Searching in XPRESSO
Ways to Search in XPRESSO
To simplify and expedite searching through large amounts of test results and to help you isolate specific equipment details, you can use the following search methods/tools to search for information in XPRESSO:
Global Search Tool: Provides a quick, all encompassing method to search most registered objects in the XPRESSO database; search results are limited to key fields in each registered object type.
Searching Localized Registered Objects: Allows you to search for information at a more finite level in each discrete registered object; object details can be further searched/refined using a secondary search field, custom filters, sorting schemes, and table customization.
Custom Tags: You can also create or assign Custom Tags to flag important information with user-defined (personalized) keywords to create a searchable soft link to help you quickly return to flagged information. You can only search for Custom tags in the Global Search Tool.
IMPORTANT:
When you perform a search in XPRESSO (via the Global Search Tool or at a registered object level), search results are limited to information pertaining to your current "active" Group and not all groups you have a membership in. For security reasons, search results are not returned from any Groups you don't have a membership in.
You can use the Global Search tool as your primary method to perform a system-wide search of most registered objects in the XPRESSO database using keywords or pre-applied custom tags from a single GUI form on the XPRESSO dashboard.
The Global Search tool is designed to quickly search most registered objects in the XPRESSO database at a high level but does not return the same verbosity of searching discrete registered objects. The Global Search tool is limited to reporting key fields within each registered objects searched but does have the advantage of searching most registered objects at once rather than a single object. In the event, no search results are returned in the Global Search Tool, try searching at a discrete registered object level to see if those results return any usable data.
The Global Search Tool only searches for information pertaining to key registered objects such as Jobs, Job Requests/Profiles, and resources/environment details such as test harnesses and testbeds (see the filter list on the Search panel for a complete list of objects searched by the Global Search Tool). For registered objects not supported directly in the Global Search Tool such as Branches, Platforms, OSes, Locations, and Webhooks, you can still perform searches at the registered object level.
From the Main Navigation Bar, click Search to open the Global Search tool and enter an appropriate keyword to search for. See the Advanced Keyword Search Tips topic below for the different ways to maximize, minimize, or refine your search results.
NOTE:
Keyword text entries in the Global Search tool are not case-sensitive.
When your search results display, you can further refine your search results by clicking on one or more of the filters on the Search panel to limit the number of search results. Click the All filter at any time to show search results from all supported objects types.
Searching Local Registered Objects
With some network testing and configuration scenarios, you may want to search for information at a discrete registered object level rather than searching all registered objects with the Global Search tool.
Unlike the Global Search tool which searches all supported registered objects, the search results only apply to the registered object returned at a local level being searched. The search results returned however are more comprehensive since all fields associated with the registered objects are searched/reported.
To Search Local Registered Objects:
To access the Search tool associated with Registered Objects/Items:
From the Main Navigation Bar, choose Main Menu→Menu_Category→Registered_Object_type to open the page of the registered object that you want to search.
Choose one the following:
- You can access the search pane for some registered objects, for example: Job Requests, harness instances, and engine instances directly located below the object Page header.
- For some registered objects, for example, Jobs, testbeds, and topologies, you must click the Show Filters button located on the top-right side of the page to display the search pane.
Enter your search string in the Search pane. Search results are returned at the same time you enter data.
NOTE 1:
Advanced keyword searching can only be used with the Global Search tool and cannot be used when searching localized registered items.
NOTE 2:
Keyword text entries entered into the search entry panel for localized registered items are case-sensitive.
Secondary Refinement of Search Results for Local Registered Objects
You have three options to further refine your search results when your search results display:
Select an appropriate filter type located below the primary search pane; filters can be used in combination with each other. Search results are returned at the same time you configure a filter. Click the Clear Filters button to return to your original search results.
Click the Sort icon button located to the right of each column heading to sort a table column in ascending/descending order using a column value to create a logical listing of the data you can scroll through. Depending on the data contained within the table column, sorting may be performed:
- alphabetically (if applicable).
- using a logical column value (for example, lowest to highest value).
- using a logical grouping of values (for example, data is grouped together when they have same value such as Errored, or Stopped).
Click the Filter icon button located to the right of each column heading (if available), to apply a pre-set filter to a value within an individual column. For example, just show all Errored states in a column, or show both Errored and Stopped states in column. This can be customized based on the expected values within a column heading.
TIP:
You can also customized how registered object tables can be viewed to suit your reading preferences and to help you quickly locate/isolate specific object you may be looking for. For example, you can hide or show individual table columns or modify the order of the columns as they appear on the GUI (left to right). See Table Customization for more information.
Custom Tags is unique and personalized identification or classification label that can be associated to objects. You can add a new custom tag, or assign an existing tags to flag important information or registered item in XPRESSO; this allows you to quickly return to the "flagged" information/item by searching for the custom tag in the Global Search tool.
Custom Tags are a unique and personalized identification or classification label that can be associated to objects. You can add a new custom tag, or assign an existing tags to flag important information or registered item in XPRESSO; this allows you to quickly return to the "flagged" information/item by searching for the custom tag in the Global Search tool. Custom tags provide:
An easy way to apply a custom label using user-defined (personalized) keywords rather than searching for system generated IDs and information.
An easy method for tracking issues using multiple custom tag combinations. For example, you could apply a custom tag to a potential bug and another custom tag to several failed results. You could then specify both custom tags in the Global Search tool to filter/isolate the specific details to a problem.
The same filtering and advanced keyword searching techniques that can be used with the Global Search tool can also be applied to custom tags.
The following general rules apply to creating new custom tags or assigning pre-defined custom tags:
All Group Membership roles can create a new custom tag or assign a pre-defined custom tag created by other Group Members to flag important information.
Pre-defined custom tags are only visible to the Members within your current active Group. This applies to both associating a custom tag to a registered object, or when searching for an object using a custom tag keyword in the Global Search tool.
Custom tags must start with a letter and contain at least two characters.
You can assign multiple custom tags to a registered object or a combination of a new custom tag and applying a pre-defined custom tag.
If a registered objects has multiple custom tags applied to it, you can remove one or all custom tags from the object.
Custom tags are not supported for any registered object that is globally defined within XPRESSO such the OS, Platforms, or Branches.
When a Custom tag is created, it can be associated or unassociated to items, however they can not be deleted by users. XPRESSO automatically purges unused custom tags from the system on a weekly basis.
TIP:
Group Admins and users should standardize on custom tag naming convention to assist with managing custom tags since a large number of custom tags can accumulate over time.
You can add custom tags to one or more of the registered items in registered XPRESSO.
To Add a new Custom Tag or Assign a Pre-defined Custom Tag:
Navigate to the details window for one of the supported registered items that custom tags can be assigned/applied to.
Complete one of the following:
- Enter a new name for the custom tag on the Tags entry field. New custom tags are automatically saved to the list of pre-defined custom tags when the tag is saved.
- Single-click on the Tags entry field and select the appropriate pre-defined custom tag from the pop-up list. If required, use the scroll bar to toggle up/down to see all pre-defined tags in the list. You can save multiple custom tags to a single registered object.
Click the Save icon button.
To Remove a Custom Tag from a Registered Item:
From the Main Navigation Bar, click Search to open the Global Search tool.
Enter the name of the custom tag that you want to un-assign from the registered object and click the Search icon button.
A list of all registered objects that have the custom tag applied appears.
Select the appropriate registered objects that has the custom tag applied to it. The registered object details window opens.
Click the Edit icon button located to the right of the Tags icon button.
Select the appropriate custom tags to un-assign and click the Save icon button.
You can use the following advanced keyword search techniques in the Global Search tool to maximize, minimize, or refine your search results to find a discrete piece of information:
TIP:
You can access the following advanced keyword search tips on the XPRESSO dashboard by clicking on the Search tips icon button in the Global Search tool.
Field names: You can specify a single field name or a combination of field names.
status: active
status: (active OR offline)
Wildcard expressions: You can use the following wildcards in the Global Search tool to represent one or more other characters:
An asterisk (#10033;) can be used to specify any number of characters. It is typically used at the end of a root word when you want to search for variable endings of a root word. For example, searching for educat* would return: educate, educated, education, educational, or educator.
A question mark (?) can be used to represent a single character anywhere in the word. It is most useful when there are variable spellings for a word and you want to search for all variants at once. For example, searching for colo?r would return both color and colour.
NOTE:
Wildcard search queries can be resource intensive in XPRESSO. Search queries that use a wildcard(s) are limited to a 15-second execution time limit. If they exceed the default time limit, the search query is terminated.
Regular expressions: You can specify a regular expression in a query string to looks for a specific pattern, as opposed to certain terms and phrases by wrapping them in forward-slashes ("/").
name:/joh?n(ath[oa]n)/
Ranges: You can enter a range for date, numeric or string fields. Inclusive ranges are specified with square brackets [min TO max] and exclusive ranges are specified with curly brackets {min TO max}. For example:
- To search for all search results in the month of November, 2019:
date_created: [2019-11-01 TO 2019-11-30]
For dates after November 30th, 2019:
date_created:{2019-12-01 TO *}
To search for numbers greater to 200:
duration:>200
Boolean Operators: You can use simple words AND, OR, NOT or AND NOT (also written &, || and !) as conjunctions to combine or exclude keywords in a search query resulting in more focused and productive results. By default, all terms are optional as long as one term matches. The preferred operators are + (this term must be present) and - (this term must not be present). All other terms are optional. In this query:
<
quick brown +fox -jumps
- fox must be present
- jumps must not be present
- quick and brown are optional — their presence increases the relevance
Groupings: You can group multiple terms or clauses together with parentheses to form sub-queries to target a particular field, or to enhance the result of a sub-query.
(quick OR brown) AND fox
Reserved Characters: The following characters function as search operators in the Global Search tool and cannot be directly inserted into a search query:
+ - = & || > < ! ( ){}[ ] ^ " ~ * ? : \ /
If you need to use any of the characters in your search query (and not as an search operator), you can still use them by proceeding the reserved character with a leading backslash. For example, to search for (1+1)=2, type:
\(1\+1\)\=2