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Defining search queries - Rules and examples

Impact Ordering provides a powerful search function to help you quickly find entries in lists and catalogs. The search fields are displayed at the top of the list. See Searching for information for detailed information on using these fields. The following tips and examples will help you to define successful search queries.

Notes on searching

• To achieve acceptable results in wild card searches (using the placeholders * and ?) you should enter as much of the search term as possible. The larger the area to be searched, the slower the search is. For example, searching for B* takes a very long time, but searching for Battery* is much quicker.
• The results of an unexact search and searches for partial terms may produce unexpected hits, due to the search techniques used by the system, such as hyphenation and similar sounds. For example, searching for stationery also finds stationary.
• It is also possible to search for words with similar meanings using thesauri, such as those supplied by eCl@ss or OpenOffice. For example, when you enter Notebook, the term Organizer is shown as a search result, if such products are available.

Note: The unexact search and the thesaurus are only available if your Impact Ordering system has been configured accordingly.

Here are a few search examples.

Searching by search term

For this search criterion you can enter the following:

Type	Search example	Result
Unexact search	rain	finds rain, and also rein and strainer Searches in all product descriptions, article numbers, etc.
Thesaurus	Notebook	Also finds Organizer and Laptop
Several terms	paper din a4	Finds paper in the format DIN A4
Partial terms	point	Finds among others ballpoint pen
Wild cards *  ?	din a? air*	? (question mark) replaces a character. Finds among others DIN A4, DIN A3, DIN A5 * (asterisk) replaces any number of characters. Finds among others airbag, airflow, airgun Note: Wild card searches only find exact matches. Exception: a wild card at the beginning of the search term uses an unexact search
Phrases ""	"Spare parts for pumps"	Finds the terms in exactly this order
Proximity ""~	"Spare parts for pumps "~5	Finds the terms if they are not further than 5 words apart
Ranges [ ]  {}	Edding [750 950] Edding {750 950}	Finds Edding pens with numbers from 750 to 950 in the product description. [] includes the entered values. Finds Edding pens except those with numbers from 750 to 950 in the product description. {} excludes the entered values
Boost ^	pen green red^4	Items that contain red are rated higher (shown at the top of the list)
Boolean AND OR NOT	green OR red	Finds both green and red
Grouping ()	pen AND NOT (green OR red)	Finds only pens that are not red or not green
Boolean + -	+pen -red	Is the same as pen AND NOT red

Suggested search terms

While entering a search term the system will make suggestions based on the indicated search terms.

You can select a suggested search term or continue entering the search term. The more characters you enter, fewer search terms are suggested.

If you do not wish to use a suggested search term click on Search for products after entering your search term.

Note: All suggested search terms are generated by indicated products. This may include products for which you do not have any user rights. Thus using a suggest search term may not produce any results.

Searching by article number

All available article numbers (order number, manufacturer number, EAN, etc.) are searched.

• Only exact matches are found
• Wild card searches (using ? and *) are possible

Note: Searches for article numbers entered in the text box Search term are unexact, that is, similar numbers are found and displayed.

Searching by price

Depending on the configuration of your system gross or net prices are displayed.

Note: You may encounter the same problems as with the wild card search: the effort required for searching is proportional to the range that you search for. Searching for >= 1 € may take a very, very long time.

Type	Search example	Result
Exact price	4,25€ 4,25 EUR 4,25	Finds items with exactly this price. Graduated prices are not taken into account
Currencies	8,17$ 8,17 USD 13,67 DM	Different currencies are automatically converted (but without any guarantee that the exchange rate is up to date)
Range from to	6,50 7,50 6,50 – 7,50 [6,50 7,50]	Finds prices in this range, including the prices entered
greater than, less than, >=, <=	< 10 € >= 24.50	Finds all prices below 10 € Finds all prices greater than or equal to 24.50

Searching by product attributes

Note: If the attribute name is not entered in full, a selection list is displayed. All attributes can also be found via the normal text search, but this is not as precise.

Type	Search example	Result
Attribute name	Width	Finds all items for which the width is available
Attribute name & value	Height - 24.12 cm	Finds all items with a height of 24.12 cm
larger, smaller, >=, <=	Length <= 20 cm	Finds all items that are less than or exactly 20 cm
Units	Length >= 9 in	Matching units are automatically converted

Sorting

Search results are sorted by similarity. Exact matches are rated higher, and so are items in which there are multiple occurrences of the search term. Click on a column heading to sort the table using other criteria, for example, by price.

Note: Core product catalogs are assigned a higher rating. The products of these catalogs are displayed first if other products are found with an equal number of hits.

Note: Sorting by article number can be very time-consuming in large databases!

See also Tips for beginners Working with windows Working with tabs Working with lists Assignment lists Combined input and selection fields Comments and attachments Multimedia attachments Searching for information Using the calendar Printing information Exporting information to Excel