Installation ***Important: It is highly recommended that you first take a backup of your current CRM Application Ribbons prior to importing this solution. Please do so by navigating to Settings > Solutions > select New. Create a new Solution named Application Ribbons and select Save. In the solution, navigate to Client Extensions > Add Existing > select Application Ribbons. Save and Publish the solution; then select Export. Save this solution as a backup. 1. In your Dynamics CRM organization, navigate to Settings > Solutions, select Import and then select the provided Global Search.zip folder. Please ensure that the solution name (containing 2011 or 2013) matches the organization version you are using. NOTE: You must be logged in as a User with permissions to import a solution (System Administrator Security Role). 2. Select Next two more times. It can take up to 20 minutes for the solution to complete the import. Please wait until you see that the solution has been imported successfully. Select Close once complete. Please make sure all customizations are published and refresh your computer screen (F5) to see the Global Search additions.
Administrator Configuration ***IMPORTANT: It is strongly suggested that each entity included as searchable in Global Search have the Find Columns and Default Public Views reviewed for accuracy and to ensure the User s needs are met. Many of the Default Public Views out of the box in CRM are configured for the My Entity Name view. Unless changed using the following steps, Global Search will apply the filters when searching and will therefore only show records owned by that specific User. Defining Searchable Fields Searchable fields are determined based on the Find Columns configured on each entity s Quick Find View. A CRM Administrator can modify the Quick Find View for each entity by completing the following: 1. Navigate to Settings > Customizations > select Customize the System. This will open the Default CRM Solution. 2. Under Entity, select the arrow to view list of entities. Select the entity and select the Views folder. 3. Under View, open the Quick Find Entity Name View and select Add Find Columns. Select the checkbox next to each field/column that should be searchable. (See Image 1 below) a. Note: This also dictates which columns are searchable in normal CRM views. If a requirement arises where the default Quick Find View and the Global Search searchable fields need to be different, please refer to the Advanced Configuration Options section of this document. 4. Repeat previous steps for each entity included as searchable in Global Search then Save and Publish the default solution. Configuring Display Views and Filters By default, Global Search uses the View listed as the Default Public View for the entity to determine which columns to display and the filters that should be applied. The Default Public View for entities is typically either the My Entity Name view or Active Entity Name view. It is strongly encouraged to review the Default Public View for each entity searched in Global Search. A CRM Administrator can check and/or modify the Default Public View with the following steps: 1. Complete Steps 1 and 2 from the Defining Searchable Fields section above. 2. In the list of Views you will see the Type column and the view listed as the Default Public View is currently being used in Global Search. (See Image 1 below) 3. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BUT OPTIONAL: The Default Global View can be changed to a different view by selecting the view you wish to make default and selecting More Actions. Then select Set Default, Save the solution and Publish. Global Search will now use this view s column layout and filters for displaying that entity s information. NOTE: This step is highly recommended for entities where the Default Public View is set to a My Entity Name by default in CRM. 4. Once the appropriate Default Global View is set, the view s column layout and filters can be modified by opening the view and selecting both Edit Filter Criteria and the Add View Columns. NOTE: Making changes to this view will change the display in both the Global Search and in the standard CRM view. If you do not wish to modify this CRM view, please see the Advanced Configuration Options section for additional options. 5. Once completed for all appropriate entities, select Save and Publish. ***IMPORTANT: Global Search does not apply CRM Security Roles or Field Level Security when searching. Therefore, only display entities/columns/filters in the Global Search that can be viewed by all Users with access
to Global Search. Please remember that this only applies to the Global Search display interface, when Users open a record from the Global Search screen the security permissions do apply. ***IMPORTANT: Please see the Advanced Configuration Options section of this document for additional view configuration options. Image 1
Advanced Configuration Options Additional custom configuration can be performed by modifying the ics_globalsearchconfiguration.xml Web Resource in the Global Search Solution. Additional Configuration Options includes the following items: o Make System Entities or Custom Entities available/unavailable in Global Search o Use a Non-Default Public View as the view for Global Search o Include or Exclude Additional Search Fields Adding/Removing Entities to Global Search Navigate to Settings > Solutions. Open the Global Search Solution. Open the file ics_globalsearchconfiguration.xml from the list of Web Resources available. Select Text Editor. o NOTE: XML friendly text editors such as Notepad ++ can make editing a simpler task. It is also suggested that a copy the original XML be stored for back up purposes. Once the xml file is in an editable state, you can add or remove the following section of the xml text to add/remove an entity from being used by Global Search: <SearchEntity logicalname= EntitySchemaName > <IncludedFields /> <ExcludedFields /> </SearchEntity> o Replace EntitySchemaName with the schema name of the entity you wish to have searchable. Note: Include the publisher prefix for custom entities (i.e. ics_project). o To remove an entity from being used in Global Search, review the XML and identify the section where the entity s schema name is used. Delete that section of the XML from <SearchEntity logicalname=.> to </SearchEntity>. Save the XML changes and Web Resource. Save the Solution and Publish. o NOTE: Be sure to complete the Administrator Configuration section of this document for newly added entities. Use a Non-Default Public View as the view for Global Search Occasionally Users may wish to see the columns displayed in Global Search a specific way or based on certain filters that would not work well for the Default Public View on the entity. In this scenario, a new view can be created and be specified to work in Global Search instead of the entity s Default Public View. Complete the following steps below for each entity you wish to specify and Global Search view that is different from the Default Public View: 1. Navigate to the Views folder of the appropriate entity in the Default Solution (Settings > Customizations > Customize the System). 2. Create a custom view that begins with the name GlobalSearch - as the first characters of the Views Name. Global Search should be followed by the logical description of the view filters, such a GlobalSearch Active Cases. IMPORTANT: There should not be any spaces between Global and Search. NOTE: You can copy an existing view by opening the view that is most similar to the one you wish to create and then selecting Save As and naming the view GlobalSearch -... Then the new view can be modified accordingly.
3. The search results are displayed based on the columns and filters specified in the custom view and the Default Public View will be ignored. The new view does not need to be made the Default Public View to be used for Global Search. NOTE: The new GlobalSearch view must be a system view (it cannot be a personal view). NOTE: In CRM 2013, this view can be limited to only display to certain Security Role, so as to not create any confusion for Users. It must however be available to the System Administrator and System Customizer Security Roles. 4. Save the View. Save the solution and Publish. Including or Excluding Additional Searchable Fields Occasionally a business requirement may arise for Global Search to use slightly different searchable field logic than is defined in the Quick Find View s Find Column selection. For this scenario, the XML file can be modified to include or exclude searchable columns. o NOTE: Any additions or exclusions are in addition to the Find Columns defined in the Quick Find View. To include additional search fields: o Additional fields will be included by modifying the area labeled IncludedFields. o Add an additional search field by inserting the following in the XML file under the appropriate entity: <IncludedFields> <IncludedField>FieldSchemaName</IncludedField> </IncludedFields> o Where FieldSchemaName is the schema name of the field (include the publisher prefix of the custom entity, i.e., ics_description). Excluding fields from the Global Search that are set as searchable in the CRM Quick Find View, when you do not wish to alter the Quick Find View: o Exclude a search field by inserting the following in the XML file under the appropriate entity: <ExcludedFields> <ExcludedField>FieldSchemaName</ExcludedField> </ExcludedFields> o Where FieldSchemaName is the schema name of the field (include the publisher prefix of the custom entity, i.e., ics_description). Save the XML changes and Web Resource. Save the Solution and Publish. Additional Notes: The more entities that are searched, the longer each search will take to complete. Be very careful when you are modifying the GlobalSearchConfiguration.xml file, as the XML syntax will not be checked before the Global Search is run and may cause the application to hang. IMPORTANT: Global Search does not apply CRM Security Roles or Field Level Security Roles when searching. Therefore, only display entities/columns/filters in the Global Search that can be viewed by all Users with access to Global Search. Please remember that this only applies to the Global Search display, when Users open a record from the Global Search screen the security permissions do apply.
End User Guide Navigation On the top navigation bar/ribbon you will see the Global Search icon. By selecting the icon you will see a pop-up or new tab appear for Global Search. Global Search is added to the top ribbon (in CRM 2011) or command bar (in CRM 2013). NOTE: The Global Search icon is not available on individual records, only on the views for entity records. Select Global Search and the following screen is displayed in either a new tab or new window (based on your browser settings): Searching To search the default entities (record types) listed above, enter a text string in the Text: area, and select Search. o All of the checked entities will be searched for the text string that you entered. Only the starting characters in the searchable fields are searched. This functions the same as normal searching in CRM. USER TIP: If you desire to search for records that contains the text, instead of the default begins with mentioned previously, use the wildcard character, *. Example: *Sample Will search a value containing Sample somewhere in the searchable field. o You can view the results that contain your searchable text sorted by Entity. By selecting any entity name the corresponding record will open. o Simply close the Global Search window once complete. IMPORTANT: By default Global Search uses the searchable fields defined in each entity s Quick Find View. Global Search also applies the View layout (display columns and filters) based on the Default view set for each entity, unless the Advanced Global Search Configuration is completed for your organization by your CRM Administrator. o Example: The My Cases view is the Default view out of the box for the Case entity in CRM, therefore left unchanged, Global Search would only search for Cases where Current User equal Owner and Case Status equals Active. If you wish to search for records based on specific criteria or based on complex relationships, please consider using Advanced Find or contact your CRM Administrator to discuss further options.