Searching for Headers Using Detail Values

PeopleSoft's ability to build component search pages from search record meta-data saves developer's a lot of time. A developer can create a user friendly search page by setting a few properties on a record definition. This works great for single record and one-to-one relationship views. While a one-to-many view can be, used as a search record, there are cases where a one-to-many view will display a lot of redundant data. An example of this is searching a record that has an effective dated key. Unmodified, a search record containing the EFFDT field will display multiple rows for the same top level key. Selecting any of the effective dated rows will create the exact same level 0 buffer structure. The additional, seemingly redundant rows, displayed by this approach can confuse users.

Most of the time, we search for documents and transactions using a document or transaction header. The header usually contains the transaction ID, description, transaction date, etc. Sometimes, however, it is easier to find a transaction using a field from a detail row in the transaction. For example, a user may know a Project Activity ID, but not the Project ID. One way to provide detail row search capabilities would be to add the Activity ID to the search record. While providing the desired behavior for a user searching by Activity ID, this solution would exponentially increase the number of rows displayed in the search results to users that are not searching by Activity ID.

An alternative to using a one-to-many view for the Project Component's search record is to create a second component specifically for searching detail rows. This second component would use a one-to-many view for its search record to display both header and detail information. Based on the user's search parameters, PeopleCode can be used to transfer the user between the header (primary component) and detail (secondary component) search pages.

To implement this alternative solution, open the main component's search record and add the detail search fields. Adding the detail search fields to the search record as alternate search keys tells the component processor to add them as input fields on the advanced search page. Following the Activity ID example, add the Activity ID field to the main search record as a search key. Instead of adding the PS_PROJ_ACTIVITY record to the search view's SQL, select ' ' for the Activity ID. Save and build the view. If the user enters a value in the Activity ID search field, then, using the SearchSave event, switch components to the one-to-many view component that has a search record with the Activity ID detail values. Using the PeopleCode Transfer function, you can transfer the user to a different component while retaining all of the search key values entered by the user. From this secondary component, the user can search by Activity ID. When the user chooses a Project, the TransferExact function can be used to transfer the user back to the main component and open the selected Project using the detail component's PreBuild PeopleCode event. If the user deletes the Activity ID search criteria, then the Transfer function can be used to transfer the user back to the main search page and display the search results using the other search criteria entered by the user.

Here is what this solution would look like when applied to the PROJECT_GENERAL component.

Modify the PROJ_SRCH record as follows:

• Add ACTIVITY_ID as a search key field below the PROJECT_ID field
• Add , ' ' to the view's SQL between , A.PROJECT_ID and , A.DESCR.

Create a new search record that contains the one-to-many join of PS_PROJECT and PS_PROJ_ACTIVITY and name the search record NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH.

Create a new component named NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH that contains a page named UNUSED_PAGE with a search record called NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH.

Modify the Component Record PeopleCode of the PROJECT_GENERAL component by adding the following PeopleCode to the PROJ_SRCH SearchSave PeopleCode:

Local Record &keys_rec = CreateRecord(Record.NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH);
If (All(PROJ_SRCH.ACTIVITY_ID)) Then
   &keys_rec.BUSINESS_UNIT.Value = PROJ_SRCH.BUSINESS_UNIT.Value;
   &keys_rec.PROJECT_ID.Value = PROJ_SRCH.PROJECT_ID.Value;
   &keys_rec.ACTIVITY_ID.Value = PROJ_SRCH.ACTIVITY_ID.Value; &keys_rec.DESCR.Value = PROJ_SRCH.DESCR.Value;
   Transfer( False, MenuName.COMPONENT_MENU, BarName.CUSTOM, ItemName.NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH, Page.UNUSED_PAGE, "U", &keys_rec, True);
End-If;

In the NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH component, add the following PeopleCode to the NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH search record SearchSave event:

Local Record &keys_rec = CreateRecord(Record.NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH);

If (None(NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH.ACTIVITY_ID)) Then
   &keys_rec.BUSINESS_UNIT.Value = NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH.BUSINESS_UNIT.Value;
   &keys_rec.PROJECT_ID.Value = NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH.PROJECT_ID.Value;
   &keys_rec.DESCR.Value = NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH.DESCR.Value;
   Transfer( False, MenuName.CREATE_PROJECTS, BarName.USE, ItemName.PROJECT_GENERAL, Page.PROJECT_GEN_01A, "U", &keys_rec, True);
End-If;

In the NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH component, add the following PeopleCode to the component's PreBuild event:

Local Record &keys_rec = CreateRecord(Record.PROJ_SRCH);

&keys_rec.BUSINESS_UNIT.Value = NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH.BUSINESS_UNIT.Value;&keys_rec.PROJECT_ID.Value = NEW_PC_ACT_SRCH.PROJECT_ID.Value;
Transfer( False, MenuName.CREATE_PROJECTS, BarName.USE, ItemName.PROJECT_GENERAL, Page.PROJECT_GEN_01A, "U", &keys_rec, True);