PowerSearch: Customizing the List of Available Searches
Versions: 8.6 and Above
Background
Prior to PowerSearch, the pressing of F7 to start a search usually resulted in a legacy-style screen like the following:
This list contains the original Legacy search (line 1) and two PowerSearches (lines 2 and 3). At this point, the user can choose any of the listed searches to proceed.
Sometimes, however, it may not be desirable to show all of the available searches in the list. For example, the customer has created a modified version of a PowerSearch and wants their users to run the modified version only, Or, perhaps the individual user has reviewed the searches in the list and knows he or she will want to exclude one or more of them from the list. Elliott provides ways to hide searches in the list.
Multiple Ways to Affect the List of Available Searches
Global, Administrative Methods
- Company specialized control: Your administrator for Elliott can enable or disable PowerSearch globally as discussed here: PowerSearch: Setup and Configuration.
- Specifying eligible users: Which users can use PowerSearch is discussed here: PowerSearch: Setup and Configuration.
- Manual configuration: The administrator in charge of configuring Elliott can manually edit EL860U.Cfg to affect the list of PowerSearches for any given search in Elliott. See the following article for details: PowerSearch: Overriding Standard Searches.
- Hiding searches for all users: See the same-named section below.
Individual, User Methods
- User Preferences: Each user has the ability to ignore PowerSearches altogether. Making this happen is described here: PowerSearch: Hiding All PowerSearches for a User.
- Hiding a search for a particular user: See the same-named section below.
Hiding Searches for All Users
If the customer determines that they want to hide certain searches from all users, this procedure can be followed:
- Log in as SUPERVISOR. This means changes made will apply to ALL users.
- Run the Elliott task and press F7 to bring up the list of searches.
- Click on the Manage list... button. The list will expand to include a checkbox column on the left:
Notice the status line at the bottom indicates that changes made here will apply to ALL users, because SUPERVISOR is making this change.
- Click on a checkbox to hide a search from the list:
- Click the Save button to save any changes. It will return to the list, but this time the "hidden" search will be grayed out. SUPERVISOR can run grayed-out searches, but other users cannot::
Note that, for non-SUPERVISOR users, the search will be hidden from the list altogether.
Hiding a Search for a Particular User
If we now log out of Elliott and log back in as any user other than SUPERVISOR and bring up the list, the list will appear like this, only showing the two non-hidden searches:
Suppose the user wants to hide the legacy search from appearing on this list. To make that happen, click on the Manage list... button and click the checkbox for the first line in the list:
Notice the status message at the bottom which indicates that any changes you make are for you only.
Now let's imagine that you want the middle search in this list to appear in your list. If you try to uncheck it, you will see this message:
You cannot uncheck a search that SUPERVISOR does not want anyone to use.
Press the Save button, and the list appears with just one search:
Now, when F7 is pressed, the only available search will be run without showing the list. This gives the user the ability to go directly into his chosen search without having to select it from the list.
Wherever you can press F7 to start a search, you can press Alt+F7 instead to bring up the list in Manage mode. This is how you can manage the list when there is only one search in the list.
Modified Programs: NWSMRLST, NWSMSLST
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