What this document contains:
- Item file search fields
- Attribute search fields
- Item segmentation search fields
- Item classification search
IBS Enterprise provides you with numerous possibilities to search for items. This document briefly outlines the different possibilities. See Related topics below for more information.
The following functionality can be set up and used to search for items.
Item file search fields
Most fields in the Item file can be used as search criteria to look up items. The standard searchable fields are preloaded in the Item search field control table when the system is installed. You set the Build flag to YES in that table if you want the search field to be created automatically in the Item file when you add items. You also have the possibility to manually create search fields and rebuild the search fields.
The Item file search fields are displayed in the:
- Select item window after clicking the window prompt in an Item field to look up the item
- Item search mode of Smart sales order/quotation entry
- Initial panel of Work with items
Default search mode
The system may have been configured to access the Select item window in a default search mode. When you enter a generic search string in an input-capable Item code field, click OK and an exact match was not found for the entered value, then the code defined in the DIS control file determines how the initial search for items should be performed.
Valid codes are:
Attribute search fields
You can search for your items (and business partners) via user-defined, attribute-related search fields (see related topics below). They can be seen as a complement to the Item file search fields that are automatically generated for an item as there could be situations when the end-user requires other search fields than the Item file ones automatically generated. Unlike the Item file search fields and Item segment search fields, there is a dedicated panel, (accessed via the Select item window and by clicking function key Attribute search), that lists the search alternatives available.
Item segmentation search fields
You can search for your items using Item segment search fields. Item segmentation allows you to segment the item code into a maximum of six segments. Each of the six segments, that you are able to differentiate the item by, can contain up to 35 characters, which makes the search and cross-reference abilities of this routine very powerful and precise.
Item classification search
You can search for your items using data that was created/generated via the Item classification functionality (see related topics below).
There are two search alternatives:
- Item file search fields: As described in the Item file search fields section above, you have the option to generate search words. If you set the Build flag to YES for Item characteristic and Item characteristic value in the Item search field control table, the system will generate search words for characteristic codes and values once the item is created using the Item classification functionality. This allows the user to search items grouped within item classification by utilizing the Item file search fields.
Since a value can exist for one or more characteristic, this search cannot be considered as accurate and reliable because for the system, the value entered is just a search word, not a characteristic code or value and there is no way it can connect them to each other. - Dedicated panel for characteristic search: Unlike the Item file search fields and Item segment search fields, there is a dedicated panel, (accessed via the Select item window and clicking function key Charac), that lists the available search alternatives you can apply on data. This data includes the grouping structure (main group, group, profile 1 and profile 2) to which the item belongs, as well as the characteristics and their values which are connected to the grouping structure and subsequently to the items. Only those characteristics activated for the user’s Item outlook will be listed.
These search alternatives are part of the Item classification functionality that offers much more than the possibility to easily search for and find items. It can be used to generate items and item data on its own or together with Item segmentation.