10 IN THE SPOTLIGHT

ADVANCED SEARCH: GET THE BEST RESULTS If you use TOPdesk intensively, you may lose track of tasks, persons or contracts. However, TOPdesk features many handy search functions to ensure you always have access to the information you need. This article provides a number of useful tips to help you fi nd what you are looking for.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 11 Text: Timme Hos

Searching starts with autocomplete When you start typing in the search fi eld, TOPdesk displays a list of

suggestions from the selected card type (database). This list includes all

terms from the database that start with the letters you have entered.

Simplify your search with ‘fuzzy’Users should be aware that TOPdesk uses ‘fuzzy search’. This prevents

typing mistakes or spelling variations from affecting search results. For

instance, if you were to search for pinter, TOPdesk will also display

results for ‘printer’.

Exact searchUsing quotation marks ensures that you only see search results for

your exact search term “printer”. In other words, quotation marks

disable fuzzy search. This also works for multi-word search terms.

Please note: highlighted search terms in the text are based on

individual search terms. This may make it seem as if only part of the

search term was taken into account.

Searching for several termsIf you are looking for a card that includes two specifi c search terms,

use the command [term A] AND [term B]. For instance, if you

want to fi nd all calls featuring the terms ‘printer’ and ‘malfunction’,

you would enter printer AND malfunction.

To search for at least one of both terms, use the command

[term A] OR [term B].

It is also possible to combine these commands: ([term A] OR

[term B]) AND ([term C] OR [term D]). Use parentheses

to defi ne combined terms. For the example above, the results

must contain at least one of the terms between the fi rst set of

parentheses and at least one term from the second set. An example

of this command is (printing OR printer) AND (error OR

malfunction).

Using wildcardsUsing an asterisk in a search term generates results matching

characters before, after or before and after the asterisk. For instance,

if you search for cof*, *copy and de*n, possible results would be

coffee, photocopy and Dean. You can also use wildcards if you are not

sure which spelling convention was used within TOPdesk. The search

term help* will generate results for both help desk and helpdesk.

You can also use a wildcard to replace a single character. Including a

question mark in a search term lets the fuzzy search include variations

for that character. For instance, the search term te?t will generate

results such as test, text and tent. This wildcard is also useful when

searching for serial numbers or different (or incorrect) spelling

variations such as organization/organisation.

Excluding terms and charactersUse the command NOT to exclude terms and characters from your

search. For instance, the command error NOT printer will

exclude ‘printer’ from the results.

When copying a search term (such as an error message or a URL),

you will have to remove or ‘neutralize’ wildcards such as ? or *. You

can deactivate wildcards by inserting a backslash before the wildcard.

In other words, you change ? into \?.

DataDictThe DataDict is the ideal solution for users who wish to perform

very advanced searches within TOPdesk. This lets you specify textual

search fi elds in the quick fi nder. The DataDict is especially useful

when a general search term generates too many results, or if you

wish to search specifi c fi elds or categories, such as the name of the

caller in Incident Management. Select the desired fi eld name from

the Category list. Your search would be [Field name]: search

term, for example ‘object: dean’. You can access the DataDict

in TOPdesk via the TOPdesk menu > Help > DataDict. Another useful

alternative is a (saved) selection with an ‘ask during use’ value.

Visit the Help & Support site

Our Help & Support site features tips on how to get the most

out of your TOPdesk, including Getting Started instructions,

manuals and more. You can access the Help & Support site by

clicking on the question mark in TOPdesk.