Contextual search concepts
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Summary of Contextual search concepts
Contextual search concepts in ServiceNow Yokohama release provide a framework to understand how different search components interact within the platform’s documentation, configuration, and user interface. These concepts are tailored to the unique ServiceNow environment and help customers effectively use and configure search functionalities to improve information retrieval across various resources.
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Key Features
- Search Resource: A scripted resource such as Catalog or Knowledge Articles that can combine results from multiple tables using JavaScript and the Zing search engine. Customers cannot create or modify these predefined resources.
- Searcher: A single or group of search resources bundled together for searching. For example, the Knowledge and Catalog searcher includes Knowledge Articles, Questions, and Catalog Items. These are predefined and not customizable by customers.
- Additional Resources: Single table sources with query conditions that can be searched, such as Resolved Incidents within a time frame. Customers can update conditions and descriptions of these predefined resources to better align with organizational requirements but cannot create or delete them.
- Search Result Display Fields: Configurable fields shown with search results for additional resources, like Assigned to, Opened by, and State. Customers can update these fields to customize the display but cannot create or delete the resources themselves.
- Search Context: Combines a searcher and optional additional resources into a searchable entity. Unlike searchers and search resources, customers can create new search contexts to tailor search experiences.
- Searcher Text: A user-friendly group name defined within a search context that represents multiple search resources. This improves clarity in search interfaces by grouping related resources under a common name.
- Search on Tab: A setting within search contexts that determines when the search executes—either when the user updates and leaves the search field (recommended) or while the user pauses typing.
- Search Actions: Defines specific actions associated with each search result type, such as ordering catalog items or attaching knowledge articles. All results include a “This helped” action for user feedback.
Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers
Understanding these components allows customers to:
- Effectively configure and customize additional resources and search result displays to better match their organizational needs.
- Create tailored search contexts that improve end-user search experiences by grouping relevant resources and controlling search behaviors.
- Leverage predefined searchers and resources confidently, knowing their fixed nature but flexible integration through contexts and display configurations.
- Optimize when and how searches execute to balance performance and user experience using the Search on Tab setting.
This structured approach to contextual search empowers ServiceNow customers to enhance information discovery and streamline workflows by aligning search functionality with their specific requirements.
Contextual search concepts help you to understand different contextual search components that are used in the documentation, configuration, and user interface. Understanding of the concepts makes it easier for you to comprehend the interconnection between the components.
Contextual search uses terms and concepts that can differ from industry norms due to the unique nature of the ServiceNow platform. Contextual search includes the following concepts and components:
- Search resource
- Resource that can be searched such as Catalog or Knowledge Articles. As the resources are scripted and contain JavaScript, they can combine results from more than one table.Note:
- ServiceNow provides pre-defined scripted search resources. You can't create, update, or delete search resources.
- A search resource uses the Zing search engine to search a table.
- Searcher
- A single search resource or a group of search resources that can be searched. For example, the Knowledge and catalog searcher contains Knowledge Articles, Questions and Catalog Items as its search resources.Note:ServiceNow provides pre-defined searchers. You can't create, update, or delete searchers.
- Additional resources
- An additional resource is a single table source with query conditions that you can search. Additional resources aren't scripted as you search from a single table. For example, Resolved Incidents (within the last six months).Note:
- ServiceNow provides pre-defined additional resources. You can't create or delete additional resources, but can update additional resources to better match your organization requirements. For example, you can update the condition and description for Resolved Incidents (Last 6 months) to change it to Resolved Incidents (Last 3 months).
- An additional resource performs the search based on the type of the source:
- Table: The Zing search engine to used to search a table.
- Predictive Intelligence similarity: Search is based on similarity and not on the Zing search engine.
- Search result display fields
- Defines the fields whose values are displayed with the search result of an additional resource. The fields can include Assigned to, Opened by, and
State. The search result display fields appear at the bottom of a search result record.Note:ServiceNow provides pre-defined search result display fields. You can't create or delete additional resources, but you can update search result display fields to better match your organization requirements. For example, change which field to use as a title or the description or which fields to show at the bottom of a search result record.
- Search context
- Brings together a searcher and additional resources (if any) that can be searched.Note:ServiceNow provides pre-defined search contexts. You can also create search contexts.
- Searcher text
- Defined in a search context, a searcher text specifies a user-friendly group name for the searcher. When a searcher contains more than one search resource, a group name is used to represent that group of search resources. For example, the Incident Deflection search context uses a searcher that searches Knowledge Articles, Questions and Catalog Items. The user-friendly searcher group name that represents all of them is Knowledge & Catalog.
- Search on tab
- Defined in the search context, Search on tab specifies when a contextual search should start the search. The different scenarios when search is performed are:
- If you select the Search on tab check box, the search only runs when you update and leave the search field (recommended).
- If you clear the Search on tab check box, the search runs when you pause typing.
- Search actions
- Specifies the actions for each such results. For example, for catalog items, the search action is Order and for knowledge articles it's Attach. All sources have the This helped action.