Skip to main content
All CollectionsDocumentsDocument Best Practices
How to: Use The Search Functionality
How to: Use The Search Functionality

Optimize search functionality using these search tips and tricks in the Library and Workspace.

Masha avatar
Written by Masha
Updated over a week ago

You can search within your document’s title, subtitles, content and attachments* associated with your documents. Supported attachment file types you can search for/within include:

  • Microsoft Word (.doc and .docx)

  • Microsoft Excel (.xls and .xlsx)

  • OpenOffice / LibreOffice documents (.odt)

  • Rich Text Format documents (.rtf)

  • Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx)

  • PDF and PostScript files (.pdf and .ps)

  • EPUB files (.epub)

  • HTML files (.htm and .html)

  • Other plain text-like formats (.csv, .eml, .msg, .txt)

Please note that Qualio cannot index any attachment that is encrypted, password-protected, uses digital rights management (DRM) technology, or has usage restrictions enabled. Those files will not be included in search results.

The search bar is available in both the library and the workspace so that you can search for the documents you need. The search bar looks like this:

Search Options

Listed below are the different ways you can leverage the search bar to find exactly what you are looking for.

Full-Text & Partial-Text Search

You can enter any text into the search bar and it will search the entire document library or workspace for that term and all variations of the term.

For partial word searches, we recommend placing an asterisk after the partial word for best results. Examples:

  • If you search for tra* the search could return translate. (However, search results will not return contradiction as we do not support searching for arbitrary strings in the middle of words.)

  • If you search for discrep*, the search could return both discrepancy and discrepancies.

Text String Search

This allows you to search multiple terms at once. In order to do so, simply put your search term inside quotation marks, for example, "Test documentation". Please note, that if you do not include the quotation marks then it will use each word individually as a Full-Text Search above.

Document ID Search

To search by the Document ID, simply input ID: in front of the document ID you wish to search. For example ID: SOP-12. The ID search also supports Full-Text Search, so the search ID: OP-1 will find SOP-1, SOP-10 and SOP-12.

Document Type Search

To search by document type, input type: in front of the document type you're searching for. For example, type: Policy. Please note that document types are specified in the "Type" column in the library and workspace.

Document Title Search

There are two ways to search for a specific document title or for words specifically in the document title:

  • title: Test - This is a full text search of the title and will return all documents where the word "test" is in the title.

  • title: "The Test Document" - This will return only documents that have that specific text string in the title.

Owner Search

To search for a document by its owner, input owner: in front of the user you are looking for. The search must match the first or last name of the owner.

Author Search

Just as with a search for the owner, to search for a document by its author, input author: in front of the user you are looking for. The search must match the first or last name of the author.

Dates Search

It may also be useful to search for a document based on a date. The search allows for the following date fields:

  • Approval Date: Search with approvalDate:

  • Created Date: Search with createdDate:

  • Effective Date: Search with effectiveDate:

  • Modified Date: Search with modifiedDate:

  • Review Date: Search with reviewDate:

All date searches must use the format "YYYY-MM-DD". For example, to find a document created on May 14, 2022, input: createdDate:"2022-05-14"

Combining Search Functionality

You can use a combination of the above search methods to get a really specific search functionality. For example, type: Policy title: "Supplier Management" would return all policy documents with Supplier Management in the title.

AND/OR Searches

Using ‘AND’ and ‘OR’ statements can also be used to search for what you’re looking for - whether you want to broaden or narrow your search scope.

Here’s an example of how you could return search results for a list of Policies (POL-) and Procedures (SOP-):

Return results that have either POL or SOP as the ID

Let’s say we’d like to search for documents with the prefix CF and include “Tour” in the title. We could use the following search string to list these results:

Return results with CF in the ID and Tour in the title

AND and OR searches can also be used to search by combinations of Tags. Below are some example strings for two tags: “TagOne” and “TagTwo”

  • Search for one tag: tags:TagOne or tags:TagTwo

  • Search for documents with both tags: (tags:TagOne)AND(tags:TagTwo)

  • Search for documents with either tag: (tags:TagOne)OR(tags:TagTwo)

Searching in the Document Workspace

When using the search bar in the Document Workspace, you’ll also need to account for the added document ownership and document lifecycle filters.

Adjust the document ownership filter from Your documents to All documents as necessary. With the status dropdown, you can select to view All open statuses or specific statuses.

Global Search

Only Quality users can search all areas of Qualio from any location within the application. To perform a search, simply click the search icon in the top right navigation bar and enter your search terms. The search will look for matches in IDs, Codes, and Names across the following resource types:

  • Documents: Locate specific documents across Qualio.

  • Change Controls: Search for all change control records.

  • Suppliers: Find supplier profiles and associated records.

  • Events: Look up specific events logged in the system.

  • Change Requests: Access detailed change request records.

  • Design Controls: Search within design control elements, including Requirements, Risks, and Reviews.

  • Resource Library Items: Search the library for additional resources and materials.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How are search results sorted?
    Search results will be sorted with the most relevant document at the top. “Most relevant” is determined by a combination of the document title and the number of times the search term appears in the document and attachments.

  • Are failed search terms reported in the audit trail or somewhere else?
    Not at this time.

  • Are attachments included in search results?
    Attachments are included in search results IF they are NOT encrypted, password-protected, uses digital rights management (DRM) technology, or has usage restrictions enabled.

Did this answer your question?