So how do I search a specific column in a given list anyway?

SharePoint search for MOSS 2007 is extremely powerful tool if you are trying to find a file across a massive portal, but if you know a specific list or library you want to search out of box search is not that intuitive.  What if there is a specific column within a given list or library you want to search on?  This is where MOSS 2007 search lacks especially from a search usability stand point.  Let me give you a brief glance into how to build a custom search in MOSS 2007.

• First, you have to modify the default Search Settings in Central Administration.  Here you have to,
  • Add a new search Scope to include STS_ListItem, this will instruct the search crawls to include list/library item meta data in the search results.
  • Map the Site Columns into the Managed Properties of the Search.  Oh by the way, your list needs to use Site Columns to achieve searching on list columns.
  • Run full crawl, this could take some due to size of your portal at the time.
• Second, customize search results Web Part to "filter" on only a particular list.  This is done through XSLT scripting.

Above is just a brief overview of a few of the steps required.  Although this method is extremely flexible, it is not for the functional user group.  Also imagine that each group has a different set of lists and columns to search on.  Lastly, in order to map the columns for searching, you are required to use Site Columns, requiring a change to the base lists if site columns is not utilized already.

Now that I have you sweating bullets, let me hand you a towel and show you a Web Part created by us (Bamboo) that brings the searching capabilities to a level usable on the functional user group.

Say hello to List Search Simple Web Part!  The List Search Simple Web Part allows a user to search a specific list based on one or more column criteria.

As a SharePoint user with Designer rights or greater, you can place the Web Part on any Web Part Page within the same SharePoint site as the list or library users want to search against.  When configuring the Web Part users can:

Select the list or library from the given SharePoint site.

Select the columns that allows users to search on for their criteria

Select the search operator (AND / OR) to occur between search gridiron's.

Select an existing List or Library view to define which columns are displayed in the search results.

To assist the user in providing quality search criteria, the List Search Simple Web Part provides specific controls based on the column data type.  For example, if the columns is Choice, Lookup, or People/Group data type, they will be given a drop down based on options prepopulated by the list schema.  An example is shown below -

If the column was a Date column, the user would be provided the calendar control for easy date selection -

Lastly if the column is Single Line of Text or Multiple Lines of Text, the user would see different text boxes based on the type of column respectively -

With the ease of configuration and use of the List Search Simple Web Part, SharePoint administrators can breath easier as they can allow functional users such as Project Managers to create their own search interfaces without the resource of a SharePoint expert to develop a useful search tool.  By the way, I mentioned that this is a nice substitution for MOSS 2007, however this product also works on WSS v2, SPS 2003 and WSS v3!

The above post is to provide a quick overview of the List Search Simple Web Part.  Feel free to visit the Bamboo Storefront to read more details, or even download a free 30 day full functional trial, http://store.bamboosolutions.com/ps-35-5-list-search-web-part-release-13.aspx.  In a future blog, I will describe how you can change the look and feel of the Web Part from the standard vertical stack of criteria to custom layout, for example -