Category Search instructions

The Category Search screen looks for products that meet all the criteria selected. With the exception of Product Class and Product Category, all search criteria are optional — you can select some and ignore others.

If you don't specify enough criteria, however, your search will produce too many results and you may receive an error message. On the other hand, it is possible to specify so many criteria that no qualifying products can be found. The key to a successful search is finding the right balance between too many criteria and too few.

Step-by-step instructions

The following is a procedure for using the Category Search screen. For more details about individual search criteria, see the interface information for the Category Search screen.

1. To be certain that you are beginning with normal default values, click the Reset button at the bottom of the screen.
2. To restrict your search to a group of products, select one from the Product Class list. This activates the Product Category list if categories exist for the selected class.
3. To restrict your search to a particular category of products, select one from the Product Category list. This activates the Attribute information which will appear to the right of the screen along with a count of possible hits for your selected category. You can commit your search at this time by clicking the Search button or you can further filter your search results by selecting from remaining lists for your category.

   Once you've narrowed as far as you can for that category the program will automatically kick off the search and return the matching results, so you may want to select your inventory status and promo options before going further. To restrict your search further, select from the possible lists:

   • To restrict your search to a particular line of products, select one from the Product Line list.
   • To restrict your search to a particular model, select from the Model list.
   • To restrict your search to a particular manufacturer, select from the Manufacturer list.
   • To restrict your search further, select from the remaining lists. The lists available vary with each categeory.
4. To include or exclude products based on inventory status, select or clear the appropriate check-boxes in the Product Status section.
5. To specify how promotions appear in your search results, select the appropriate option from the Promotions list.
6. Review the criteria you have selected looking for mutually exclusive values that will disqualify all products. You can revise any values at this stage.
7. When you are confident that your criteria are correct, click the Search button. A list of qualifying products will appear on the Search Results screen.