Running an Advanced Search (Navigation Mode)

You can search to find objects in Requirements Central. A full text search in Requirements Central can use a navigation based method as an alternative search. Navigation based searching provides selectable categories that can be used to refine your search even further. Navigation based searching provides comprehensive search results with not only objects that meet your search criteria but also additional related or relevant objects. From the search results, you may be allowed to select just one object, or you may have the option of selecting multiple objects.

  1. From the global toolbar, click Search > Requirements. Then select the type of object to search for, such as Requirements, Requirement Specifications, or Use Cases.

    Or

    Click next to the field in the page where you need to search for objects.

    Or

    From the page Actions menu or page toolbar, click Add Existing if you are adding an existing object to the list of objects.

    If you are accessing the search page from an ellipses button or Add Existing command, the search page opens showing search results appropriate to the action you want to perform.



    The page loads all objects that you can search. Depending on where you initiated the search, the page may have criteria (types and attribute values) that you cannot change. The Results value shows the number of objects found. The value may display like this: Results: 1000 of 89076.

    If so, your system is configured to limit the number of objects returned. The total count is a predicted estimate. By using a prediction instead of an exact count, the results page loads faster.

    If you print or export this page, only the results list is included.

    For each object, this page lists:

    Name. The name of the object. Click the name to view the Properties page for the object.

    Revision. The revision level.

    Type. The object type.

    Description. The descriptive identifier of the object.

    State. The current lifecycle state for the object.

    Click to view the Properties page for the object in a separate window.

  2. To switch to the form-based search page, click Form Based View. See Running an Advanced Search (Form Mode). Not all search pages have this button.

  3. To filter the result list based on a collection, select Collections > and the name of the collection. The results list shows only those objects in the selected collection that meet the criteria.

  4. To filter the result list based on object type:

    1. Click a type name in the Types list. The Type list is updated to show only the selected type and its children, and the result list is updated to show only objects with that type. Selecting a type is the same as searching for that specific type.



      For example, if you click on Products, types that are not Products or children of Products are removed from the list. If you then click on Hardware Product, the list removes all other children types of Products. The check box shows your choices.

    2. Click a child type to further narrow the list.
    3. Click a parent type to remove the child type criteria.

  5. To filter the results list based on attribute values:

    1. Click an Attribute name.

      If the attribute allows text input, a box opens where you type the needed value. Also, if the attribute contains a numeric value, select a compare operator (== is equals, > is greater than, < is less than) and enter a value.

      If the attribute contains a range of values, a list box of values for that attribute pops open and you can click the needed value(s).



      Some attributes allow you to select more than one value. Use shift-click to select a range of values; use control-click to select individual values.

      If the attribute contains numbers or dates (and there are many values) you can select Before, After, In Between, or Equals a specified value. Use the calendar tool to enter date values. If there are fewer than a system-set value (the default is 10), the values show as a list.

      If the attribute contains yes/no values, click the option button for Yes or No.

      If the attribute includes a unit of measure, enter a value and select the units.

    2. Click . The results are filtered based on objects that have that value for that attribute.
    3. Continue selecting values for attributes as needed to filter the result list.

  6. To search for requirements in the context of a product or specification, you can use these attributes (when available):



    If you click Contained in Products, a list of products that contain the requirement is displayed. Select the product(s) and then click to view the results.

    If you click Contained in Specification, a list of specifications that contain the requirement is displayed. Select the specification(s) and then click to view the results.

  7. To search for specific text in any attribute of an object:

    1. Type the keyword or text string in the Search box.
    2. Click Search.
    3. If you see a "Did You Mean" message, the search tool has found one or more terms that are close to but more common than the one you entered. Click a word or phrase to search for it.



      The results section is updated to show objects that contain that text as any attribute value. Note that the search is not case-sensitive and includes in the results all matches based on pieces of the given string. Non-alphanumeric characters are not recognized by the search engine.

  8. To save the search criteria, including the Type and Attribute selections:

    1. Click > Save As.
    2. Enter a name for the search, or select an existing search to overwrite it.
    3. Click Done.

  9. To re-execute a saved search, click and click the name of the search.

  10. To clear all search criteria, click Reset.

  11. To add selected items to a collection, click Collections, and then click:


    • Add to Clipboard Collection. This adds the items to your clipboard collection.
    • New / Add to Collections. This opens the Select Collection form.

    See Working with Collections.

  12. Click Done.