This guide explains how to use various operators to improve your searches. It is intended for general users.
When you search without any operator, aACE searches for matches that begin with the same value. For example, searching for "Educat" would find "Education", but searching for "tion" would not.
You can use the following Boolean operators to search more efficiently:
| Operator Name & Symbol | Definition | Example Scenario... | ...Example Criteria
& Field Selection |
| Less than
< | Finds values less than the criteria | If you are searching for invoices totaling $1499.99 and below... | ...then enter <1500 for the Balance field. |
| Less than or equal to ≤ or <= | Finds values less than or equal to the criteria | If you are searching for all timesheets created on or before 3/1/2007... | ...then enter <=3/1/2007 for the Date field. |
| Greater than > | Finds values greater than what you enter | If you are searching for timesheets with hours greater than 3... | ...then enter >3 for the Hours field. |
| Greater than or equal to ≥ or >= | Finds values greater than or equal to what you enter | If you are searching for invoices totaling $1500.00 and more... | ...then enter >=1500 for the Balance field. |
| Equals = | Exact match of whole word or number (or match Empty) | If you are searching for a line item code with the word "Market" in the title or for invoices equal to $1500.00... | ...then enter =market for the Line Item Code Name field or enter =1500 for the Balance field. (Note: This example would find "Market Research" and "General Market", but not "Marketing".) |
| Double equals == | Exact match in the field | If you are searching for a company named "Auto Zone", but not "Custom Auto"... | ...then enter ==Auto Zone for the Company field. |
| Ellipsis … | Finds records within a range | If you are searching for records on or between two dates or matching or between two invoice numbers... | ...then enter 1/1/2007…1/31/2007 for the Date field or enter 10000…10009 for the Invoice # field. |
| Exclamation point ! | Finds records with duplicate field values | If you are searching for all duplicate company records... | ...then enter ! for the Company Name field. |
| Double forward slash // | Finds records with today’s date | If you are searching for all Company records entered today... | ...then enter // for the Creation Date field. |
| Single character variable @ | Replaces a single unknown or variable character | If you are searching for a contact, but unsure of the exact spelling (e.g. "Gray" or "Grey")... | ...then enter Gr@y for the Name field. |
| Asterisk * | Replaces an unlimited number of unknown characters | If you are searching for a name, but unsure of the spelling... | ...then enter sch* for the Name field to return all names starting with "Sch", like "Schwartz" and "Schwin". Likewise, enter *son* for the Name field to return all variations containing "son", like "Richardson" and "Sonamaker". |
| Quotation marks “” | Finds the exact criteria entered between the quotation marks; often used for spaces and punctuation | If you are searching for a company with a comma in the company name, such as "Smith, Webster, and Jones"... | ...enter “,” for the Last Name field to return all records with a comma in the name. Likewise, enter “, LTD” for the Company Name to find all companies with that abbreviation. |
Searching with Dates
aACE includes robust search features for Date fields. Examples of the types of searches you can perform include:
- Search for all records from a specific day — Enter a full date (e.g. 1/2/2021).
- Search for a specific month's records — Enter a month and year (e.g. 3/2021) to display all records within that month.
- Search for a specific year's records — Enter a year (e.g. 2021) to display all records within that calendar year.
- Search for records in a date range — Enter a month/day/year set using an ellipses (e.g. "4/15/2021...5/07/2021") to display all records within that range.
- Search for records in a range of months — Enter a month/year set using an ellipses (e.g. "1/2021...2/2021") to display all records in those months.
Note: Depending on the module you are viewing and the current sorting settings, the records in the results list may be sequenced in an order other than by date.