---
title: "Search Engine Configuration"
slug: "search-engine-configuration-1"
updated: 2026-09-16T14:14:47Z
published: 2026-09-23T12:56:26Z
canonical: "wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/search-engine-configuration-1"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://wiki.cobblestonesoftware.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Search Engine Configuration

## **COBBLESTONE SOFTWARE**

Contract Insight — User Guide

## **Search Engine Configuration**

*Application Configuration: Search Config and the Search Engine*

**Note:** Each procedure in this guide begins at the Contract Insight homepage, so any section can be followed on its own. The record types, fields and filters available on these screens depend on how the environment is configured, so the exact lists will vary between systems.

---

# 1. Overview

Contract Insight offers two ways to find records. The search box in the application header runs a search across the record types the system is configured to cover and groups the matches by area, with a count for each. The search engine takes the same words and searches the full text of documents, returning what it finds by relevance rather than by area.

Search Config governs the first of these. It sets which record types a search covers, the order their results appear in, the heading shown above each group, and — through filters — which of an area’s records are allowed to appear at all. Those filters sit on top of each person’s own permissions, so they narrow what a search can return without ever widening it.

The search engine side is governed by application settings and a scheduled job. The settings decide whether the search engine replaces the standard search, whether it is suggested on the results page, how often its indexes and caches are rebuilt, and how deeply a single search looks. The job itself — Search Engine Indexing and Caching — does the indexing work on a timer and can also be run on demand.

Because these screens change how search behaves for everyone, they are maintained from the Administration area and are normally reserved for Application Administrators or users specifically granted the appropriate permission.

# 2. Accessing Search Config

Search Config is the central management screen for what a search covers. To open it:

From the Contract Insight homepage, click **Administration** at the bottom of the left navigation menu. On the Administration page, under **Configuration & Fields**, select **Search Config**.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/searchcfg-admin-configuration-fields.png)

**The Search Config screen includes the following elements:**

- A **Search Config** heading with the subtitle “Which record types a search covers, and which of their records it shows.”
- A row for each record type the search can cover — Contracts, Customers, Requests, Solicitations and Purchase Orders
- A **SEARCHED** switch on each row, which includes or excludes that record type
- A **WHICH RECORDS CAN APPEAR** column reading either “Everything the person may see” or a count of filters and how many records pass them
- **ORDER** arrows that move a record type earlier or later in the results
- A per-row **Configure** button that opens that area’s own settings

![](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/searchcfg-areas-list.png)

# 

# 3. Choosing Which Record Types Are Searched

**Steps**:

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click **Administration** at the bottom of the left navigation menu. On the Administration page, under **Configuration & Fields**, select **Search Config**.
2. Switch **SEARCHED** on for each record type a search should cover, and off for any it should ignore.
3. Use the **ORDER** arrows to move a record type up or down. The order set here is the order its results appear in on the results page.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/searchcfg-searched-order-controls.png)

**Note:** Turning a record type off removes it from search results entirely, for everyone. It does not affect who may open those records, only whether a search returns them.

# 

# 4. Configuring How an Area Appears

**Steps**:

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click **Administration** at the bottom of the left navigation menu. On the Administration page, under **Configuration & Fields**, select **Search Config**.
2. Click **Configure** on the row for the record type. The area’s own page opens, with an **All areas** breadcrumb back to the list.
3. In the **How it appears in results** section, set **Heading above these results** — the wording shown above that group of results. Left blank, the area’s own name is used.
4. Switch **Add a note when filters are hiding records** on to display a message above those results, so nobody assumes the search is broken.
5. Click **Save changes**, or **Discard changes** to leave the area as it was.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/searchcfg-how-it-appears.png)

**Note:** The position of a group in the results is set on the areas list with the ORDER arrows, not on this page.

# 

# 5. Limiting Which Records Can Appear

The **Which records can appear at all** section of an area’s page holds its filters. As the screen explains, every filter applies to all searches of that area, for everyone, on top of each person’s own permissions, and the section reports how many records currently pass. Filters are typically used to keep deleted or draft records out of results.

**Steps**:

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click **Administration** at the bottom of the left navigation menu. On the Administration page, under **Configuration & Fields**, select **Search Config**.
2. Click **Configure** on the row for the record type, then go to **Which records can appear at all**.
3. Click **Add a filter**. A panel opens headed **SEARCH CONFIG | <AREA>** / **Add a filter**, stating “Records must match this for the search to return them.”
4. Set **Match** to **ALL** or **ANY** of the rules that follow.
5. Use **+ Condition** to add a rule and **+ Group** to nest a set of rules. For each rule, choose the field, choose the operator — contains, does not contain, starts with, ends with, is equal to, is not equal to, is greater than, is less than, is between, is null, is empty and the rest — and enter the value.
6. Click **Count matching records** to check how many records the rules return before committing to them.
7. Click **Add filter** to save it, or **Cancel** to discard it.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/searchcfg-filters-and-add-panel.png)

**The filter list itself shows:**

- A **Filter**, **Updated** and **Updated by** column for each filter, each with its own filter icon, and a Search box above the grid
- A per-row **Manage** button for editing the filter, and a red delete button for removing it
- A running count of how many records currently pass, shown in the section’s description

**Note:** A filter never widens what a person can see. Each person’s own permissions apply first, and these filters narrow the result further.

# 

# 6. Search Engine Application Settings

**Steps**:

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click **Administration** at the bottom of the left navigation menu. On the Administration page, under **Configuration & Fields**, select **Application Settings**.
2. Search for **search**, or open the **Search** category.
3. Adjust the settings described below.
4. Click **Save changes** to apply them, or **Discard** to abandon them. A change takes effect as soon as it is saved.

**The settings in the Search category are:**

- **Replace Quick Search** — use the system search engine in place of the standard search: Always, Never or User
- **Suggest Search Engine** — offer the search engine on the standard results page, as a link inviting the person to search the full text of documents
- **Search Engine Indexing and Caching Timer** — how often the search engine updates its indexes and caches
- **Search Engine Maximum Results** — the most relevant matches the search engine examines for a single search; raising it lets a search look deeper into large result sets, at the cost of a slower search

![](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/searchcfg-application-settings-search.png)

The **General System** category holds related settings for the standard results page, including **Hide Source Column**, **Hide Top Page Result** and **Sort Quick Search Results by Primary Key**.

# 

# 7. Search Engine Indexing

The search engine keeps its own index of record and document text. That index is maintained by the **Search Engine Indexing and Caching** job, which runs on a timer and can also be run on demand.

**Steps**:

1. From the Contract Insight homepage, click **Administration** at the bottom of the left navigation menu. On the Administration page, under **Automation & Data**, select **Scheduled Jobs**.
2. Find the **Search Engine Indexing and Caching** row. The grid shows how often the job runs (**Every**), its **Last run**, its **Next run** and its **Status**.
3. Click **Run now** to index immediately — useful after a large import, or after changing what the search covers.
4. Click **Change how often it runs** to set the interval in minutes, then **Save**. Setting it to 0 stops the job running on a schedule, though it can still be run by hand.
5. Click **History** to review the job’s previous runs.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/searchcfg-scheduled-jobs.png)

**Note:** The panel recommends a minimum interval of 30 minutes for this job. Indexing runs in batches, so immediately after a large change the index may lag behind the number of records in the system until the next few runs complete.

# 

# 8. How Search Appears to Users

Users search from the box in the application header. The results page reports how many matches were found, how many of them were found in attachment text, and breaks the results down by area:

- A tab for **All** results and one for each searched record type, each with its own count
- An **Attachment matches only** option, for narrowing the page to matches found inside documents
- A **Collapse all** control, and an **Export** option on each area’s grid
- A **Source** column showing whether the match came from the record or from a file, and a per-row **Manage** button
- A link inviting the person to search the full text of documents with the search engine, shown when **Suggest Search Engine** is on

![](https://cdn.document360.io/e3626857-1fb5-4e27-b278-2d3fc5508be4/Images/Documentation/searchcfg-search-results-page.png)

The **Search Engine** page itself reports the number of results for the words entered and offers **Save this search**, along with **SAVED SEARCHES** and **RECENT SEARCHES** panels for returning to earlier searches.

# 

# 9. Quick Reference Summary

| **Task** | **How to Complete It** |
| --- | --- |
| **Open Search Config** | Homepage → Administration → Configuration & Fields → Search Config. |
| **Include a record type** | Switch SEARCHED on for that row. |
| **Order the results** | Use the ORDER arrows to move a record type earlier or later. |
| **Rename a results group** | Configure → Heading above these results, then Save changes. |
| **Explain hidden records** | Configure → switch Add a note when filters are hiding records on. |
| **Restrict an area** | Configure → Which records can appear at all → Add a filter, build the rules, Add filter. |
| **Test a filter** | Count matching records in the filter panel, before saving it. |
| **Search engine settings** | Application Settings → Search: Replace Quick Search, Suggest Search Engine, Indexing and Caching Timer, Maximum Results. |
| **Index on demand** | Scheduled Jobs → Search Engine Indexing and Caching → Run now. |
| **Change the index interval** | Scheduled Jobs → Change how often it runs; 0 stops the schedule. |