A very common operation for users of a document management system is searching for documents. Search queries are performed in the left frame, results will be displayed in the upper-right frame, and documents will be displayed in the lower-right frame (for document formats having browser plugins).

The Search Frame

Performing a search is as simple as selecting one or more catalogs and document types, entering criteria in one or more field search textboxes, and selecting the button. Some search boxes contain predefined choices that you can select from a list. The most efficient searches result from searching document properties such as Name or Number. These searches will narrow your results down considerably.

You can instead choose to select an existing query from the Saved Searches drop-down list, if available. The saved query will be entered automatically, and the search will be performed automatically if the appropriate option has been enabled. For more information, see the section called “Saved Searches”.

A Document properties Search

You may also search for documents using full-text information. This can be used as the only method to search, or it can be combined with document properties. When searching for full text, every occurrence of the word or phrase you use to search will be highlighted when retrieving PDF documents. For more information on full-text searching, see Appendix B, Advanced Search Syntax.

A Full-Text and Document properties Search

To search all versions of documents that match your search criteria, select the Search all versions checkbox.

Searching All Versions

To save your search query, select the Save this search checkbox, provide a Saved-Search Title, and select the button. You can manage these saved searches from your options. See the section called “Saved Searches”.

If one or more packet templates have been defined in the system, you will see a checkbox at the top of the search frame named, Search by Packet. Selecting this checkbox will present you with one or more packet templates you can search on. The key field will be displayed depending upon the packet template selected. Enter the key-field value you are searching for, and select the button to perform the search. All of the documents in the packet will be returned.

The QuickSearch box in the right-center area of the main menu can be accessed from any location in Content Central. Enter your query in the QuickSearch box and the information provided will be used to search all document types where you have the search permission.

You may export the full list of search results, which may extend beyond the number of results displayed in the results grid, by selecting the Save Results menu item from the File menu. The data will be exported to an XML file based on the columns visible in the results grid. You will be provided with a dialog box to Open or Save the file to your local machine. Two fields, DocFilename and DocPath, will be included with each result, referencing the real filename and path to the document.

The Open/Save Dialog for Search Results