Global Search Troubleshooting

Symptom-by-symptom resolutions for the most common Global Search issues. If your symptom isn't here, confirm the feature is turned on, the configuration that applies to the user is Active, and the user has permission to view the records in question.

The Global Search Configuration Page Returns "Not Found"

Symptom: Opening Global Search configuration shows a not-found page.

Cause: The portal is using a custom theme. The Global Search configuration page is only available on a standard theme.

Resolution: Switch to a standard theme to configure Global Search, or contact success@magentrix.com for assistance with a custom theme.

Users Don't See the Search Box

Symptom: The header search box is missing for users.

Causes and resolutions:

1. Global Search is turned off. Open the configurations list and confirm the page reports Global Search is currently enabled. If it reads disabled, click Turn On.
2. No active configuration applies to the user. Confirm an Active configuration covers the user's Role, or that an Active default configuration exists.

A User Can't Find a Record That Exists

Symptom: A search returns no result for a record the administrator knows exists.

Causes and resolutions:

1. The entity isn't in the applicable configuration. Confirm the entity is selected in the configuration that applies to the user's Role (or the default). See Configuring Global Search.
2. The user lacks permission to view the record. Global Search respects Role and User Group viewing permissions. If the user can't open the record directly, it won't appear in search. Verify the user's access.
3. The search term is too short. A minimum of two characters is required.
4. The field being searched isn't a searchable field on the entity. Confirm the entity's field search configuration includes the relevant fields. See Enabling Field Search for Entities.

No Suggestions Appear While Typing

Symptom: The header search box doesn't show a suggestions dropdown as the user types.

Causes and resolutions:

1. Fewer than two characters typed. Suggestions require at least two characters.
2. No items have suggestions enabled. In the applicable configuration, confirm at least one item has its suggestions checkbox enabled. See Configuring Global Search.
3. The matching records aren't visible to the user. Suggestions respect the same permissions as full search.

The Suggestions Checkbox Is Disabled for an Item

Symptom: When editing a configuration, the suggestions checkbox can't be enabled for some items.

Cause: A configuration allows a maximum of five items with suggestions enabled. Once five are enabled, the suggestions checkbox is disabled on the remaining items.

Resolution: Uncheck suggestions on a less important item to free a slot, then enable it on the item you want.

Can't Select More Entities in a Configuration

Symptom: You've added many entities and items and can't add more.

Cause: A configuration allows up to 50 selected entities and items.

Resolution: Remove items you don't need, or split the audience into role-specific configurations so each is scoped to the items that persona needs.

The Wrong Set of Entities Appears for a User

Symptom: A user sees a different set of searchable entities than expected.

Causes and resolutions:

1. A role-specific configuration is applying. If the user's Role is assigned to a specific configuration, that configuration's items apply — not the default. Review the configuration assigned to the user's Role.
2. The configuration is inactive. If the intended configuration is not Active, the user falls back to the default. Mark it Active.
3. Multiple configurations target the same Role. Confirm only one Active configuration targets the user's Role to avoid ambiguity.

Result Columns Are Wrong or Missing

Symptom: An entity's search results show the wrong fields or too few columns.

Cause: Result columns come from the entity's Search List Layout, not from the Global Search configuration.

Resolution: Edit the entity's Search list layout (under the entity's List Layouts tab) and set the fields and order you want. See Configuring Global Search.

The 'All' Tab Doesn't Appear

Symptom: Users don't see an "All" entry on the results page.

Cause: The 'All' tab is enabled per configuration via the Show 'All' Tab option. The configuration that applies to the user doesn't have it enabled.

Resolution: Edit the applicable configuration and enable Show 'All' Tab. Note the in-product hint that this may have a performance impact.

Searching a Date Doesn't Work as Expected

Symptom: Searching by a date or partial date (such as a year or month) doesn't return the records expected.

Resolution:

1. Confirm the portal is on a current release. Support for date fields and partial date inputs in Global Search was improved in a recent release.
2. Confirm the date field is a searchable field on the entity. See Enabling Field Search for Entities.

Counts Show a Spinner for a Long Time

Symptom: On the results page, an entity's count keeps showing a spinner.

Causes and resolutions:

1. Large dataset. Counts load per entity; very large entities take longer. The rest of the page remains usable while a count is still loading.
2. A count query failed. If a count can't be retrieved, the entity shows zero. Re-run the search; if it persists for a specific entity, review that entity's search configuration and field search settings.

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