Creating and Managing Public Searches

Public searches are a useful resource when you need frequently-searched content to be widely available. They appear in dropdown menus throughout the application next to a user's own private searches, and are similar to any other 25Live search in all ways but two:

  1. All public searches are created by the public search system user
  2. All public searches are visible to every 25Live user, unless configured differently in Group Administration

Useful public searches may include:

  • Conference rooms and other easily booked locations
  • Lists of locations for each campus or building
  • Different types of resources, such as furniture or AV equipment
  • Student clubs, community groups, and other types of organizations

Creating public searches can be accomplished by sharing a search to the public search user or by creating the search when logged in as (or masquerading as) the public search user.


Creating and Setting the Public Search User

1. Create a User

If your instance does not already have a public search user, start by creating a new contact in the Series25 Group Administration tool.

Administration utility in the more menuImage: If your instance doesn't already have a public search user, you need to use the Group Administration to create a new contact. 

This user should be in a group with permission to see all events, locations, resources, and organizations in 25Live. (This won't overwrite any other group's object permissions. Existing security restrictions will still apply when any group views the results of the public search).

It’s recommended that you do not use an existing system account as the Public Search User, such as the Viewer Seat or a Publisher User. It's best to create a separate user whose sole task will be creating the searches that are available to all/many users, whether signed in or “view only.”

Tip: Use "Public Search" in the Contact's Name

To make it easier to find your public search user, best practice is to use "Public" as the First Name and "Search" as the Last Name, then "public" as the contact's short Username.

2. Set the Public Search Username

System defaults in system settingsImage: The public search username is configured under System Settings > System Defaults.

In 25Live, go to System Settings > System Defaults, and complete the Public Search Username field with the username (not the first name, last name, or email) of the contact you wish to set as the public search user.

Note: Searches Must be Created After Setting the Public Search Username

Only searches created by this user after the contact has been set as the Public Search Username will be available to view by all users (or all users with access in Group Administration). Searches created prior to setting the Public Search Username will not be automatically visible to others.

Creating a Public Search

1. Sign In as or Masquerade as the Public Search User

Masquerade under general settingsImage: Search for the public search username in System Settings under Masquerade.

If you know the credentials (and don't use SSO authentication), you can log in as the public search user. However, the easiest option is to log in as an administrative user with access to System Settings, then use 25Live's masquerade feature to act as the contact set as the public search user. If you don't know the public search username, see the System Defaults view in System Settings.

Note: Sharing a Search With the Public Search User

Alternatively, you could create a search as your own username then share the search with the designated public search user. However, creating the searches as the public search user is the best method.

Group Administration Share searches with othersImage: Security setting to share searches: Administrative: 2.0 Share Searches With Others.

If you choose to share the search, your username will need permission to share. Use the More menu's Go To Tool link to go to the Series25 Group Administration tool. Set the "Share Searches with Others" permissions. Another administrator can also enable this permission for you.

2. Create a New Search

Example searchImage: In this example, we're creating a search for athletic events within two location sets.

As the public search user, create a new search.

3. Save Your New Search

Saving searchImage: Name and save your search.


After running the search to test your criteria is correct, save your search. See Saving Searches for basic instructions.

4. Test Your Public Search

Search in public categoryImage: If the search was created correctly, it will appear in the Saved Searches menu.

Sign out of 25Live using the Sign Out option in the More menu. Then, log in as your own username. Use the Go to Search button near the top of 25Live to go to the search view, choose a search type with the Select Object, then look for your search in the Saved Searches dropdown menu under the Public [Object Type] Searches header.

Troubleshooting

If your new search doesn't show up under the Public Searches header:

  • Be sure you created the search after the contact was set as the Public Search Username
  • Check that you were masquerading as the correct public search user
  • If you shared the search to make it public, make sure you shared the search with the correct contact
  • Sign out of 25Live, clear your browser cache, and sign back in to check the dropdown search list again

Editing a Public Search

Sign in as or masquerade as the public search user, then follow the instructions for editing a shared search.

Deleting a Public Search

Search actionsImage: The option to Delete a search can be found in the Search Actions menu.

Sign in as or masquerade as the public search user, then follow the instructions for deleting a shared search.

Updating Public Search Security

To restrict the ability to view public searches by security group, please see Public Search Security.