Best practices for searching and filtering in large databases

Learn how to refine searches and apply filters to quickly find records in results-limited lists and large databases.
Wherever large lists of items are displayed in a screen or dropdown list, results are limited to a predetermined maximum size, and a
Results Limited
message appears. Use the following best practices to refine your search, apply filters, and more easily find the items you need.
  • Use the
    Search Options
    field pattern-matching rules:
    Exact
    ,
    Begins with
    ,
    Contains
    , or
    Ends with
    . Use
    Contains
    to quickly narrow a list to items whose IDs include a partial match. For example, if all clients in the Ann Arbor office contain
    AA
    in the client ID, searching with
    Contains
    and
    AA
    displays items such as
    CLIENTAA01
    and
    CLIENTAA02
    .
  • To maximize the usefulness of search, design searchable fields, especially IDs and sort names, so they sort logically in alphabetical order.
  • Use a filter to display items that are not easy to find by entering a search term, or create a custom filter.
  • The sort order of a screen grid or dropdown list affects which records appear in a results-limited list. Use sort order together with filtering to narrow the displayed records more efficiently.
    1. In the Review tab of Time and Expense Entry, select the
      Sheet Date
      column heading to sort by descending sheet date. This brings the most recent time and expense entries into the results-limited list.
    2. Filter on
      Staff ID
      ,
      Specified Staff
      ,
      <Staff ID>
      to display only the recent work history for a particular staff member.