TestRail’s search functionality has an interface that allows the users to have a more detailed and specific search by efficiently locating Test Cases, Test Runs, Projects, and other TestRail data entities through a global search mechanism.
Overview of search in TestRail
The search functionality enables TestRail users to increase productivity when searching and navigating the TestRail interface. You can search for any entity in TestRail, and any type of data within any object in your instance, from the search bar at the top of the screen. The search features include text/search predictions using relevance scores that will show categorized search results. You then have the ability to drill into a detailed view of a particular category's results, search history/recent search list, and filter the search results by type of entity, status, test string, and relative date period or date range.
You can enable this search functionality by navigating to Administration > Site Settings > USER INTERFACE, and toggling out the Enable Elastic Search checkbox. Click Save.
Users can now access this search functionality from the search bar on the Dashboard page and globally search all desired projects. Also, users can input and stack different search criteria options at the same time when search commands are applied, such as keywords, filters, recent history, and predictive text. That way, the search results that are obtained are more intuitive and precise.
If this search is disabled by an admin, the Advanced Search functionality will still work and apply as described in the corresponding documentation section.
Search interface
When you click the search bar on the upper part of your TestRail instance, the search interface will open and expand (you can also press ‘Ctrl+Shift+F’ on Windows and ‘Cmd+Shift+F’ on MacOS as a shortcut).
Once the interface expands, different search features are available to see or to select as options for your global search:
- QUICK JUMP TO: A menu where you can quickly click a main TestRail category and access a list of any of them directly from here. This menu lists Projects, Test Cases, Test Runs, Milestones, Test Suites, and Reports.
- RECENT SEARCH RESULTS: You can view a list of your most recent search history, and click on each one to make the same search again.
- RECENTLY VIEWED: You can view all the accessed elements that you clicked and viewed in previous searches, to access them again quickly if needed.
- FILTER BY: On the right side column, you can access the filter section where you can select to filter and stack your search results by Category, Project, Assignee, Date, and Reference ID (search the Reference ID you want on the small bar and click + to add it to the filter).
You can click Clear on the right side of each section to deselect unwanted search criteria and start selecting again.
This option just filters the search results, but they do not access any search result directly with a click as the other 3 options do.
The search interface is different depending on whether you're searching from the Dashboard or searching within a specific project page. On specific project pages, you are not able to see the Recent Search Results section, while on the Dashboard you are able to see it.
Permissions of each user will be applied to the search results. Regardless of the user's role and permissions, the results that are displayed will only show options that they have access to based on the combination of their global and per-project assigned roles. See more on user roles and permissions here.
Once you make your desired search (from the Dashboard only), the search parameters will be executed globally throughout your TestRail instance, applying the filters on the Filter By pane, Text Filters, and current session’s user permissions. Also, if you're searching for a page that belongs to a specific project, the results will come from only that project by default, and you have to uncheck that filter if you want to search globally.
This interface provides search prediction, allowing the text input criteria to be predicted with auto-complete text, and with real-time search results displayed as the text is typed, filtering the possible results in a categorized view. This way, you can have an easier time filtering your desired result. The Recent Search Results and Recently Viewed sections will be replaced with the results returned from the search’s prediction, once you start typing your search criteria:
When you find your searched element, you can access it normally by just clicking on it. But if you want to see all the results that appeared from your query, click View all results under the Quick Jump To section when you input your search.
The results will then be displayed in a paginated view, according to the number of results that you get, so that you have a more efficient way of scrolling through them. You can increase the number of results shown in the current page by clicking Show more at the bottom right corner of the page. Also, the results are grouped by entity type (test cases, test runs, etc.).
You also have a Filter By option column on the right-hand side of this window, to further filter the results for your search. A big search bar is also displayed above the results so that you can add another term to the existing search, and a ‘Search result for’ option where you can see and, if you want, clear out the current search criteria.