You can search for records from any Slate page using Omni Search in the top right corner.
The default search criteria includes:
Name
Contact Information (Email address, Phone)
Reference ID
Oftentimes, you want to find person records using alternative values, such as their ID in another system. You can accomplish this using a person index rule.
Step 1: Creating the Rule
Go to Database → Rules.
Select New Rule.
Configure the following settings:
Name: Enter a name for the rule.
Type: Configurable Joins
Category: Records
Base: Person
Rule Type: Person Index
Folder: Keep rules organized by placing it in a folder. Select Other to create a new one.
Non-deterministic: Rule is deterministic and has an exclusive priority.
Priority: Enter a priority rank. For example,
1, if this is your only person index rule.Status: Preview
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Select Save.
Step 2: Configuring the rule
Set Action to Replace Values from Formula.
Add one or more exports to be used to search for records.
Reference the exports in the Formula field.
Step 3 (optional): Adding filters
Most situations won’t call for it, but you can add filters to the rule if some records should have different index criteria than others.
We've outlined three common examples of person index rules below.
Add an export for the field that the search bar will use to find records. Note the name of the export (e.g., "Person Colleague ID").
In the "Formula" section, reference the export from above by typing in "@" and then the export's name. You will want to replace all spaces with dashes (e.g., "@Person-Colleague-ID").
Save the rule.
This approach uses a subquery export which obviates the need to account for records that have a NULL value in one or more exports used to drive the person index rule.
Add a subquery export.
Specify a "Name", like "Index".
Select the "Output" setting of "Concatenate".
Add the desired exports.
Add a space (or your desired separator) to the “Export Separator” field.
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Save the subquery export.
In the "Formula" section, reference the export from above by typing in "@" and then the export's name. You will want to replace all spaces with dashes (e.g., "@Index").
Save the rule.
The following example is a robust approach to grabbing any values a record has in a unique for merging field to drive the person index rule.
Add a subquery export.
Configure the following settings:
Name: Enter a name, like Index.
Output: Concatenate
Row Separator: Enter a row separator value, like a space
Create a join from Person to Field Values.
Create a join from Field Values to Lookup Field.
Add the Unique for Merging filter from the Lookup Field join. Select Value contains a unique ID which identifies a single record for merging.
Add the Store Value filter from the Lookup Field join and select Store Value.
Optionally, add the Type filter from the Lookup Field join and select Real, Integer, and Text/Unspecified.
Add the Values export from the Field Values join.
Save the subquery export.
In the Formula section, reference the export from above by entering
@followed by the export's name. Replace all spaces with dashes, as with@Index.Save the rule.
Step 4: Testing and Activating the Rule
Go to Database → Rules.
Select Check Logic.
Enter the name of a test record with a value in one of the fields referenced by your person index rule.
Evaluate the results. If the rules do not return what you're expecting, then you will need to revise them; otherwise, proceed to the next step.
Navigate to the person index rule.
Activate the rule.
💡 Tip
Slate stores the person index on the
[person]table in the[index]column,[person].[index].