When using the Browser page of the Vault Manager dialog, you can use the Search dialog to assist in finding items in the Vault.
Using Search
Open the Search dialog by clicking on the Search button near the top right-hand corner of the Vault Browser page.
Start by choosing the type of item you wish to search for, using the Find drop-down list. When you choose one of the Vault data types, the three sets of filter controls below this will be updated to list the field names available on the selected type of item.
To filter the results based on values of the chosen type of item, check the box alongside one or more of the three sets of filter controls. Choose the required field name from the drop-down list, choose an appropriate ‘operator’, and enter the value you want to search for.
When you have set up your required search, press Apply, and the main Item grid in the Vault Browser page will be updated to show the results of the search.
Saving and re-using searches
If you do not want to keep your search to use again, just close the Search dialog. The current dialog settings will be preserved in the system Registry for the dialog to use next time, but once you change the search parameters again that initial search will be lost.
To preserve search parameters so that they can be used again in the future, use the Save and Save As buttons to save the parameters to disk as a small file. Use the Load button to reload a previously saved search.
To the right of these buttons is a drop-down list showing the names of the search files found in the folder you have most recently used to save or load a search file. This provides you with a quick and easy way to access your favourite searches without requiring any complex folder setup.
The same drop-down list of searches is also available on the Browser page itself, allowing saved searches to be re-applied without having to return to the Search dialog. This again uses the most recently visited file folder. To make the list re-fill with files from a different folder, use the Load button and browse to that folder, at which point both the drop-down lists will refresh with the files from that folder.
Wildcards
Note that you cannot use wildcard characters in the values to search for, instead you simply choose the relevant operator depending on what kind of match you want the search to carry out. For example, to find footprints with the letters ‘SOIC’ anywhere in their name, choose ‘Contains’ from the list of operators and enter SOIC for the value.
Data type ‘Any’
The Find list also includes an entry for ‘Any’, which can be used to search for items based on their checked out state instead of any field values. When you select this entry from the list, the three sets of filter controls will be greyed out and you will only be able to filter using the Checked Out list.
Checked Out state
When you are using one of the sets of filter controls to search with parameters that include more than just checked out items, you have the option of showing the checked out state of the items listed on the Browser grid. This may take a little longer to display the results on the grid, but does give you an instant overview of checked out state of items as you are browsing around the Vault.