Nintex Process Manager search ranking and syntax reference

Note: 

The search quick results list (shown in the drop-down result list) searches the process and process group titles only. Press Enter or select the magnifying glass to open the full search for all documents and published process content i.e. summary information and process steps: process activities, tasks, notes, documents, process links.

Nintex Process Manager search is designed as a basic keyword search using search terms. The search matches against processes, process groups, or documents where at least 50% of the entered search terms are contained within a single element of that item, that is; the title, objective, or process activity.

Matching search terms are highlighted in the search results. The following terms will not be highlighted in the results: "I", "a", "an", "are", "as", "at", "be", "by", "for", "in", "is", "it", "of", "on", "or", "the", "to", "was", or "who".

The details covered in this topic are applicable for the:

  • Main Nintex Process Manager Home search box
  • Search field available in the top right of every page
  • SharePoint integrated search
  • Process selection dialog
  • Process Search report

This topic describes the search query elements and how these elements are applied to queries. This will help you get the most relevant results when searching in Nintex Process Manager.

Note: 
  • You can only search processes, process groups, and documents you have permission to view or edit.
  • Generally unpublished content is not included in the initial search, with the following considerations:

    • Process name matches are always returned in the results regardless of whether the process is published or not. If you can access the unpublished process (that is, you are the Process Owner or Process Expert), then it will be included in what is searched.

    • If a process has been published but currently has unpublished changes, then it will still appear in the results if the search terms match the published content.

    • Unpublished content includes any content added to the process after it was first created. This includes background, objective, search keywords, activity/task/decision/note text.

    • Changes to the process name are maintained outside of being published so will always be searchable.

  • Archived processes and documents are not included in the search.

The search returns a match when search terms entered are found in the fields listed in the table.

Search Which fields are searched?  
Process groups Name  
Process
  • Name (including the reference)

  • Background

  • Objective
  • Search keywords
  • Activity text
  • Task text
  • Decision text
  • Note summary and body text
  • Linked process names
  • Attached document names
  • Web links and associated URLs
  
Documents
  • Name (including the reference)
  • Associated tags
  

Results that match 50% or more of the search terms are returned. Results are ordered in descending order based on the percentage of terms matched, that is; 100% matches at the top and 50% at the bottom.

Example: 

Search terms: "Weekly pay slip"

Matches:

  • Send weekly pay slip - 100%
  • Reconcile weekly pay - 66%
  • Send monthly pay slip - 66%

Not Matched:

  • Weekly reporting of expenses - 33%
  • Pay invoices - 33%
  • Report slip or fall - 33%

Search results are ranked and ordered in the following manner:

  1. The percentage of search terms matched.
  2. The attribute in which the criteria were matched:
    • Title
    • Search Tags/Search Keywords
    • Objectives/Background
    • Activities, Tasks, Notes, Decisions, Linked processes, Linked documents, Web links
  3. The type of search result:
    • Published Processes
    • Embedded Processes (if enabled)
    • Suggested Processes (if enabled)
    • Unpublished/In Progress Processes
    • Documents
    • Groups

A search query consists of the following elements:

  • Free text words or phrases:
    • Free text queries are case-insensitive. You can construct queries using one or more of the following as free-text expressions:
      • A word (includes one or more characters without spaces or punctuation).
      • A phrase (includes two or more words together, separated by spaces; however, the words must be enclosed in double quotation marks).
      • To construct complex queries, you can combine multiple free-text expressions with query operators. If there are multiple free-text expressions without any operators in between them, the query behavior is the same as using the AND operator.
  • AND operator:
    • By default, all queries use the AND operator if there is only space between each free text element. This operator indicates that all free text elements must appear in a searched field to be included as a match. To include the word 'and' in the keywords, it must be included in a phrase.
  • Wildcards:
    • Wildcards do not function in the quick search. The following wildcard characters are supported in full search: * (asterisk) or % (percentage). By default all free text keywords are prefixed and suffixed in the wildcard. A wildcard indicates that zero or more characters may appear in its place. The wildcard operator is useful when using phrases.
      Example: 
      • Searching with 'prod' will match for a process containing the words 'product' or 'produce'.
      • Searching '"new* product"' will match a process containing the phrase 'new telephone product'.

Note: If the query contains only operators or is empty, it isn't valid. If the query is invalid the search will not return any results.

The following common search syntax items are not supported.

  • OR: The OR operator is not supported by Nintex Process Manager, all keywords must be found in the Process, Document, or Process Group to be considered a match.

  • Parentheses: Brackets or parentheses are ignored as the OR operator is not a consideration for the search.

  • '+': As the search considers all keywords as an AND, this operator is not required.
  • Property restrictions: additional property restrictions are not supported, for example, 'type:image'. Any entered property restrictions will be treated as a keyword in the search query.

  • Commas and Semicolons - These characters are filtered out of the search terms unless included in a search phrase.

Below are some sample search queries and results.

Search type Example search term Expected search results
Single search term product
  • Searches all fields for this word.
  • At least one field must contain this value to be considered a match.

Example: A process title "Design a product" or a process group title "Product Development" will be included in the search results.
Multiple search terms new product concept | new AND product AND concept | ((new) AND (product) AND (concept))
  • Searches all fields for all terms.
  • At least 50% of the terms must appear in a searched field to be considered a match
Example: 
  • A process title "Develop a product concept for a new market" is a match.
  • A process containing a note title "How do I know it is a new idea?" and with the body "A product concept is considered..." is a match as the full note text is considered as one field by the search.
  • However, a process title "Develop product" with a task "Investigate new markets" is not a match as the terms are not in the same items nor do they contain two or more of the terms.
Phrases "new product"
  • Searches all fields for the exact phrase.
  • At least one field must contain the phrase to be considered a match.

Example: A document title "New Product design guide.pdf" is a match, but a document title "Product design for new market.pdf" is not a match.
Wildcards "new* product" | "new%product"
  • Only available in full search.
  • Searches all fields for the exact phrase where the %/* is considered a wild card.
  • The field must contain the words "new" and "product" in that order and may have zero or more characters between them.

Example: A process group title "Newspaper product development" is a match.
Keywords holiday
  • In addition to searching all fields, the search terms will be searched in the process keywords.
  • All terms must be keywords for the process to match.

Example: If you have a process title "Apply for Leave", you can add the keywords 'Holiday', 'Vacation', and 'Bereavement. Users can search using one of these keywords and still find the process even though it is not in the content or title.