Creating a Search Option not Based on an Index

Most search options that yield exact match searches, such as item barcode and purchase order number searches, are based directly on the table and column where the information is stored. Consequently, you do not need to specify an index for these search options.

To determine which searches you do not need an index for, see the table in Indexes and Tables.

 

The task in this section describes only those fields necessary for the task. If this task does not describe a field, leave the field blank. (For a complete description of all fields in the window, see Creating a Single Alphabetical or Single Keyword Search Option.)

Before you begin, you must know the table and column names that the search uses. For example, an item barcode search would search the ibarcode column in the item table. (For more information on table and column names, see the Table Structures Guide.)

To create a search option not based on an index

View: search
Process: Searching\PAC Control Menu\Search Option Table

1 In these fields, do the following:

Field

Action

Search

Enter the code for the PAC flavor or window that displays this search option.

To determine which search window to add the option to, see Table 3-1. Or, you can make an educated guess about which code corresponds to which window. (For example, if the search is for borrower information in Circulation, the search option code is “borr” which corresponds to the Borrower window.)

Index No.

Enter a number to specify the index order.

The number you enter determines the order in which the search appears in the main search window. The indexes can appear in any order, but each index in a search window must have a unique number.

Label

Enter a descriptive name for the index.

Mq Index

Leave this field empty.

-or- [Table

Enter the table that contains the column with the information you want to search for.

Column

Enter the column that stores the information.

Foreign Key]

Enter the column that links the table you filled in with the table that stores most of the information that the search should retrieve.

For example, if you are creating a borrower barcode search option, you need to specify the column borrower# as the foreign key. This is necessary because borrower barcodes are stored in a separate table from other borrower information, such as name. The foreign key links the barcode to the correct borrower so that the search result includes the borrower’s name and so forth.

You do not need to fill in this field every time.

2 In these fields, do the following:

Field

Action

This index contains

Enter the help text that you want to display for the search in the main search window.

Example 1

Enter an example of a search string a user might enter for this index.

Users can view this example by clicking the Example button in the search window.

Describe example 1

Enter a description of the search results for this example.

Example 2

Enter another example of a search string a user might enter for this index.

Users can view this example by clicking the Example button in the search window.

Describe example 2

Enter a description of the search results for this example.

Display View

Enter or choose the view that displays the search results only when the search option is one of these types:

A combined keyword index for staff searching. Usually, the display view will be the one used to display the titles list window.
An option not included in the PAC flavor list. Examples of searches you might enter include a display view for a subject keyword or call number search. (For example, you might enter “closauth_subject” as the view for a subject keyword search.)
An option that is not a bibliographic search. An example is the PO Title Alphabetical search in Acquisitions or the Borrower Name Alphabetical search in Circulation.

You can determine the right view by figuring out which table (and hence view) stores and displays the information you want to retrieve. (For a list of windows and their corresponding views, see Horizon Views and the Windows They Configure.)

Note: To see what information a view displays, open the view definition for the view and page down to the List View group. This group displays the information displayed for each column in the view.

 


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