searching for information --

how do we quickly search tickets, history notes, messages, assets and charges under an account for specific information. For exmple, if we want to find everything related to an exchange server for a specific account, how do we perform a centralized search and get all the information with the word "exchange" in it?

thanks --

//ray

Using the Tickets 'Text' search option on the Tickets Window toolbar you can search the entire Tickets database - it searches the Ticket Description, Resolutions and Notes in a single search. To search for Assets you'll need to run another search as it is not combined with the Ticket search feature (though you can search Tickets by their link to Assets). A 'global' search would have helped in this scenario and we'll take notes on this. Thanks for asking.

Not sure what you are referring to. The "text" search option at the top of the tickets window is mostly useless for finding real information as it searches only on tickets and the results are unusable mainly because it returns a huge list of tickets but doesn't tell you where the searched item is found (there is no indication whether the result is coming from a charge, note, whatever). From these types of searches, we are then tasked with digging into each ticket and manually finding what we are looking for. From my experience, this box is completely useless for any real searching.

Everyone that purchases CommitCRM needs the ability to search at the global (Account?) level in a meaningful way... our take is that this is one of the absolute weakest links in the entire program... we dump all this information into the system but can't find anything... it is simply horrible. For example, if you wanted to find everything about a server named "SERVER01" for a client, one would think that they could just go to the account and perform a global search for "SERVER01" and get results that would show everything that happened with that server (whether it were information in a charge, a history note, asset , custom fields, whatever!). Simply put, CommitCRM does not have that global view which is the sole reason why we don't use 50% of the program – putting information into a system that can’t be quickly (or at all) accessed is insane.

What is needed is a Global Search option with check boxes for objects searched (whereby you could select what objects you wanted to search, e.g. assets, tickets, charges, history notes, etc.). Also, it is critical that all fields including custom fields be searched… what’s the use of dumping information into a field if it’s not searchable! The results window would then need to be an organized list of the results with clickable links to the actual objects (e.g. the results lists might break it up into tickets, charges, history notes, assets, etc. and each line item could be clicked which would take you to that specific item).

Putting information into a system and not being able to find anything is beyond frustrating...

Thanks --

//ray

We hear you and understand the reasoning behind some of the points you raised.

In one placed you wrote:

what’s the use of dumping information into a field if it’s not searchable!

Most, if not all fields in RangerMSP - including custom fields you add yourself when customizing the system, can be searched either from the drop down list of fields on the left side of the search panel, or by using the Filter option (for a more complex search).

Thanks again for your feedback.

thanks -- yes, each field may be searchable but we are missing the critical centralized/global/"whatever we need to call it" search interface (and all this needs to support wild cards, etc.). Having lots of disconnected containers (fields) of data does no good. Without centralization on this, finding information on what is happening is pretty impossible. Which means we are not really using CommitCRM for what it can potentially do.

thanks again for listening but hoping for some implementation on this as well... (!)

//ray

...I second this - I like the search options available, but I envision more of a "google" like search that would show me all results for a given search query organized by account, ticket, opportunity, quote... etc.