This article provides an in-depth overview of the new contextual search bar functionality in Documoto, highlighting key differences from the current search bar, and the impacts of these changes on Library search, Admin Center search, and REST Web Services.
Article Topics
- Search Terminology
- Beta Release: Search Bar & Results Functionality Comparison (Now Available!)
- General Availability Release: Search Bar & Results Functionality Comparison
- General Availability Release: Library & Admin Center Search Change Impacts
- General Availability Release: REST Web Services Impacts
Search Terminology
| Term | Definition |
| Contextual Search Bar |
A new user interface element in the Documoto Library that allows users to input search queries. The contextual search bar displays recent searches and viewed content and organizes search results into categories, enhancing user experience by making it easier to find relevant information.
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| Search Results |
The output generated when a user executes a search query within the Documoto Library displayed in a list. Search results consist of items that match the query, which are displayed in a list. The new search results functionality aims to eliminate irrelevant clutter on this page in the general availability launch of all the search changes.
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| Search Syntax |
The category of search query that defines how the system interprets user input. In Documoto, there are two types:
The new contextual search bar (available in beta) respects the tenant default Search Type (e.g. Exact vs. Contains) setting:
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| Search Roll-Up |
A feature currently available in the Documoto Production environment where search results are aggregated or "rolled up" from multiple sources within pages and books, such as showing results of pages and books for a part that belongs to the pages or books. This often led to overwhelming result sets.
Note: the search roll-up has been eliminated in the Documoto Integration environment and is now available for validation. |
| Deep Search | A capability that takes a value from another location (ex. from the search bar) to search within the content of another object, such as PDF files or a book table of contents, to find matching terms or parts descriptions. |
| Locale Searching |
The logic used to conduct searches against translated content in Documoto, both the user’s selected language preference and translations that are stored against content but that they cannot currently see.
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Beta Release: Search Bar & Results Functionality Comparison (Now Available!)
The beta version of the contextual search bar was launched on Thursday, October 24th. Below is a comparison of functionality between the legacy search bar and the beta version:
| Feature/Aspect | Before Beta | During Beta |
| Initial Display upon Click into Search Bar | Empty/shows nothing |
Displays Recent Searches and Recently Viewed content
Note:
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| Search Syntax |
Includes an "Exact vs Contains" drop-down for searching. Quotations were not supported. |
Replaces the "Exact vs Contains" drop-down with a "Show Only Exact Matches" checkbox. |
| Search Tips | No tips available. | Search Tips was included in the initial beta of the contextual search bar. However, based on customer feedback, search tips were replaced with the "Show Only Exact Matches" checkbox |
| Content Thumbnails | No thumbnails or context; only Suggested Keywords. | Shows content thumbnails and groups matches by content type. |
| Suggested Keywords | Suggested Keywords open to Search Results. | Suggested Keywords populate the contextual search bar. |
| Matching Term Highlighting | No highlighting of keywords. | Matching fields underlined for better clarity. |
| Direct Access to Results | Users must browse through results on the Search Results page. | Users can click on results to open directly. |
| Pre-Search Filtering | No ability to filter by content type before landing on Search Results page. | Enhanced ability to drill down by specific content type. |
| Suggested Results Clarity | Does not exist, which leads to overwhelming users with too many results on the Search Results page. | Most relevant 3 matches show first by content type, improving understanding from the start; before users land on the Search Results page. |
General Availability Release: Search Bar & Results Functionality Comparison
The general availability (GA) release is scheduled for January 6, 2025. Key improvements include:
| Feature/Aspect | Before General Availability Launch & During Beta Period | After General Availability Launch |
| Exact vs Contains | Feature applies to Search Results only for "exact=true" tenant defaults; can lead to inconsistencies between Search Bar and Search Results. |
Replaced by the "Show only Exact Matches" checkbox. |
| Search Results Roll-Up | Displays broad results including pages and books that contain part or page information. | Eliminates roll-up; only shows content that has a name, identifier or tag that matches the search term, reducing clutter. |
| Overwhelming Results | Users often encounter hundreds to thousands of irrelevant results. | Focused results help users find exact information quickly. |
| Deep Search | Search term carried into opened books and pages, leading to unexpected results. | Search term not carried into books and pages, reducing confusion. This functionality is still retained from Where Used and for Document type content. |
| Locale Search | Searches include terms from all languages, including languages the user cannot currently view, leading to confusion. | Searches are limited to user-selected locale and tenant default, improving relevance. |
| Performance Impact | Searching across dozens of translations can slow down results. | Improved performance by limiting searches to relevant languages. |
General Availability Release: Library & Admin Center Search Change Impacts
The general availability (GA) release is scheduled for January 6, 2025. Library and Admin Center search changes are outlined below:
| Search Change | Applies To | Library Impact | Admin Center Impact |
| Eliminating Roll-Up of Part/Page Identifier, Name, & Description Fields | Library & Admin Center |
Reduces search results clutter by removing matches for Pages and Books containing Part and Page Identifiers, Name, or Description. |
No impact. Admin Center supports filtering content types by Identifier, Name, and Description. |
| Eliminating Roll-Up of Part/Page Fields | Library & Admin Center | Reduces search results clutter by removing matches for Pages and Books containing Parts and Pages with tag matches. | Content > Advanced Filters > Tags do return Part and Page tag matches in Page Manager and Media. They will not following the search improvements launch. |
| Eliminating Deep Search in Pages and Books | Library | Deep searches no longer apply to interactive Pages or Books. |
No impact. Admin Center does not support deep search. |
| Locale Limitation | Library | Searches are limited to the user's preferred Language and the Tenant default locale. |
No impact. Admin Center continues to search across all locales/languages. |
General Availability Release: REST Web Services Impacts
The general availability (GA) release is scheduled for January 6, 2025. REST API endpoints affected by the search changes include:
| Endpoint | Endpoint Impact |
| GET /library/search/v1 | Results will reflect elimination of roll-up changes and locale changes |
| GET /library/browse-flows/v1/{id}/results |
Results may vary depending on what search criteria is set for the Browse Flow nodes; nodes leveraging search term queries and tag filters may yield fewer results due to elimination of roll-up and locale changes |
| GET /publisher/pages/v1/search |
Results that utilize tag filtering will no longer return a Page that includes a Part that has matching tag value within the Page's BOM |