Run a search using a finder
- Juan Tomás Alonso Nieto (Deactivated)
Finders are the most intuitive and visual way of accessing data tables. In Devo, finders are divided into different lists, each one including a tag level. In this way, you can navigate through the lists and select the tag levels of the data table you want to access. Finders are located in the Finders tab of the Data Search → Explore Your Data area, which is displayed by default.
The four lists, from left to right, correspond to the four tag elements. These are technology, brand, type, and subtype. Finders are based on tags, so to start a search, select the elements of the tag in the finder boxes. Elements are also known as levels. When you select a tag level in the first box on the left, the lists in the other boxes will be filtered to display only the elements that can be used with your selection. To undo your selection, click Unselect on the tag list header or simply click a tag in any level above.
Once you select the final level of the tag, the search window will open displaying the contents of the selected data table.
Filter tag lists
You can use the time buttons above the tag level lists to display only tables that have received data over the last day, last week, etc. This is applicable to all finders except for the aliased, which show always all of them regardless of time.
You can filter the tag level lists to help you find the desired table. Write inside the Filter table field and all tag lists will be filtered as you type to show only those tables containing the specified string in any of their tag levels.
How are tags displayed?
When using finders, you will notice that tags are shown in different colors and sometimes with icons in front of them. Furthermore, those colors and icons change as you click the different tag levels to reflect different behaviors. This is what they mean:
Color-coded text | If a tag is written in black, it does not represent a table by itself but a tag level. Select it to make further selections in the levels below until you find a table. |
|---|---|
If a tag is written in green, it represents a table by itself. Selecting it will open that table. | |
| In case it is written in green and also presents this arrow, it is both a table by itself and a part of a table with more levels below. This always appears in combination with the text in green to let you know that you can open that table or keep selecting levels below (text in black by itself would already imply more levels below). Click it to mark it for further tag level selections or hover and click the magnifying glass icon that appears to open the table. |
If a tag presents this arrow, no tag has been selected in the level above and there is more than one containing it (the number of possibilities is expressed between brackets). Click it to see which are the possibilities and then click the desired one. They comply with the color code explained above (black-green). | |
If a tag presents this icon, it is a union table. Hover over the icon to see the tables composing it. To know more about union tables, click here and check the dedicated article. |
Select the columns to be displayed before opening the table
Tables with a large number of columns can be cumbersome to work with when using the search window and, often, many of the columns will not be relevant to the query you want to create. In this case, you can select the columns that you want to show in the search window before opening the table.
To do this, select the ellipsis icon on the final level of the tag and choose Select Columns.
This opens a window that lets you select the columns you want to show. All columns are automatically checked, if you manually uncheck a column then it will not be displayed. You can also reorder the columns by dragging them to the required place. Click Apply and the table opens in the search window showing only the columns you selected. You can also hide and show columns in the search window without affecting the query. See the Hide and show article to know how.
Types of finders
There are three types of finders in Devo.
Default finder - the main finder in Devo, where you can easily locate and access all the data tables available in your domain.
Custom finder - you can select a subset of data and create a custom finder for specific user profiles. Check the Use a custom finder article to know more about this type of finder.
Aliased finder - a finder that can be used to easily access those searches you use most frequently. You can create alternative tags, or aliases, for the tables and searches that you choose to include. Check the Use the aliased finder article to know more about this type of finder.
You can select the one you want to use as shown in the picture below.
Â