Sun Java System Portal Server
  Contents     Index

Search Channel

The search channel provides a way for you to perform a keyword search for documents on the Internet or a on local network. You can also search for discussions. When performing a search, the search results are displayed in the form of links, which are used to access the documents you wish to view.

The search channel allows you to perform various types of searches based on settings that you specify on the Search channel edit page.

Editing Search Preferences

You can edit the following preferences to control how the search channel works:

To Edit the Search Channel Preferences

  1. Choose the edit button on the search channel.
  2. Make a selection or enter the values you want.
  3. Choose Finished to save your settings and return to the standard Portal Desktop page, or choose Cancel to return to the standard Portal Desktop without making changes.

Additional search properties can be defined by using the menu below the search field. These properties control the amount of information that is included when your search results are returned.

Performing a Search

The search channel allows you:

To perform a Basic Search for a Document or Discussion

A basic search is based only on a keyword that you enter into the search field.

  1. Enter a keyword or keywords in the text box.
  2. To perform keyword search on existing discussions, check Search Discussions.
  3. Choose Search.
  4. Search results or hits are displayed and rated according to how well the document or discussion matches the search criteria. For discussion hits, the search results display both the title of the discussion and the comments for the discussion.

To Perform an Advanced Search for a Document

The advanced search is indexed much like a card catalog and allows you to create complex search queries using document fields and syntax operators from pull-down menus.

  1. Choose Advanced Search
  2. Use the Document Fields, Operator Choices, and Rating (available only for discussion documents) options to enter the search criteria for the document.
  3. To perform the search on existing discussions, check Search Discussions.
  4. Choose Search.
  5. Search results or hits are displayed and rated according to how well the document or discussion matches the search criteria. For discussion hits, the search results display both the title of the discussion and the comments for the discussion.


    Note

    The search channel is set up, by default, to perform a basic search. To make advanced searches the default search mode, the search channel settings must specify that Basic search is not to be used as the default. See Editing Search Preferences for information on how to specify an advanced search.


Document Fields

Document fields let you type in words on which to base your search. The document fields for Advanced search are:

Operator Choices

Operator choices let you specify how the keyword search is performed.

The following operators are available for the Find keyword field:

The following operators are available for the Title, Author, and URL fields:

The following operators are available for the Since menu – a menu that specifies the date when the document was last modified and allows you to limit your search to within a certain time frame.

To Browse Categories

Browsing a category allows you to search for documents within a category. The Browse feature provides a combination of basic search and category browsing. You can browse within categories to retrieve documents or search within categories. When searching categories, you have the option to search within particular category or search all categories. Browsing is useful if you are not sure what search criteria or keywords to specify for a document.


Note

The search channel is set up, by default, to include a category search. Verify that this value is set on the Search edit page. See Editing Search Preferences for information on how to set this value.


To browse a category, do the following:

  1. Choose Browse.
  2. Type a keyword in the keyword field.
  3. When category results are displayed, choose a category to browse.
  4. Categories can be indexed to include subcategories, which can also be browsed or searched.

  5. Choose a document to view or a subcategory to browse.

To search a category, do the following.

  1. From the Browse page, select the radio button for one of the following:
    • Search in all categories - searches for documents containing a specified keyword in all categories
    • Search in current category - search for documents containing a specified keyword in the category that is currently chosen.
  2. Enter keyword.
  3. Choose search.

To Save a Search

If you perform a search you would like to save so you can monitor it over time, you can save the search to the Subscriptions channel. Saving a search adds the search to the list of Saved Searches available from the Subscriptions Channel.


Note

You must be an authenticated user to add a saved search to the Subscriptions channel. Users accessing the Sun Java System Portal Server standard Desktop as Anonymous will not see the Save this search hyperlink.


  1. Perform the search.
  2. Click the Save this search hyperlink at the top of the results list.
  3. The Subcriptions setup page displays.

  4. Specify a name for the saved search in the Name field.
  5. Specify a query string, similar to the Search text field, in the Query field.
  6. The number of hits is updated when a new document is found by the search matching the query string.

  7. Select the time frame to which to limit your search in the Since drop down menu.
  8. The available time periods are forever, last week, last month, last 6 months, and last year.

  9. Click Finished.

  Contents     Index