How Can I Search for Objects?

Depending upon how your system has been configured, you will use either the basic catalog search or the full-text catalog search to find objects in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog. Note the following information:

Basic catalog search — This is the standard search option. This search type allows you to search for an object by its exact name, description, location, and object type only. For more information, see "Basic Catalog Search".
Full-Text catalog search — This search option must be configured by your administrator. This search type allows you to search for an object by exact name, description, location, object type, object attribute, data column name, and data column values. For more information, see "Full-Text Catalog Search".

Basic Catalog Search

The basic catalog search, which is the standard search delivered with Oracle BI Enterprise Edition, enables users with the proper privilege to search for objects from the global header, home page, or the Catalog page. In the Catalog page, you can use the basic catalog search to locate an object by searching for its exact name, description, location, and type, only. You find only those objects for which you have the appropriate permissions. When the desired object is located, you can click it to display it for viewing or editing, as your permissions allow.

Full-Text Catalog Search

Full-text catalog search enables users with the proper privilege to conduct an expanded search for an object. This expanded search functionality is only available if your administrator configured Oracle BI Enterprise Edition to use Oracle Secure Enterprise Search or Oracle Endeca Server. When configured, the full-text catalog search, like the basic catalog search, is available from the global header, home page Browse/Manage... area, or the Catalog page.

You can use the full-text search to find objects by entering various search values, such as name, description, author, and the names and values of columns of data that the object references. Only those objects to which you have the appropriate permissions are found. When the search is initiated and the desired object is located, you can click it to display it for viewing. Or, if Oracle BI EE is integrated with Oracle Endeca Server, you can use the attribute categories that display in the "Search pane" to browse the search results by attributes. For more information about search attributes, see "What Results are Returned from a Full-Text Catalog Search?"

You can search for nearly all types of objects in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog, with a few exceptions such as Marketing Segmentation objects and hierarchical columns. You can also search for attachments to objects, such as a PDF file that is included on a dashboard page. You can search for objects such as dashboard prompts that are saved within other objects.