When you perform a search, specific rules determine how matches are found and ranked in the search results. For example, your search text will be split into smaller parts called tokens, and it may be treated as if it ends with a wildcard (*) even if you don’t explicitly add one. These rules use the following methods in the background to process your search text:
- Standard matching: Processes your search text as a whole by identifying complete tokens to find broader matches. The standard matching method looks for matches in all fields.
- Enhanced matching: Process your search text by splitting any complex tokens into smaller parts to find additional matches. The final search results combine matches from both standard and enhanced matching methods. This ensures that you receive comprehensive and relevant matches without having to modify your search text. The enhanced matching method looks for matches only in the Name and Tag fields.
Both standard and enhanced matching methods are automatically applied whenever you perform a search.
Search behavior explained with examples
The following examples explain how a search text is processed in standard and enhanced matching methods to return comprehensive and relevant matches. These examples assume that the UI search appends wildcard setting is disabled.
Why does loan return loansize but not sizeloan?
- Standard matching:
loanis treated as justloan. This doesn’t returnloansizeandsizeloan. - Enhanced matching:
loanis treated asloan*. This returnsloansizebut notsizeloan.
| Search text | Matching method | Treated as | Returns | Doesn't return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
loan
|
Standard | loan
|
loan
|
|
| Enhanced | loan*
|
loansize
|
sizeloan
|
Why doesn’t size loan return sizeloan?
- Standard matching: The space in
size loanacts as an OR operator, treating the text as two separate words. This returns results that contain eithersizeorloan, such assize caseorloan amount. This doesn’t return results that contain bothsizeandloan, such assize loanorsizeloan. - Enhanced matching: The space in
size loanacts as an AND operator, treating the text as a single phrase,size loan. This returns results that contain bothsizeandloanin that order, such assize loan. Additionally, the text is treated as a single phrase with a wildcard at the end,size loan*. This returns results that start withsize loan, such assize loanamount. However, this doesn’t returnsizeloanbecause it doesn’t contain a space.
| Search text | Matching method | Treated as | Returns | Doesn't return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
size loan |
Standard | size or loan |
|
|
| Enhanced |
|
|
sizeloan
|
Why doesn’t size_loan return sizeable loan?
- Standard matching: The underscore in
size_loanacts as the literal character, treating the text as a specific phrase,size_loan. This returns results only if there is an exact match, that is,size_loan. - Enhanced matching: The underscore in
size_loanacts as an AND operator, treating the text as a single phrase,size loan. This returns results that contain bothsizeandloanin that order, such assize loan. Additionally, the text is treated as a single phrase with a wildcard at the end,size loan*. This returns results that start withsize loan, such assize loanamount,size_loanabc, andsize.loanabc. However, this doesn’t returnsizeable loanbecausesizeableisn’t treated as a match forsize.
size loanamount exists in a Comment field, enhanced matching can't detect it.| Search text | Matching method | Treated as | Returns | Doesn't return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
size_loan |
Standard | size_loan
|
|
|
| Enhanced |
|
|
sizeable loan
|
How different search texts are interpreted
The following table shows how complex tokens are processed in the standard and enhanced matching methods.
| Search text | Standard matching | Enhanced matching |
|---|---|---|
sizeLoan
|
sizeloan
|
size, loan |
size_loan |
size_loan
|
size, loan |
size.loan |
size.loan
|
size, loan |
size-loan
|
size, loan
|
size, loan |
size=loan
|
size, loan
|
size, loan |
size123loan
|
size123loan
|
size, 123, loan |
Behavior when the "UI search appends wildcard" setting is enabled
The UI search appends wildcard setting, if enabled, uses the standard matching method but with a wildcard (*) added to the end of your search text. However, unlike the enhanced matching method, it looks for matches in all fields.