This is the advanced time search page. There are a number of different search forms on this page. Each form will have its own heading and search button. Without getting super technical, the page includes search forms for the main elements of time and all of the subs or functions of time.

The main elements of time have a number of fields, options, tools, and features that may or may not be relative to your needs. This page is built so that you may pick and choose exactly what you would like to see (build your own report). There are also a number of data filters that allow you to filter the records correctly. Only apply the filters that are needed. Leave all other filters at the blank or default values (they will be skipped). The search results will be shown on a different page.

The results page is setup to remember your settings. What this means is if you get to that page and need to widen or tighten your search, you are allowed to click a button that says "refine your search". That button will pass all of the selected criteria back to this page so you can add/subtract fields or change the filters. That is very handy and helps you get to exactly what you want.

Any of the text fields (filters) have built in wildcards to help with searching. For example: Say I wanted to get all of the elements of time that are assigned to a guy by the last name of Smith. I would use the customer assignment filter field and could enter "sm", "smi", or "smith". Any of those values would work. As a rule of thumb, we recommend that you enter as little as possible first and then refine from there if needed.

Here are a couple of tips for using some of the filters:

Tip 1 - When searching text or open entry fields, use a single key word as the search phrase instead of a full sentence or phrase. If you know that the element of time had the word "zipper" in it, use that as the key word search instead of "fixed the zipper for the...". Think simple... :)

Tip 2 - There is a special "date switch" filter value that will change the date range and what is being compared or filtered. This is very important and very flexible. These are things like: Use start date, use end date, use target date, use finished date, and use created date. This value will totally change the search results.

Tip 3 - If you don't want to select a date range (to keep the search very open), all you need to do is select the custom date range and enter the string "all" to "all" (basically, not a real date to not a real date - it could also be left blank). The system will see this as a "skip value" and will not apply any of the date filters. All records that match your other search criteria will be returned.

Tip 4 - There is a time filter if you need to get really tight on times. For example: Say you wanted everything for a certain day (or couple of days) between the hours of 10 am and 11:30 am. The filter only applies to elements of time that have a starting and ending time assigned (controlled by the templates). To skip the time filter, change the to and from values to "all" or leave them blank.

Tip 5 - If you need to search for a priority, a range is required. If you want a single priority, set both the to and from value to the same number. This will get just that value.

Tip 6 - The customer, vendor/payee, and location assignment fields have two different search fields. One deals with the actual system assigned items and the other deals with the open entry or general person or place assignments. This is not meant to be tricky, but technically, the values are stored in different fields on the database. Try to think, was the value I'm looking for a real value or a temporary value (open entry field). If doing an actual customer or vendor/payee search, choose just a first name, last name, or business name that you want to match to. The search is very simple and only looks at one value at a time. For example, If you wanted to get Adam Smith, you would need to search for either the first name of "adam" or last name of "smith" not "adam smith" (both together won't work). Just choose one or the other and filter from there. These text searches do have some wildcards built in but they are still simple value searches. Sorry, but this is not Google... Maybe some day! :)

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