Reference: Global Search in Service Manager Portal

This article applies to: Cireson Service Manager Portal, version v9.7.0 and above.

Overview

Searching is a very important aspect of any Service Portal, and as such is one of the most used functions. Global Search can be used in place of the existing search to improve user responsiveness and make searching for anything in the portal quick and easy.

With the new Advanced Global Search, our target is to modernize the primary search at the top of the screen and make it a single search for all required searches.
In the end, this will include any managed type out of Service Manager, plus our HTML Knowledge Base Articles. This will allow the user to search for what they are looking for based on names and content rather than working about the type in most cases.

Global Search Configuration

Note: A CMDB Portal license is required to use Global Search

Configuration requires 3 primary steps:

• Enable the feature (while in preview)
• Add the managed types to the dynamic data cache that you want to be able to search on
• Enable the types and properties to search in the global search settings

Step 1: Enable the Feature

Note: The Service Manager and Service Management services must be installed on the same server, otherwise they will not function correctly.

To enable Global Search, go to Admin Settings->Features and then turn on the Global Search toggle

Step 2: Add the managed types to the dynamic data cache that you want to be able to search on

Add the objects that we will display in the search into the Dynamic Data filters table. As these are 'contains' filters, we can enter just the first part of the managed objects tables that we want to include.
An example would be 'MT_System$WorkItem$' and this would include all work item types.

Adding these tables is done in Admin Settings->Dynamic Data->Configuration. Click Add and fill out the table required and click Save.

Note: Adding the objects to be cached here does NOT automatically include them in Global Search, it only makes them available within the Global Search Settings for selection.

Step 3: Enable the types and properties to search in the global search settings

Global Search Settings can be found in Admin Settings->Global Search Settings. Administrators will be able to turn on and off what can be searched for in the Global Search feature with finely grained control. 

In the left panel, scroll through the list and select the objects or classes you are interested in performing a search on, and in the right panel, turn on the properties that are being searched on, as well as their visibility.

Look and Feel

Let's take a second to understand what a search result will look like once it’s been configured. Below is an example search result, with each of the available field types highlighted:

1) Title: The title of the result and this is also the hyperlink and can be activated. This hyperlink is handled by the portal by identifying the item type and utilizing the appropriate form type.

2) Icon: You can define the icon displayed for each class type.

3) Body: This is where you will want to place the most detailed property that you want to display, as it will show the greater amount of text than any other property.

4) Data: The data property is where you’d play short informational values; things like tier, status, or Work Item ID. Multiple values can be displayed along this line.

5) Hidden: The purpose of the hidden property in the configuration is so that the value of the property is indexed for searching and it can be used to find what you are looking for but without displaying it in the result.

Result Configuration

In the Global Search Settings page, you can enable the classes that you want to be able to search. You can also rename the class, so make it more readable if desired.

Once the class is enabled for search, we have to select one or more properties to be searched and displayed. For each property that we select, the value will be indexed, and we can determine where in the result the value will be displayed. Additionally, we can configure the way the various classes and properties are displayed so that you can provide friendly names for each class or property you’ve chosen to display.

In the screenshot above we can see that the 'Cached_MT_System_WorkItem_Incident' class has been selected and turned on, and it has also been renamed to plainly 'Incident'. The properties that have been selected are Description, which is being displayed as the Body of the search, and the Source_ID (renamed to WorkItemID) being displayed as Data in the search. (Not shown is also the Title being displayed as Title)

After finishing the class and search configuration, we should immediately be able to search for results.

Note: If a value has been given a friendly name, it can also be localized by added translations in the localization table for the new key/value that was created. Once you’ve made the changes, you can easily see which ones you’ve edited.

There are additional settings per class that can be configured by clicking the Cog in the top right corner of the Global Search configuration window:

Here we can modify the following settings:

Icon - Give the Search a relevant icon for identification
Custom URL - You can set a custom URL and pass any property on it. The available properties will show after typing "{{". EX: http://contoso.com/?searchKey={{DisplayName}}
Predefined Filter Query - Narrow down search results by adding a default filter query for this class. Related entity fields are not yet supported
Enable Search By Default - Require the user to toggle the filter on if this is unselected

After we’ve configured each of the properties and placed the proper naming for the class you want to search, we are ready to search and see our results.

Results

At the top of the screen, now that the global search is enabled and configured, we should see the new singular search box. We can then select it and type in there for results.

Results will be displayed as you type. Further, you can filter the results down by class by selecting the filter icon in the upper left of the results popup.

Once you find what you are looking for you can select it to view its form, and get to work!

Global Search Enhancements

As of version 10.2, Global Search has had a number of improvements go through based on your feedback! In the customization release we’ve giving you more ways to use Global Search to your advantage across Service Manager and the wider System Center ecosystem. 

Search Icons

Mass Toggle Filter

Administrative Control: Custom URL

• Active Directory Printers: Redirect to their Web Interface 
  
• Active Directory Users: Redirect to an internal HR website 
  
• Network Devices: Redirect to the Microsoft Operations Manager portal 
  
• Azure Resources from Operations Manager redirect to the Azure Portal 

Administrative Control: Enable Search by Default

As of version 10.4, Global Search introduces the ability to index and surface Work Item Comments

Analyst and End User Comment Search

As of version 10.5.1, Global Search introduces the ability Administratively filter results

Predefined Filter Query with OData - Define how results are returned such as:

• Analyst Comments, but only show the ones that aren’t private
• Knowledge Articles that aren’t in Draft Status
• Hardware Assets that aren’t Retired (requires Cireson Asset management)
• Azure constructs that haven’t been deleted in your tenant (requires the SCOM Azure Management Pack)

Need help getting started? Check out our article on Producing OData Queries.

As of version 11.1, the Global Search More Results page enables filtering by any user of Global Search based on results. In order to access these filters you can either click on "Filter Search" in the top right or on any of the Classes on the left.

Filtering on More Results

Global Search Scoping

With v11.2.0 of the portal, Global Search introduces the ability to scope Class visibility based on if the signed in user is an Analyst or End User. In the following example, Azure Resource Groups are available for search but only to Analysts. To update Classes, simply navigate into the settings for the class and toggle the appropriate checkbox.

Global Search Max Results

With v11.6 of the portal, it is now possible to configure the maximum number of results returned in Global Search whether you are using the portal to search or making API calls to Global Search.