Universal Search

Universal Search is one box that finds objects, members, Prism Paths, lines of the open object, menu commands, workspace pages and the places you have recently been, with a preview of the selected result's source. You open it with the Search Everywhere command.

Opening Universal Search

Universal Search opens as a popup over the Workspace window. The popup closes when it loses focus or when you open a result. The Search menu items marked below open it pinned into a window of its own, which stays open.

The title bar button hides when the window is too narrow to show it beside the menus. In the workspace window, Ctrl+Shift+G opens the separate Go to Prism Path dialog; see Go to path and position.

Search box and results

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Before you type

With an empty box, Universal Search lists two groups. Select a row and press Enter to use it.

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Query syntax

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Type ? in the box to list the syntax in Universal Search itself. A plain name is matched letter by letter, so cust finds Customer and Cust. Ledger Entry.

Prefixes

A prefix at the start of the text, after any pills, changes what Universal Search lists.

Names, ids and types

A single letter counts as a type only when digits follow, as in t18 or t 18, so t shirt is an ordinary name search.

Pasted forms

Paste an object the way code, an export or a client address names it, and Universal Search finds that object.

Filter tokens

1. 1 k:field Filter token, now a pill A key, a colon and a value. The space after it turns it into a pill. k: keeps one kind; field keeps fields.
2. 2 of:18 The object it is limited to Keeps the members of the object with id 18. With k:field, that is table 18 Customer. A name or an id range works too.
3. 3 "credit" Quoted, exact text Matches names that contain the text, ignoring case, with no letter-by-letter matches. It stays text in the box.

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A filter token is a key, a colon and a value, such as k:table. Type a space after it and it becomes a pill; pills combine. Values can be quoted (of:"Sales Header"), listed with commas (k:table,cu) and written in the plural (k:fields).

Type a key alone, such as k:, to list its values; select one and press Tab. A value Universal Search does not know shows Not understood in the status line.

Object kinds alone list objects only; member kinds alone list members only; a role or of: lists members only. Properties are listed only with k:property. An event member reads Variable :: Event, and a trigger on a field or control reads No. :: OnValidate.

Search modes and kinds

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The search modes are shorthand for pills: choosing one replaces the other mode pills, and the selector shows the last mode pill in the box.

Checking kinds writes one k: pill with all of them, such as k:table,page, in place of any other k: pill. A k: pill you type yourself checks its kinds in the list.

Results and grouping

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For a search, Universal Search lists these groups in order:

1. Completions, while you type the value of a filter token.
2. The results: Objects and Members with Group: Kind; one group per object, such as Codeunit Sales-Post, then More, with Group: Object; one Results group with Group: None.
3. Commands: the five best-matching menu commands, when no filter token is set.
4. Pages: workspace pages whose title matches, when no filter token is set.
5. Search further: Search code for "…" runs Code Lines over all objects.

Results rank by how well they match, then by shorter name, object type and id. A capped list ends in a Show more row naming how many are not shown; each press lists five times as many. When a search leaves exactly one result, its actions are listed under it.

Opening results and actions

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To act on a result without opening it, select it and press Tab, type > after moving to it with the arrow keys, or select its More actions button. The status line reads Actions of … · Escape returns to the results.

Shift+Tab or Escape returns to the results with the same result selected.

Pinning into a window

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Select Pin into a window or press Ctrl+Enter to move the search into a window of its own. The query, the pills, the grouping and the selected result carry over. The window is titled Search, followed by the query, such as Search: k:procedure post*.

Keyboard shortcuts

Status messages

Open an object by name or number

Use this when you know an object's name, part of it, or its number.

1. Press Ctrl+T.
2. Type the type and the number, such as cu 80, or part of the name, such as sales post.
3. Press Enter to open the first result, or move to another with the arrow keys first.

The object opens on the Objects page and Universal Search closes.

Find a field by name across tables

Use this to find which tables have a field with a given name.

1. Choose Search › Fields by Name…. A pinned window opens with a k:field pill.
2. Type the field name, such as "posting date" for names that contain it, or Posting* for a wildcard.
3. Select Group until it reads Group: Object to see the fields table by table.
4. Select a field to go to its declaration; the window stays open for the next one.

List the event publishers of an object

Use this to see which events an object publishes before you write a subscriber.

1. Press Ctrl+T.
2. Type is:publisher and then of:"Sales-Post" , each followed by a space so it becomes a pill.
3. Read the publishers in the list, or type part of a name to narrow it.

Use is:subscriber in the same way to list an object's event subscribers.

Run a menu command from the keyboard

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P. The box starts with >.
2. Type part of the command's name, such as code lines.
3. Press Enter to run the selected command.

Copy a list of results to a spreadsheet

Use this to hand a list of objects or members to a colleague or a spreadsheet.

1. Search as usual, then press Ctrl+Enter to pin the search into a window.
2. Wait for the list to widen once you stop typing, and select Show more if the list is still capped.
3. Select Copy results and paste into the spreadsheet.

Behavior

• Position: the popup opens centered on the workspace window, near its top, never above the title bar.
• Size: drag the popup's left, right or bottom edge, or a lower corner, to resize it; the top edge is fixed. Prism keeps the size for next time. Double-click an edge to restore the default size.
• Preview: appears once the selection rests for a moment, colored at once, with semantic coloring after about half a second. The preview column is shown only when the list holds objects or members.
• Recent: the list follows the workspace window's navigation history.

Related

• Code Lines
• Find Usages
• Go to path and position
• Object index