9. Search¶
Searching is used to find specific transactions within an account. This can be used to look up information or to edit a transaction. Curensee provides powerful search tools that can be used to find any transaction by field value. Optionally, matching field values can also be replaced. Transactions are searched using one of two methods:
Basic Search : All accounts, transactions and fields are matched against the search text. This is the easiest way to search but provides no advanced options or replace capability.
Advanced Search : Transactions are matched based on the specified field data type and value. Fields must be matched by data type to find transactions of an exact value (amount, date, etc.). Any matching field values can be replaced with a new value. Additional options can also be used to restrict how the search is run.
For full details on each search method see the following sections.
9.1. Basic Search¶
A basic search is the simplest way to find transactions but provides no advanced options or replace capability. A basic search will search all accounts, transactions and fields for matching text. A basic search is run using the search box always visible at the top of the application (to the right of the view tabs on the far side).
An example of a basic search is illustrated in Fig. 9.1 below.
The example in Fig. 9.1 illustrates the following:
The search text ‘gift’ is entered into the search box while in the dashboard view. Note that a basic search can be started from any view in the app.
Once the search text is entered, the search button is pressed to run the search.
The application will then switch into the accounts view to show any matching transactions. The first matching transaction will be highlighted and scrolled into view.
Any additional matches can be found by pressing the search button again. Each press will find the next match.
A basic search always starts by entering text into the search box. After the text is entered, the search can be run using either the search button or by pressing Enter on the keyboard. The application will then switch into accounts view and show any matches. The next matching transaction can be found by running the search again. Changing the text in the search box will reset the search.
Hint
It’s possible to press the search button or Enter on the keyboard multiple times. Each press will run the search again from the last position to find the next match.
A basic search has the following actions visible next to each other in the search box.
Icon |
Action |
Description |
---|---|---|
Search |
Starts the search and finds the next match. This action is also available by pressing the Enter key. |
|
Clear Search |
Clears all text in the search text box. This will reset the search for next time. |
|
Advanced Search |
Opens the advanced search side pane and switches to the Accounts View. See Advanced Search for details. |
9.2. Advanced Search¶
Attention
Some or all of this functionality may not be available on certain platforms or may require an additional feature upgrade. Feature upgrades are available as in-app purchases on supported platforms.
An advanced search differs from a basic search by requiring that matches are found separately by field data type. This means if you are looking for a date, you must enter a date. If you are looking for text, you must enter text. This requirement allows for advanced options and any matching field values can be replaced with a different value.
Note
Requiring an advanced search be run using an exact field data type seems cumbersome. However, it allows for replacing the value in any matching fields. It would not otherwise be possible to support replacing values as there would be risk of the data type changing.
An example of an advanced search is illustrated in Fig. 9.2 below.
The example in Fig. 9.2 illustrates the following:
The advanced search button is pressed next to the search box to open the advanced search side pane. Note that an advanced search can only be run from the accounts view.
The field data type of Text is selected (the default) and the search text ‘gifts’ is entered
Once the search text is entered, the Find All search button is pressed to run the search. Note that it is also possible to use the Find Next to run the search; however, Find All was chosen for this example.
The application will select all matching transactions and show a dialog with the number of matches.
In order to further restrict the search, the Options are expanded and the fields to search are restricted to only the ‘Description’ field. Other fields such as ‘Category’ will now be ignored in the search.
The replace search mode is enabled by pressing Replace and then the replace text of ‘gifts for parents’ is entered.
Once the replacement text is entered, Replace All is pressed to replace all matches of the search text ‘gifts’ with the replacement text ‘gifts for family’.
The application will select all matching transactions with replaced values and show a dialog with the total number of replacements made.
In this example Find Next is pressed last to highlight the first matching transaction to more easily see the change in field value.
Note
Searching is used to find transactions within accounts; however, matching of transactions is done using the field value. This means the number of matches shown will be for the number of fields that match the search value. This can included multiple fields within a single transaction. In other words, the number of field matches may be different from the number of transaction matches.
An advanced search always starts by pressing the advanced search button to open the advanced search side pane within the accounts view. With the side pane open, the field data type can be selected and the search and optional replacement values entered. To run the search, there are multiple options depending on the whether replacement mode is activated. Search actions are Find Next, Find All, Replace and Replace All (see the actions below for more details).
Hint
An advanced search will match based on exact field value. Only the Text field data type allows for partial matching. This generally means the precise value being search for must be known. If it’s not known, it’s better to use a basic search.
Advanced searches also allow specifying options used to restrict how the search is run. Each option is listed and explained below.
- Accounts
Specifies one or more accounts to search within. Only transactions within the specified accounts will be searched. For further details on how to select the accounts see Selection Box.
- Date Range
Specifies the range of dates to search within. Transactions outside the specified date range will be excluded. For further details on how to select a date range see Date Range Picker.
- Fields
Specifies one or more transaction fields to restrict the search to. Only the specified fields will be searched. For further details on how to select the fields see Selection Box.
- Complete match only
Whether a field’s text must completely match with the search text in order to be considered a match. This will only apply when searching for textual data.
- Match character case
Whether character case will be used or ignored during matching. By default the character case will be ignored and ‘Gift’ will be considered the same as ‘gift’. This will only apply when searching for textual data.
An advanced search has the following actions depending on search mode. One set of actions exists when only finding matching transactions/fields. The other actions are used when replace is enabled.
Icon |
Action |
Description |
---|---|---|
Replace |
Switches to replacement mode. A replacement value must also be specified. |
|
Find Next |
Finds the next field that matches the search value. The transaction containing the match will be selected. |
|
Find All |
Finds all fields that match the search value. All transactions containing matches will be selected. A dialog will be shown with the number of matches. |
|
Replace |
Replaces the field value of the last match with the replacement value. This is only available if a match has already been found. |
|
Replace All |
Finds all fields that match the search value and replaces them with the replacement value. A dialog will be shown with the number of replacements. |