// solutions / Enterprise Search
Universal Searchfor Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Type what you remember. Universal Search finds the customer, vendor, item or contact even with typos, the wrong word order, missing spaces or only part of a name.
Free
Free on AppSource
Universal Search at a glance
- Publisher
- Bitta Apps
- Platform
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central online, version 28.0 or later
- Price
- Free on AppSource
- Availability
- Microsoft AppSource
- Version
- 1.0.0.0
- Last updated
From problem to outcome
The record exists, but search says no results
Standard search expects the text the way it is stored. One typo, a missing space or the words in a different order, and the customer, item or vendor you need does not come up. Universal Search finds it anyway.
You do not know which list to look in
Is it a customer, a contact or a vendor? Universal Search looks across every table your administrator indexes at once and groups the results by table, with a filter chip and match count for each.
You remember how a name sounds, or only part of it
Type a fragment such as maro orp, or a sound-alike spelling such as Carl, and Universal Search still finds Omaroon Corporation or Karl. No wildcards or filter syntax to learn.
How it works
Step 1
Install free from AppSource
Install Universal Search in Business Central online 28.0 or later, then assign BAA SEARCH ADM to admins and BAA SEARCH to everyone who searches. It adds six starting index rows for items, customers, vendors and contacts.
Read the chapter: Install and activateStep 2
Start indexing
An administrator chooses Start Indexing, then Process Now to build the index straight away. The six starting rows are enough to begin; add any other Text or Code field of any table later.
Read the chapter: Configure the indexStep 3
Search from Tell Me
Users open Universal Search from Tell Me and type what they remember. Results arrive ranked and grouped by table; the arrow keys and Enter open the record on its own card.
Read the chapter: Search day to day
Feature tour
Tolerates typos
In the first word you type, one wrong, missing, extra or swapped letter is tolerated in a word of three or four letters, and two in a word of five or more. Only fields that start with the same letter are checked.
Word order and spacing do not matter
wheel front finds Front Wheel Supplies, and icecream finds Ice Cream Cone.
Fragments and sound-alikes
maro orp finds Omaroon Corporation from two mid-word fragments, and Carl finds Karl through phonetic matching on name fields.
Every indexed table in one box
Results from all indexed tables are ranked together and grouped by table. Filter chips with live match counts narrow the list to one table in a click.
Ranking you control
Each indexed field has a weight from 1 to 10. Exact and starts-with matches score highest, and a per-table cap keeps one large table from burying the rest.
Index any table and field
Add any Text or Code field of any table to Search Index Configuration, with optional phonetic matching and a record filter such as WHERE(Blocked=CONST(No)) on items.
Respects table permissions
Tables a user cannot read are left out of both the results and the chip counts, and opening a result checks the read permission again.
Background index, kept current
Changes to indexed tables are queued as they happen, and a job queue entry applies them every minute. Search reads the index, not your live tables.
Runs inside your tenant
Search runs entirely in Business Central, in AL. The app's only outbound call is the optional license activation, made after an administrator consents. Operational telemetry goes to Bitta Apps' Application Insights.
Free, with an optional license
Universal Search is free. Activating registers your environment for a free 50-year license; search works the same whether you activate or not.
Who it is for
Admin
Installs the app, assigns the two permission sets, starts indexing, chooses which tables and fields are searchable, and keeps the index healthy.
Show the steps for AdminUser
Opens Universal Search from Tell Me, types what they remember, narrows results with filter chips, and opens the record on its own card.
Show the steps for UserIntegrations and requirements
Requirements
- Business Central online, version 28.0 or later
- No dependencies on other extensions
- Editions: Essentials and Premium
- User interface in English
- Permission sets: BAA SEARCH (Universal Search - Use) and BAA SEARCH ADM (Universal Search - Admin)
- Sandboxes: allow HttpClient requests for the app before activating the free license
Integrations
- Public AL API: codeunit BAA Search API with six methods: two Search overloads, OpenResult, EnsureTableIndexed, RebuildTable and ProcessQueueNow
- Ten integration events across install, change capture, indexing and search
- Business Central job queue: one recurring entry, Universal Search background indexing
- Tell Me and Assisted Setup
Pricing
Free
Free on AppSource
Frequently asked questions
What is Universal Search?
Free global search for Business Central that finds records in the tables you index, even with typos, word order, missing spaces, fragments or sound-alike names.
Is it free? Do I have to activate it?
Free. Activation registers a free 50-year license and is optional: search works the same whether you activate, decline or skip it.
Why does it find nothing after I install it?
Indexing is off after install. An administrator chooses Start Indexing on Universal Search Setup, then Process Now.
Which tables does it search?
Item No., Item Description, Customer No., Customer Name, Vendor Name and Contact Name to start, plus any Text or Code field of any table an administrator adds.
Can developers extend it?
Yes: codeunit BAA Search API with six methods, and ten integration events.
Start the guide
Install, set up and run Universal Search in order, one chapter at a time, with a screenshot for every step.