ChemInventory's Advanced Search functionality lets you perform complex queries on your inventory database that are not possible using the standard search interface.
How does Advanced Search work?
With Advanced Search you can construct a multicomponent search query to find containers that match any number of parameters. You can combine different search components using graphical AND and OR buttons, along with query groups, giving you precise control over what containers are selected.
The fields you can use to search are listed below:
- Container Name
- Substance CAS
- Barcode
- Supplier
- Date Acquired
- Container Comments
- All custom fields
You can also add terms to filter for containers based on whether they have structures assigned, GHS information saved or files linked to them.
Each field has a number of different search operations depending on its type. For example, you can search by numerical ranges for number custom fields and dates (e.g. expiry dates), and you can find all containers that 'contain' a certain word in their name. More information about permitted operations is shown in the Building a query section below.
A note for Group Administrators
Custom fields do not need to be listed as 'Searchable' to work with Advanced Search; all custom fields will be listed. 'Searchable' fields only denote those that appear on the standard search interface, below the 'Name', 'CAS' and 'Barcode' input boxes.
Accessing Advanced Search
The Advanced Search interface can be opened from the Search page. Simply click on the downwards arrow button next to Structure Searching, then click on Advanced Search.
Building a query
The Advanced Search interface is shown below. Search queries are built step-by-step using a mixture of search rules and groups. A search rule is a term that is used to identify matching containers and a search group can contain a number of search rules and/or search groups. Each search item is linked to others using AND or OR logic operators.
In the screenshot above, a query has been put together to find all containers that:
- contain the term "Acros" in the supplier field, and
- were either added to the inventory before 1 June 2010 or have a barcode beginning with "AA002".
The selection criteria available ('contains', 'begins with', 'between', etc.) depend on the variable type being search for. The easiest way to learn about the different criteria is to build your own queries, selecting a variety of search terms. You can use any number of search rules and groups in any combination, allowing you to build queries that are as simple or complex as you like.