A Search Results field puts a table of records on the form for internal users. The results respect the user's security, so people see only the records they are entitled to.


It is the field that turns a form into a working screen: a list of what needs attention, with the rest of the form reacting to whatever the user clicks.


Where the results come from

Search Method - Either Search by Search ID, which runs a saved search, or Search by Fields, which builds the search on the field itself.


Search ID (Search by Search ID) - The ID of the saved search, as it appears in the address bar when the search is open: for .../search/11893 the ID is 11893. Building the search in the normal search screen first and pointing at it here is the easier route, and it keeps the search maintainable in one place.


Record Type (Search by Fields) - The record type to search, with Sort By setting the order. This mode also offers workflow filters, which is what makes a work-queue screen possible without a saved search:

  • Assigned - No Preference, or only records assigned to the person using the form.
  • Route History - Whether the record has ever been in a workflow, or never has.
  • Work Trigger - Records currently at a named step, records not at it, records at any step, or ignore workflow entirely.


Reacting to a click

Click to Act on Record - Turn this on to let the user click a row, then choose what happens: Open In Same Window, Open In New Window, Open In Preview Window, or Set Field Value.


With Open In Preview Window, two more settings appear: Show 'Go To Record' Button adds a way to open the record properly from the preview, and Hide Document List starts the preview with the document list closed, which the user can still open.


With Set Field Value, choose the Field to Update and the New Value. This is what keeps the user on the form: clicking a row sets a field, and a Multi-Action watching that field fills in the rest of the screen.


What the search hands back

After a search runs it can write what it found into other fields on the form. These are the settings that make the rest of the form respond, and they are worth knowing before building anything complicated.


Result Count to Field - The number of records found. Use it to show a count, or to hide a section when there is nothing to show.


Result IDs to Field - A comma-separated list of the IDs found.


Single Record ID to Field - The ID, but only when exactly one record was found. This is how a lookup that lands on a single record can go straight on to display it.


Checked Record IDs to Field - A comma-separated list of the IDs the user has ticked, when check boxes are shown. This is how a form acts on a selection - approve these five, email these three.


Search ID to Field - The ID of the search that was run.


Display

Show Check Boxes In Results - Adds a check box to each row so the user can select several. Pair it with Checked Record IDs to Field.


Items Label - What the rows are called, in the plural - Invoices, Students, Claims. Without it the field says Records.


Text Wrapping - Whether values too wide for their column are truncated or wrapped. Leave it unset to follow the user's own preference.


Results Per Page - How many rows to show at a time.


Show Top Pager Row and Show Bottom Pager Row - The bands above and below the results carrying the search criteria, the result count and the pager. Turning both off gives a bare table, which suits a small list embedded in a larger screen.


Show Search Criteria - Whether the user can see the description of the search that ran.


Show Features in Results - Whether the user gets the Preview, Reports and similar options.


Advanced

Run Search When E-form Loads - Runs the search as the form opens rather than waiting for something to trigger it. Turn it off where the search depends on something the user has to enter first.


Log as user's search - Registers each search as one performed by the current user. The reason to turn it on is that it lets the user re-run the same search in the normal search screen, using an address of the form https://YourServerURL/search/{fieldname} with the Search ID to Field setting above.


Refreshing it

The search does not re-run on its own. Use the Refresh Search Results action from a Button, Multi-Action or Timer after anything that changes what should be listed. The Trigger Search Field action runs the search from elsewhere on the form, and Remove Record by ID takes a row out of the displayed results without re-running the whole search.