Central Search
You can use the central search to search for business objects in the standalone WebClient UI, as well as in the WebClient UI integrated in SAP NetWeaver Portal. In both applications, the central search is located in the header area of the navigation frame and hence visible at all times. You can always access it, regardless of the business object that you are processing.
In the search menu you can choose between a search for all business objects, saved searches, or a search for individual business objects.
Integration
The look and feel of the central search in the portal-integrated WebClient UI is similar to that in the WebClient UI standalone application. The search menu consists of the hierarchical list of business objects. Additionally, you can search for documents, which means that a KM search starts instead of a search in the application. Saved searches are available at the top of the work area. You can also use the Advanced
link to navigate to a search page or to a saved search.
Features
The option Saved Searches
is the default search option for the central search. Below it in the menu you see All Objects
and then follows a hierarchical list of business objects, in alphabetical order. When you have selected a search option you enter a search value and click Go
to start the search.
Note
Whether Go
and Advanced
appear as links or buttons on the WebClient UI depends on the skin that you have selected in the layout settings on the central personalization page.
Saved Searches
When you select Saved Searches
, the search menu contains all your saved searches, and the field label changes to Saved Searches
.
All Objects (Cross-Object Search)
When you select All Objects
, the field label changes to Search for All Objects
. You can now search across all business objects that belong to your business role. This search function behind this search technique is “simple search” (see Simple Search).
Note
The All Objects
entry only appears if more than one searchable business object has been registered in the central search Customizing.
Business Objects (Object-Specific Search)
When you position the cursor over a business object in the menu, a cascading menu with the search attributes assigned to that business object opens.
Search Using Business Object Attributes
After you have selected a search attribute, you can enter the search value in the input field. The field label changes accordingly, for example, to Search for Accounts by Category
.
If you want to use multiple or alternative search criteria for a business object search, select the business object from the menu and click Advanced
. The standard search page or saved search for the selected business object appears.
The search function behind these search techniques is “advanced search” (see Advanced Search).
Free Text Search
You can perform a free text search for a business object by selecting Free Text
. If Free Text
is the only search attribute of a business object, it is omitted.
This search function behind this search technique is “simple search” (see Simple Search).
Note
To improve the performance when you start searching for a business object, the table for the search objects displayed in the search menu is cached in a server cookie. This cache depends on the business role and language. Therefore, Customizing changes that have been made for the central search might not be immediately visible in the WebClient UI.