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Finding Records

You can find a specific record, such as an account, contact, or opportunity, by using any of these methods:

  • Search section in the Action bar

    The Search section, located in the top left corner, is a quick way to find a record that already exists. Before creating a new account, contact, and so on, it is a good idea to determine if it already exists.

  • Lookup windows for some fields

    When entering record information, you might see the Lookup icon next to a field. This indicates that you can select an existing record to fill in the field rather than type in the information.

  • List page for the record type

    All record types have a list page where you can view a subset of records or sort records.

Using the Search Section to Find Records

The first field in the Search section in the Action bar contains the record type to search. You can select All to search all record types or alternatively you can select an individual record type. You can set the default record type for the Search section, see Setting Your Default Search Record Type for more information.

Apart from the record type field, the Search section can contain multiple or single fields for specifying search criteria, depending on what your company administrator has set up:

  • Multiple text fields - used for a targeted search

    If your Search area shows several fields for you to specify values to match, the system checks those fields and displays records that match all the values you specify. If you specify values in more than one field, only records that match for all of those fields are returned (equivalent to an AND condition).

  • Single text field - used for a keyword search

    If your Search area shows a single field for you to specify a value to match, the system checks the default fields for the record type to find matches. The search criteria are matched against any of the default fields (equivalent to an OR condition against the default fields).

Targeted search works as if a wildcard were added to the end of what you enter in the fields. So, for example, if you enter c in a Last Name field, all records in which the Last Name begins with C are returned in the search results (this improves query performance). Keyword search and searching 'All' records works as if a wildcard were added to both the beginning and end of what you entered (this results in a slower query).

The default fields that are shown in the text fields for a targeted search, and the fields that are used to find matches in a keyword search are the same, see Default Search Fields for a list of these fields for each record type.

Searches on text-based fields are case insensitive, unless the <case sensitive> grayed-out text appears on the input field (this text disappears when the user clicks on the field).

The Search section also contains a link to the Advanced Search page, which allows you to search on several record types at once, search on dates, and provides better filtering capabilities. For more information, see Using Advanced Search.

For targeted search only, a Look in selector may be displayed, which allows you to narrow the search to the records belonging to a particular user or book. For more information, see Using the Look In Selector.

If you search on a single record type, the search results are displayed in a List page, and you can then work with the list of records. You can further refine the list using the list management features of CRM On Demand, and you can save search results as a new list. For more information about managing lists of records, see Working with Lists.

If you search on all record types, a Search Results page is displayed with different sections for each type of record found in the search.

To find a record using the Search section

  1. From any page, go to the Search section in the top left corner.
  2. To search on All record types or to narrow the search to just a single record type:
    1. From the drop-down list, select All (for a slower query) or a record type (for a faster query).
    2. Depending on your setup, you can enter the value to search for in either a single text field or in several text fields.
    3. Click Go.
  3. Click the link in the record you want to work on.

    This opens the Detail page for that record.

Using the Lookup Window to Find Records

When you click the Lookup icon next to a field, a Lookup window appears in which you can search for and select records. In some cases you can only select one record, and in other cases you can select multiple records. When you select a record, an association is automatically created with the main record that you are creating. An association can be a single association or a multiple association, if you can select more than one record. After you select a record, the name of the associated record is displayed in the field.

The appearance of the Lookup window depends on whether there is a single association or a multiple association. If there is a single association, one list of records is displayed and you can select a single record. If there is a multiple association, two lists are displayed, a list of available records and a list of selected records.

The appearance of the Lookup window also depends on whether keyword search or targeted search is enabled for your company:

  • If keyword search is enabled. A single text field is displayed and you can enter search criteria and click Go to refine the list of records.
  • If targeted search is enabled. Quick Filter search fields are displayed to the right of the Show results where label. You can enter search criteria and click Go to refine the list of records. An Advanced link and a Look in selector are also displayed.

In the Lookup window, a Look in selector may be displayed, which allows you to narrow the search to the records belonging to a particular user or book. For more information, see Using the Look In Selector.

Depending on the record type, there may be an additional drop-down list in the top left-hand corner of the window. For example, in the Task Edit page, if you select a valid value in the Account field and you open the Lookup window for the Contacts field, there is a drop-down list with two values: Contacts for Related Account and All Contacts. When you click the Go button, the value you select in the drop-down list is used in refining the list of records.

To search for records using the Lookup window

  1. Click the Lookup icon next to the field.
  2. The Lookup window appears containing a list of the available records.

    In the Lookup window, you can:

    • If targeted search is enabled, use a Quick Filter Search to filter the list, see Filtering Lists.
    • If targeted search is enabled, click the Advanced link to filter the list, this is similar to Using Advanced Search.
    • Click New to create a new record, which will be added to the list.
    • Click the Next or Previous links to page through the list to find the record.
  3. Click the Select link to select the records you require and click OK.

    In cases where you can select more than one record, click Select for each record that you require. The records are moved from the Available Records list to the Selected Records list.

    NOTE: In the Lookup window, click Clear Current Value to remove already-selected information and leave the field blank. The Clear Current Value button is not available if Smart Associations is turned on.

Finding a Record from the List Page

Use the following procedure to find records in a list page. For more information about finding records in a list page, see Filtering Lists.

To find a record in the List page

  1. Click the tab for the type of record you want to find.
  2. On the record Homepage, select the filtered list that would include the record you are trying to find.

    You can also get to the required list from the Favorite Lists section in the Action bar, if it is available there.

  3. On the List page, you can:
    • Use an Alpha Search to find the record
    • Use a Quick Filter Search to find the record.
    • Click Previous or Next to page through the list.
  4. Click the link in the record you want to work on.

    This opens the Detail page for that record.


Published May 2008