Definition

EndDefinition

• Click one of the results to see the details of the object.
• If the list of results returned is long, you can use filter criteria to restrict the display to the information you want, e.g. only incidents, only elements modified less than two days ago, or only knowledge articles with the keyword, Windows.
   

You can use the full-text search as follows:

• To facilitate navigation within forms.

  example  You want to find all problems involving the Oracle server to add an item of information to each form.

• To facilitate data entry and analysis in forms.

  example  In a quick call, you want to view all previous incidents involving the email server to find a solution to the current incident.

      See the description

Two full-text search methods

Facilitate navigation within forms

• The search is running by selecting General > Full Text Search in the menu. It is performed in a popup window.

• When you select one of the results from the list, the corresponding record will open in a new tab with closing the search window.

Facilitate data entry and analysis in forms

• The search is running by clicking the  button in the right sidebar of the form. It is performed in a slide-out window.

• When you select one of the results from the list, the corresponding record will open in a new tab with closing the search window.

Characteristics of the full-text search

• The search is run on the text and memo fields of the selected elements.

• It takes the domain and the time zone of the connected user into account.

• It is not case-sensitive.

• It takes accents into account.

• It searches for all elements starting with the root of the keyword.

• Once you have entered the third letter, predictive entry will automatically display a list containing the history of previous searches with the same string of characters.
  • It works like the LIKE instruction and uses the list of searches run by all Front Office and Back Office users, based on the logged-in user and user language.
  • It retrieves the history of the last five searches run.

Notes

• Full-text search in forms:
  • The  button is only available on Incident and Problems forms.
  • Place the cursor on the left edge of the FTS window and click and drag left or right to resize the tab pane as required. Note: The configuration is specific to each user.
             
  • You can pin the FTS window to keep it displayed in the foreground, making it easier to view your search results. Note: The configuration is specific to each user.
             

Caution

• To avoid displaying too many less relevant results, the search ignores frequently used words. These are words whose presence exceeds 50% of the form or words that are too short, e.g. the, next, or with.    See Discarded strings lists (stopwords)
• When you select keywords to restrict the display of knowledge articles in the list of results, the selection is taken into account even if the list is not visible on screen. Click Keywords to display the current selection.
• The list of results only displays the elements that users are authorized to edit or view and the knowledge articles compatible with users' knowledge prerequisites.

Screens description

Search window

Search field: Words or string of characters you want to search for. 

• Click  to run the search.
• Three options are available:
  • All words: All of the words you enter will automatically be linked using the AND operator.
  • At least one of the words: The words you enter will automatically be linked using the OR operator.
  • Custom SQL mode: You can enter an SQL query to increase the accuracy of the search and to restrict the list of results. You can use different operators such as AND, OR, NEAR, FORMSOF, etc., as well as brackets. Roll your mouse over  to see a few examples.

Search Engine: List of search engines you can use.

• Filter criteria such as Category, Language, or Date are only available for the EasyVista search engine. It is based on native SQL Server functions used by the Bing search engine.
• For the other search engines, only the search field will be available.
• You can add another search engine, e.g. to run a search in a corporate or business knowledge base without exiting Service Manager.

Filter criteria (Language, Change Location, etc.) : Used to restrict the display of elements in the list of results using the type of element, keywords associated with knowledge articles, language, location, department, category, CI or period.

• Filter criteria are cumulative.
• Once a criterion is selected, the list of results will immediately be refreshed.
• To display the entire list of results corresponding to the initial keywords you entered, you should clear the criteria applied.
• Characteristics of certain criteria:
  • Keywords (Note: Applies only to knowledge articles): Used to identify the main category of a knowledge article.

    example  The keyword, printer, is associated with the knowledge articles entitled I cannot print my document and I want to modify my spool settings.

  • Language (Note: Applies only to knowledge articles): Used to run the search in one of the translated languages.
  • Change Category: Used to select a subset of elements among those displayed in the list of results.

    example  To display only printer-related incidents: 

    • Selected category= Incident 
    • Change category = Equipment/Printers
  • Date: Based on the last modification date of each element in the list of results.

List of results

Relevance, represented by  (relevant) and  (non-relevant): Assessed by the search engine using different factors such as the ratio between the number of words similar to the search keywords and the total number of words in the element, or the number of repeated words, etc. 

• The more the element displayed corresponds to the search, the greater its relevance.
• Roll your mouse over one of the relevance symbols to display its name. Note: To modify names: Administration > Parameters > Classification Thresholds of Search Results.

Identifiers of the element: Name, reference and the last modification date of its form.

Icon of the object associated with the element: Roll your mouse over the icon to see the name of the object.

Title of the element: Form title.

Contents of the element: Area in the form where the search keywords highlighted in yellow are found. Note: Search keywords are not highlighted when you use Custom SQL mode.

Rating of the knowledge article: Average score awarded by users based on the quality of the form's contents, represented by  and . The score is between 0 and 5.

• Roll your mouse over one of the stars to see the description of the rating.
• You can give a score in the detailed form by clicking on the number of stars to be awarded.
• You cannot give more than one score to a given knowledge article. You can only modify your score.

Procedures

How to use the full-text search

Step 1: Run the full-text search

1. Select General > Full Text Search in the menu.

or

2. Click the  button in the right sidebar of the form.

The search window will appear.
 

Step 2: Enter the text to search for

1. Enter the text you want to search for.

Once you have entered the third letter, predictive entry will automatically display a list containing the history of the five previous searches with the same string of characters.

2. Select one of the suggestions or continue entering the text.

3. Click .

Your keywords will be highlighted in the list of results, except if you used Custom SQL mode.
 

Step 3 (optional): Restrict the number of results displayed

1. Apply filter criteria you want.

Restrict knowledge articles using a group of associated keywords

• Click Keywords.
• Select the words you want from the drop-down list.
  or
  Enter the first letters. Note: Once you have entered the third letter, predictive entry will automatically display a list.
• You can delete one of the selected keywords by clicking  next to it.
• Close the list of keywords by clicking Keywords again.
           
   

Select the value of one of the filter criteria, Change Location/Department/Category/CI

• Click .
• Search the value you want by browsing through the tree structure of the element.
           

2. Click the element you want in the list of results to see its details.

Step 4 (optional): Give a score to knowledge articles

Note: Only when you select a knowledge article 

1. Click the number of stars  you want to award in the knowledge article form.

The score will automatically be saved and the average score will be refreshed in the list of results.
         

How to add a search engine

Step 1: Copy the URL of the wiki search engine

1. Open the home page of the EasyVista wiki in your Web browser.

2. Enter TEST in the search field.

3. Click .

The results page will appear.
         

4. Copy the URL used by the wiki to run its search.

Step 2: Configure Service Manager

1. Select Administration > Parameters > External Search Engines in the menu.

• Paste the search wiki URL in the step 3 area.
• Enter the name of your search engine in the step  4 area.
• Click Install then Save.
           
   

Step 3: Test the wiki search engine

1. Run a full-text search.

2. Select the new search engine from the drop-down list.

3. Enter the text you want to search for.

A new window will display the results found in the Wiki.