Searching for artifacts

You can search for artifacts using Project Tracker queries. You can create ad-hoc (one-time-use) queries, and you can save queries for re-use. When you save a query, you can either store a link to the query on the main query page, or you can copy and paste the URL of the query in the browser address bar.

Information that you can use in a search includes the following:

• The artifact ID - You can run a simple query by entering an artifact ID.
• The attribute values for an artifact - You can look for a user assigned to the artifact, or the date on which the artifact was created.
• Approximate information about artifact, such as a date range in which the artifact may have been created.
• Links to saved queries, URLs from previously-run queries, and URLs that point directly to an artifact.

Searching by artifact ID

The simplest way to find an artifact is to enter its ID.

To find an artifact by its ID:

1. Click Project Tracker > Query Artifacts in the left navigation pane.
2. At the top of the page, enter the artifact ID in the text field and click the Artifact ID button.
   For instance, if you want to view an artifact with an ID of INT1 from the Interface (int) project, you can enter INT1 and click the button to view the artifact.

If you do not find the artifact:

• You may not have permission to view artifacts in the target project. An administrator may have moved the artifact to project that you do not have permission to view.
• You may have spelled the artifact ID incorrectly.

If you do not know the artifact ID, you can search for artifacts based on other values. The advanced query functionality allows you to specify complex queries. For example, you can search for all issues assigned to you within the past month. See the help on Advanced queries for details.

Note: If you do not have permission to view artifacts in a target project, you will receive an error message.

Querying artifacts based on personal information

1. Navigate to your project in CollabNet with Project Tracker as the tracking tool.
2. Go to the saved query list page and select the project query that was created using the Defect artifact type.
3. To edit the query click the Edit link on the Project Tracker: Saved Queries page.
4. Scroll down the page and under Personal Associations, click Edit List.
5. You will see a page which shows a value "<current user>" under the Special Values tab, where "<current user>" is the person executing the query.
6. Check the box under Select.
7. You can associate the current user by selecting any one of the five options:
   • Any
   • Created By
   • Assigned To
   • CC
   • QA Contact
8. Click Add Selected after you have made your choice.
9. Click done to complete the process.
10. Save the query.
11. Executing the same project level query as a different user will give you the corresponding results.

URL-based queries

You can re-use one-time (ad-hoc) queries by copying and pasting the URL from the browser address bar, or you can re-use the URL of a saved (named) query.

To copy and paste the URL for an ad-hoc query:

1. Click the Projects tab, and click the link for a project that uses Project Tracker.
2. Click Project Tracker > Query Artifacts in the left navigation pane.
3. Create and submit an ad-hoc (unsaved) query.
4. Copy the URL in the address bar of the query results window.
5. Open another browser window, log in as another user, and paste the URL.

You can also copy and save a direct link to an artifact. The link can be pasted in the browser address bar during any session. These URLs are not session-specific.

To save a direct link to an artifact:

1. Click the Projects tab and click the link for a project that uses Project Tracker.
2. In the left navigation pane, click Project Tracker > Query Artifacts.
3. Run a query.
4. In the results page, click the link for the artifact.
5. In the top right corner of the artifact page, right-click the link named Direct Link to Artifact, where artifact is the name of the artifact being displayed.
6. Click Copy.

Other types of searches

You can use arbitrary information to search for an artifact, such as a text string in the Summary field of an artifact or a date range in which the artifact may have been modified.

To search for one or more artifacts:

1. Click Project Tracker > Query Artifacts in the left navigation pane.
2. Click the link for a saved query, or if no previous queries have been defined, click the Create New button.
   See the help on Advanced queries for details.

To re-run a saved query:

1. Click Project Tracker > Query Artifacts in the left navigation pane.
2. Click the link for a saved query.

Query limits

Project Tracker can not generate results for queries that are overly complex. A point system is used to figure out the complexity of a query . If you exceed a certain number of points, you cannot generate the query. Points are added for using the following when specifying a query:

• 1 point for each attribute. Text attributes do not use any points.
• 1 point for one or more user associations. It does not matter how many personnel associations are specified; the point is added for only the first one.
• 1 point for "created" items, either the Creation Date Range, or one or more user associations of Created By. One point, maximum, is added if both Creation Date Range and one or more Created By user associations are used.
• 1 point for the Attribute Change query criteria, with an additional 1 point if dates are specified.

The points are added, and if the number of points is greater than a certain number, an alert is displayed and the query is not generated.