User Manual For Website Editors and Administrators

Search in Contentstack | Basic and Advanced Search

 

UI Differences (Before / After)

The new Interface is coming with a major change in the advanced search. The Advanced search is more prominent and set globally in the Interface. It has also more functionalities, which can be used.

Before

The Advanced search was hidden behind an extra page to search and build filter criteria and nested conditions:

 

After

In the new interface it is not an extra page anymore and the search is executed within the same view (page):

 

Before

You had a search field directly above your list which is searching within the selected ContentType

 

After:

Now you have a search in the header which allows you to search within the ContentType but also generically and flexibly if you change your criteria

If you open the search field, you will now see at one glance

  • Your recent searches

  • Recently used fields

  • Saved searches

 

 

Basic functionalities

To understand the usage of the search, let’s dive into the basic functionalities of this feature.

Main features


This search is divided into following areas:

  1. Quick Search → You can search via fields within ‘'Entries’' or ‘'Assets’'

    1. If you use the spacebar on your keyboard a new dropdown with a selection of system-defined fields of ContentStack are shown for Entries, such as


  2. Recently used fields → fields which has been recently used for a search by you

  3. Saved searches → You see a

    save-icon next to the search field. You are able to save your queries for specific usecases

  4. Advanced Search-button (violett) → if you click on this button, it will open a tree-structure and helps you to expand your search conditions and specify your search criteria. If you want to go back to the quick search you have to clear your search.

 

5. Filters: if you click onto this button it will open an another ‘'view’' of this functionality and it helps you to further narrow down your search results and get specific output.

 

System-defined fields vs. User-defined fields or others

System-defined fields are fields which are covered by ContentStack as a system itself.

User-defined fields or others are custom-fields which you can find e.g. within a content-type entry

 

Quick Search

The quick search contains the functionality to search within a standard condition. It helps you to search within a basic criteria and in all entries/assets.

E.g. if you would like to check quickly who published when within a ContentType. You are able to only select fields (system-defined fields) in a base condition.

 

You are also able to search via ‘'text’', here’s an example that shows all entries which contain ‘'whitepaper robotics’':

 

Advanced Search

The Advanced Search option within the search allows you to perform a deeper field-level search on entries and assets. It allows you to refine search results based on specific parameters by adding conditions to the base query. You can use conditional operators to specify your search:

Conditional Operators

You can create multiple search queries and run them to get the exact piece of content that you are looking for. It is allowed to build queries using Any” or “All operators (not only one as in the quick search).

If you start with a search, you have two options to specify your condition type. Conditional types are ANY(OR) and ALL(AND) to search for specific pieces of content within your stack.

You are performing a search query with a combination of condition-types and operators.

You have the possibility to add condition types and operators which are:

 

 

 

The new Interface shows you a tree-structure which helps you to see additional/nested conditions directly.

The advanced search acts from top-level fields (system-defined fields) to lower-level fields.

Here’s an example for following use case, if you want to have an exact result:

 

 

  1. Start with a conditional type and base query: match all (AND) → Match all entries to ContentType ‘'Webpage’' AND which are published in PROD (Top-Level)

 

2. Now add more criterias as an additional second condition (Nested condition) to specifiy your search query (Lower-Level):

  • Because you start a new condition, ContentStack asks you for the ConditionType (AND/OR) again

  • Now search for a user-defined field which is called ‘'URL’'

 

3. Use the operator ‘'contain’' → because /lp/Whitepaper is not the EXACT URL path, you would like to have all whitepaper webpages which contains /lp/Whitepaper in the URL.

4. Apply

 

As a comparison, if you use the quick search:

It searches through all entries and looks for a text which contains ‘'/lp/Whitepaper’' in the entire Mitsubishi ContentStack universe.

 

Use cases

 

Open Advanced Search

Base Query

  • ConditionType match all (AND) and define your base query

    • match all

    • ContentType: MyMitsubishi users

    • Created at 2022-01-01 (Greater than and equals) & created at 2022-09-30 (Less than and equals)

    • Published Environment = PROD

 

Additional query/Nested Condition

  • Add nested condition

    • matches [System] Portal = de

Open Advanced Search

Base Query

  • ContentType = MyMitsubishi Users

Additonal query (Nested Condition)

  • Match all (AND)

  • User-defined field: [SYSTEM] Email in authentification system contains @freshcells

  • User-defined field: [SYSTEM] Email in authentification system contains beril

Alternatively you can use: First name, but I’m not always enter my first name

 

Use QuickSearch

Base query

  • You can go to ‘'Webpage’' (or start from scratch)

  • The search automatically changes, if you have selected a ContentType in left navigation bar and a query is automatically applied

  • Type in ‘'Selection tool’' it will be added as a ‘'text’'

  • Select ContentType: Product

  • Type in: FR-A8CN04 (it will be added as a “text” automatically)

 

→ Open Advanced Search

Base Query

  • Go to Advanced Search to have a specific, refined result

  • ContentType = Webpage (You can also can go directly to the Webpage ContentType)

  • Language = Germany-German & Localized in Germany-German

  • Published Environment = PROD

Addtional query (Nested Condition)

  • Match all (AND)

  • URL contains /lp/Whitepaper

 

 

Updates by ContentStack (Q&A by ContentStack)

ContentStack continuously improving their features. In regards to Advanced Search there will be upcoming updates.

Please find below Question and Answers which are giving you an overall overview: