Add Find Columns
I frequently encounter ‘Power Customizers’ who are unaware of a very basic customization feature: Add Find Columns. Each CRM entity has two special views: Quick Find and Lookup.
The Quick Find view is the view displayed after an user invokes a Quick Find Search:
The Lookup view is the view displayed in the lookup boxes.
Both of these views can be customized normally in the Forms and Views section of the Entity Customization screen. However both Lookup and Quick Find views have an extra feature: Add Find Columns.
Basically what this does is configure the search criteria for these views. By adding additional attributes to the Find Columns you essentially add the equivalent to a SQL ‘OR’ statement into your search. OK – what does that mean in English? Let’s look at an example:
Let’s say that I have First Name and Last Name listed as my Find Columns for the Contact Quick Find View. When I use the Contact Quick Find to search for a contact (let’s imagine I type in Philip) it will return a list of all Contacts with the First Name of Philip and a Last Name of Philip.
Philip Richardson
Program Manager, Customization
