How to Set Up a Global Search in Dynamics 365

One of the most useful features In Dynamics is the Global Search function.

With Global Search, users are able to query across multiple entities at the same time. By entering search criteria, users can quickly see where relevant information in CRM may be found.

Here is an example of a search and the results looking at Microsoft Dynamics 365/CRM:

Global Search can be configured to include the entities that best fit your business’s needs. It is just about as easy to set it up as it is to use.

Follow these steps to set up a Global Search in Microsoft Dynamics 365:

1. Click the “gear” icon and selected Advanced Settings. Then go to Settings –> Administration –> System Settings

2. On the General tab, locate the ‘Set up Search’ section and click on ‘Select’ next to ‘Select Entities for Categorized Search’.

3. Select the desired entities that you would like Global Search to apply to by adding them to the ‘Selected Entities’ column. (Note – you can select a maximum of 10.) Move the items in the list up/down to set the order in which the results are displayed. Click OK and then click OK on Systems Settings for the changes to take effect.

4. Depending on which fields you would like users to search on in each entity, you must update the corresponding entity(s) “Quick Find” view to include the “find” and “view” fields that you desire.

5. When records are displayed in the Global Search results, there is a hard limit of only three fields pertaining to the record shown (see example below). Those three fields correspond to the 3 leftmost fields in that entity’s ‘Quick Find’ view. To modify which three fields are shown, you must edit and publish the Quick Find view.

6. In the example below, the account name, account number, and primary contact will display in account records that are in the Global Search results window.

Now that you know how to set up a Global Search, what other Microsoft Dynamics 365 challenges can our team of experts help you solve?

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