Running searches in NetSuite is perhaps one of NetSuite’s most useful (and most used) features. Over the next several weeks, we’re going to take a deep dive into searches. But before we do that, we need to start with an overview of searches in NetSuite.
Types of Searches
First, what are the types of searches in NetSuite, and what makes them different from one another? Excluding search shortcuts like the global search bar and the quick search portlet, there are three types of searches: simple searches, advanced searches, and saved searches.
Simple and Advanced Searches
You can create simple searches and advanced searches in essentially the same way. On the Reports dashboard, select the New Search button.
Then, you will need to choose the record type that you will run the search on, like Employee or Cases. Once you have selected a record type, NetSuite will open up a simple search page with all the fields that are on your selected record type, allowing you to choose exactly what you want to search for across that record type. From the simple search page, then, you can switch to an advanced search by selecting the Use Advanced Search checkbox.
The main difference between a simple search and an advanced search is that the advanced search allows users to determine how the results of the search will be displayed, which they can do under the Results tab. The Criteria tab, then, has essentially the same options that were available in the original simple search. Rather than a full page of fields, however, the Criteria tab displays the record’s fields in the dropdown list in the Filter column. This is where users determine exactly what they are searching for across that record type.
Saved Searches
Saved searches take searching for information in NetSuite to the next level. Not only do they allow users to run the same search over and over again, but they also provide greater customization options for viewing and managing search results than either the simple or advanced searches do. On either the simple search page or the advanced search page, you have a “Create Saved Search” button. Alternatively, you can create a saved search from the navigation menu (Reports > Saved Searches > All Saved Searches > New or Lists > Search > Saved Searches > New) or directly from the list of saved searches.
Like an advanced search, saved searches have a Criteria tab and a Results tab. But they include other tabs like Highlighting, Available Filters, Audience, Roles, Email, and Audit Trail. These additional options make sense given the nature of a saved search. Because they can be run again and again, saved searches need to be accessible to the right people, shareable, and trackable.
Setting Permissions for Searches
Before we wrap up our overview of searches in NetSuite, we need to touch on permissions for searches. Who can create searches? Who can view or edit saved searches? Not every user should have access to the information pulled up in a search, so how do you restrict and enable permissions to keep searches from causing a security breach? The answer is found on the role record.
Rather than setting search permissions for individual employees (which would be a truly tedious process in a large company!), administrators set these permissions for roles. This means that an employee with multiple roles could have differing search permissions depending on which role he is logged in with.
The relevant permissions we’re going to look at are all located under the Permissions tab on the role record.
Record and Transaction Access Levels
First, administrators need to determine a role’s access level to specific records and transactions. Searches are run on records and transactions, so the basic rule of thumb is that if a particular role doesn’t have access to the underlying record or transaction, they wouldn’t be given access to the information contained in those records or transactions via a search.
Administrators have several options for setting a user’s access level to any given record or transaction. The main access levels are create, view, edit, and full. Each of these levels is fairly self-explanatory. But how exactly does having access to these records and transactions affect a user’s experience with searches? That’s where several other key permissions come into play.
Search-Specific Permissions
Under the Lists section of the Permissions subtab, key search-related permissions include Perform Search, Publish Search, Persist Search, Export Lists, and Tableau® Workbooks Export. Another search-related permission is Find Transactions, located under the Transactions section.
These permissions enable users who have access to the underlying records and transactions in searches to run simple and advanced searches, create and run saved searches, share saved searches, export saved search results, and more. Some of these permissions just have a “create” access level, but some of them have multiple access levels, like view, create, edit, and full. Rather than reproducing the detailed documentation on each of these permissions, their interconnectedness with one another, and their exact impact on how a user experiences searches, we would direct you to this Help Center article for the details.
Conclusion
If you’re new to searches in NetSuite, you should have a good grasp of the basics now! And even if searches are old hat to you, hopefully this overview of searches in NetSuite has rounded out your understanding. If you’re ready to keep learning about all things related to searches, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter below so you don’t miss our upcoming blogs covering each of the three main search types in detail.