no suggestions match the user's search term. If you leave this field blank, then no autosuggest or anything at all appears when there are no matches.

Defining the Behavior

Optionally define settings in the Behavior section on the Autosuggest tab:

• Show Top Suggestions: Enable this option to display suggestions in the autosuggest as soon as the user clicks in the search field, even without entering a search term. For example, the last few pages the user opened would appear as suggestions in the Recent Items group.

• Minimum Characters for Autosuggest: Enter the number of characters that users must enter in the search field before matching suggestions appear in the autosuggest.

• Maximum Number of Suggestions: Enter the maximum number of suggestions to be displayed across all suggestion groups. This total is distributed as equally as possible among the groups.