In this article, we will review how to use the Search option in PPM Express.
The search functionality in PPM Express provides an efficient way to locate items across various pages and sections, enhancing navigation and saving time compared to scrolling or configuring new filters.
Overview of the Search Feature
- Quick and convenient: Search is designed to work alongside filters for quicker navigation and reduced scrolling.
- Case-insensitive: The search is not case-sensitive and works from the first character of the input.
- Availability: Accessible on the Timeline and Table views.
- Column-based: Search works across default and custom columns, and users can define which columns to include.
- Flat and hierarchical views: Returns flat lists for non-hierarchical data and supports viewing hierarchies for structured data.
The search functionality is accessible across all major pages and specific sections of PPM Express:
Main Pages
- Portfolios
- Programs
- Projects
- Roadmaps
- Resources
- Resource Planning and Utilization
- Strategic Priorities
- Company Objectives
- Business Challenges
- People Management
- Archive Projects
Sections
| Page | Section |
|---|---|
| My Space | My Assignments |
| Portfolio | Programs & Projects, Key Dates, Action Items, Key Decisions, Risks |
| Program | Projects, Key Dates, Action Items, Key Decisions, Risks |
| Projects | Key Dates, Action Items, Key Decisions, Risks, Iterations, Change Requests, Dependencies, Issues, Lessons Learned, Steering Committee, Deliverables, Invoices, Purchase Orders, Resource Plan |
| Tasks | Tasks |
| Roadmap | Roadmap |
| Resource | Utilization, My Assignments |
| Objectives | Sub-Objectives, Contributed By |
| Business Challenges | Ideas |
| Ideas | Risks, Resource Plan |
How to Use the Search Feature
To initiate the search option, perform the following:
- Click the Search icon in the toolbar to expand the search bar.
- Begin typing your query to filter results.
You can define the search columns according to your request:
- Select the columns to search within, including default and custom columns.
- All columns are selected by default.
- The columns available and the search results are based on the currently applied filter.
Search for hierarchical and non-hierarchical lists:
- Hierarchical lists: Returns flat lists with an option to view hierarchy.
- Non-hierarchical lists: Displays a flat list of results.
- For Objectives/Sub-Objectives: Returns hierarchical lists, always including Key Results linked to the objectives.
For example, users without the "Manage financial details" permission cannot search within cost-related columns. These cost columns will not be available in the Configure Columns of the search option in either the default or custom views.
Use specific symbols or terms for targeted searches:
- "d": For duration columns (e.g., 5d for 5 days).
- "h" / "m": For effort columns (e.g., 25h 30m for 25 hours and 30 minutes).
- "%": For progress/percentage columns (e.g., 55% for progress).
- ".": For cost/decimal columns (e.g., 4500.55).
- "yes" / "no": For flag columns (e.g., Yes/No).
- Dates: Use your tenant's region format (e.g., 25/12/2024, 25-12-2024, or 12/25/2024).
- Time: Include time for fields like "Created date," "Last modified", and "Last AD sync." You can use the comma to search the time (e.g., 4/12/2024, 14:35:02, or 14:35).
- Sync Status: Use terms like "in progress", "fail", "success".
- To start searching by linked systems/tasks, start typing the name of the linked system:
- PPM Express
- Office 365
- Azure DevOps
- Jira
- Planner
- Project Online
- SmartSheet
- Monday.com
- File Integration
- Project Desktop
- Project for the Web
Clearing the search bar or refreshing the page removes all search results.
If no matching records are found, an information message appears.
If a section is empty, the search icon is not displayed.