Power Search: Running and Designing Search Basics

Power Search: Running and Designing Search Basics

Release Date: TBD
Version: 8.6 and above

PowerSearch is a new search-developing platform for Elliott Business Software. It is based on the PSQL relational engine accessing the Elliott database, which provides more flexibility when designing searches. The best feature is that the user can modify the standard PowerSearch searches provided by Netcellent and customize them by adding or removing columns. 

How to Run PowerSearch Searches

PowerSearch is not enabled by default in Global Setup. Please refer to the following KB article for details: 

https://support.netcellent.com/portal/en/kb/articles/powersearch-setup-and-configuration


When launching a traditional search in Elliott, if that search has one or more corresponding versions of PowerSearch searches, then the user will be prompted to decide which search to run. The following is an example if the user goes to A/R -> Maintenance -> Customer File -> Change. The PowerSearch is invoked when the user presses the F8 key to search for the customer by name.


If there is more than one search available, the user will see the following kind of window:


The "Legacy Customer Name Search" is the traditional Elliott search that you are familiar with.

The "UDS Customer Multi-Fields Search" is the new PowerSearch search. It has the format of ARCUSSCH.B.1.3.0 where ARCUSSCH is the type of search. The 1 stands for template ID; 3 stands for search ID; and 0 stands for the base version (not user-revised). Each template can have multiple search variances (i.e., a different search ID). Each search ID can have multiple revisions.

Go ahead and choose to run "ARCUSSCH.B.1.3.0" in this example. The following window will show up. In this screen, you can choose the filter criteria. In this particular case, you can enter a customer name that is like or contains a certain value. Typically, when you don't enter anything, it means "All." See sample screen below:


If you click "OK," the data is returned based on the criteria entered.


 
In example, the number of records displayed is limited to the first 50 records on file meeting the specified criteria. The Limit to Top will default to the value specified in the Elliott configuration. See the following knowledge base article for more information:


The search can also support a Details and a Drill Downs tab. When the user highlights a specific line and clicks on the Details tab, more information concerning the selected record is displayed.



The Drill Downs tab shows any drill downs that are available. For example, ARCUSSCH offers a drill down to the Open Order Inquiry.



Clicking on the open will launch the Open Order Inquiry for the selected customer in the search, customer 000200.



Restricting Access to Searches

When PowerSearch is enabled in Elliott V8.6 via System Utilities -> Global Setup -> System -> Comp. Specialized Control,  
the application will pop up a window and ask if "Users Can Only See The Default Searches". This option control whether the the "Show" option on the Search Selection screen is applicable for users.



When this option is set to Y, the SUPERVISOR can specify which search are available. This is setup via the Search Selection screen. When the Supervisor user is shown the Search Selection screen, they have the option to click on the Show checkbox to choose which searches non-Supervisor users can run.

For example, the screen below shows that the Legacy Customer Name Search has been disabled.



When a non-Supervisor user accesses the search list, the Legacy Customer Name Search is not available.



Modifying PowerSearch Searches

When a user brings up the PowerSearch filter criteria screen, he/she will see the "Modify" button at the bottom right corner. For example, you can go to Customer File Maintenance -> Change and choose the F8 option at the Customer Number field, the following list shows up:


This screen will show the Legacy and the UDS (User Defined Search) options that are available for the search. The Legacy search is the original version of the Elliott search. The UDS searches are the new PowerSearch searches. Each UDS search will have a unique ID with the following format: NAME.X.1.2.3 where:

  • NAME is the name of your UDS search, in this case ARCUSSCH.
  • X can have the value of B (Base) or E (Enhancement). Base means this search was originally created by Netcellent, and Enhancement means this search was created by your developer.
  • 1 - the first numeric digit represents the template ID. A template represents a unique way of joining the tables. As an end user, you can't create your own template because the joining must be done by Netcellent or your developer to ensure best database performance. We are aware that you could perform table joining with search writer like Crystal. But tables joining requires knowledge of the database. If it is joined incorrectly, it could result in terrible database performance. This is a common problem we are seeing with user using Crystal Reports. Therefore, the restriction on creating template is intentionally to make PowerSearch safer.
  • 2 - the second numeric digit represents the different types of search options derived from the same template. This can be a different sorting sequence, different input selection options, or different columns to be included on the search.
  • 3 - the third digit is the variance of each type of search. The value zero means this is the original search developed by Netcellent or your developers. Other values (greater than zero) are revisions of the search made by you. You can, for example, change to different sorting, selection and columns options and save your own version of the search.   Netcellent or your developer may change the searches that end with zero in the future, but your derived searches that do not end with the zero will never be overridden.
Let's choose "ARCUSSCH.B.1.1.0 UDS Customer Name Search" from the list. The following sample screen should show up:


Adding Filter

Let's say you would like to add a selection criteria based on customer type  To accomplish this, you can click on the "Modify" button. The following sample screen will show up:


You need to add the column CUS_TP to the "Where" area on the top. The first step is that you should expand the ARCUSFIL table which contains the CUS_TP column. Drag the CUS_TP column from the Body area to the "Where" area below CUS_NAME. See sample screen below:


Now you can change the Operator of CUS_TP in the Where area from default "=" (Equal) if desired.  Now change the prompt from "CUS_SALES_YTD" to something more friendly like "Sales YTD." See sample screen below:



Before saving your new design, you can choose "Test..." You can expect to see the parameters screen show up with the new column "Customer Type =" like the following sample screen:



The search results now use the additional criteria specified.



If you would like to further modify this report, you can continue to do so. You can also "Exit" without saving it. If you choose to "Save New" in the PowerSearch Designer screen, the application will request you update the search title and provide a search abstract. A Search Abstract is a short, multi-line description (abstract) of this search.    



Once you exit, if you chose to "Save New", then in the "Elliott Report Selection" screen, you can expect to see a new entry like the following:



The search ID is "ARCUSSCH.B.1.1.1" with the last digit "1" meaning that this is the first revision from original search ID "ARCUSSCH.B.1.1.0." If you want to change the search, click on "ARCUSSCH.B.1.1.1" and click the "Modify" button.

After making any changes, you need to choose "Save" instead of "Save New."   You will be prompted to log this change. You can either skip it by clicking on the "Exit" button, or put in something to indicate the nature of this change and click on "Save." See sample screen below:



If you choose to "Save New," then a new search ID "ARCUSSCH.B.1.1.2" will be created. "Save New" is probably not your intention because you have not made any significant changes yet. But if you did make enough changes and wanted to provide a different option than your previous design, then you can choose "Save New" instead.





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