The Expert Search(opens in new tab) is a powerful tool allowing you to retrieve lists of notes based on advanced selection criteria.You can also save these queries for future use.

This feature is particularly helpful if you carry out regular analyses of relevant notes, for example, identifying important notes regarding legal changes towards the end of your company's billing cycles.

This article explains how to use the Expert Search, breaks down the selection criteria, and shows you how to save, change, and delete filters (Variants).

Go to Expert Search card(opens in new tab) in SAP for Me.

Go to Services & Support → KBAs & Notes tab → Expert Search card.

You land on the Expert Search tab of the My Notes area.

1. Use the Filter section to specify your selection criteria. For many criteria, multi-selection is supported.
   See Selection Criteria below for an explanation of filter options.
2. Click Go to retrieve all notes that match the selection criteria.
   The result list is displayed below the filter bar. Unread notes are displayed using bold fonts.
3. Use standard browser functionality to view results.
   E.g. right-clicking the link, gives you an option to open a result in a separate browser window.
4. Click Sort to sort the list by Released On date, Number or, if you have specified a search term, Relevance.
5. Click Export List as Spreedsheet to download the result list locally to an Excel file.
6. You can collapse the filter bar by clicking Hide Filter Bar. If hidden, click Show Filter Bar to expand it again.
7. The Clear fucntion resets all search and filter fields to the system default.
   I.e. fuzziness threshold is set to 0.9 – Close Match, Release status set to Released for Customer, no other criterion is specified).
8. When working with a variant, i.e. queries that you have saved before, click Restore to reset all fields to the variant's search and filter settings.
9. The Filters button gives access to the filter dialog. Here, filters are arranged in a vertical layout. You can specify filter criteria, choose which filters shall be displayed, and save filter criteria for future re-use.
10. The Variant selector allows you to switch between saved filter settings, or variants, i.e. queries that you have saved before, and to manage them.
    Unless otherwise specified, the default variant is Standard, and no filter criteria are preselected. When you modify filter criteria, an asterisk [*] next to its name indicates that the variant has been changed.
    See Saved Filters below for an explanation of filter options.

The following Criteria are offered:

• Search Term 
  All notes are shown containing the specified keywords in title, description, or coding corrections. The operators supported are:
  • 'cat mouse' – notes are shown that contain both 'cat' and 'mouse'.
  • 'cat OR mouse' – notes are shown that either contain 'cat' or 'mouse', or both.
  • "cat mouse" – notes are shown that contain 'cat mouse' as a phrase, i.e. exactly in this combination.
  • 'cat -mouse' – notes are shown that contain 'cat', but not 'mouse'.
• Fuzzy Threshold – Using fuzzy search, all results approximately match your search term pattern. From the drop-down list choose how close the results shall resemble your search term.
  E.g. searching for transaction 'su01' also retrieves results containing 'su02'. 
  
  
• Components (Start with) – Auto-completion will assist you specify a component once you start entering its key.
  Only notes assigned to components that start with the specified key are found.
  E.g., if you enter BNS-ARI_ANL, all notes directly under BNS-ARI-ANL will be retrieved, but also notes under BNS-ARI-ANL. There is no need to use wildcards ∗.
  
  
• Components (Exact) — Auto-completion will assist you specify a component. Only notes assigned to the exact component that you specified are found.
  E.g., if you enter BC-DB-DB2, only notes directly under BC-DB-DB2 will be retrieved, not notes under e.g. BC-DB-DB2-ICL.
  
  
• Excluded Components (Exact) — Auto-completion will assist you specify a component. Only notes that are not assigned to the specified component are found.
  
  
• Released On (Free) — Only notes that have been released within the specified time-frame are found. To specify a date range, you have two options:
  • Enter it directly into the input field. To do so, use the preferred date format that you selected under My Profile, e.g. enter 01.04.2016 - 20.07.2016 if you prefer the date format DD.MM.YYYY.
  • Follow these steps:
    1.  Click the calendar icon. The date range picker is displayed.
    2.  Click the year, month, and day selection to specify the start of your date range. Use the navigation arrows to the left and right of the month and year.
    3.  Repeat step 2 to specify the end of your date range. The date range picker closes, and the range appears in the input field.
    
    Tip:  If start and end date are in the same month, you can also select the range by clicking one of these dates, then dragging the cursor to the other date while holding down the mouse button.
     
• System – When you enter a system ID, all system data (as maintained in the System section) are automatically incorporated into the query. Only those notes are displayed that are relevant for your system. Multi-selection is supported.
  
  
• Soft.Comp. (Software Component) – Many SAP Notes are valid for certain software components and their releases (software component versions). Using this field, you can limit your selection to one or several specific software components (e.g. SAP_APO) by entering their names. When you start typing, auto-completion will assist you.
  
  Tip:  To find out the exact name of your SAP system's software components, software component versions, installed product versions or support packages, in the “system'& provisioning” dashboard → System section... → click one on premise system number → System Detail→ click system number on the header→ then get the Product Version, support packages.
  
  
  
• Soft.Comp.Version (Software Component Version; also see Soft.Comp.) – Software component versions are typically numbers like 731 (for software component SAP_BS_FD) or 1.7 (for J2SDK). Auto-completion will help you enter the correct value. Multi-selection is supported.
  
  
• Support Package – Like SAPKW74011, SAPKNA7033, SAPK-74709INSAPBSFND. See the hint above to find your software component versions' highest support packages. Multi-selection is supported. All notes will be retrieved that match the selected or newer support package(s).
  
  
• Product Version – A product version is a bundle of software component versions made available at the same time for implementing a well-defined scope of functionality. Examples: SAP Customer Relationship Management 7.0, SAP NetWeaver 7.3, SAP Enterprise Dashboard 1.0. When you start typing, auto-completion will assist you. Note that input is case-sensitive.
  
  
• Priority (HotNews, i.e. priority very high; Medium; Low) – Only notes with the specified priorities are found.
  
  
• Category (Modification, Program Error) – Only notes with the requested categories are found.
  
  
• Release Status – By default, generally available notes will be listed, or only those that are released for pilot customers.
  
  
• Document Type – Only SAP Notes or SAP Knowledge Base Articles or SAP Security Notes or SAP Partner Notes are found.
  
  
• Country – Allows you to retrieve country-specific notes. This criterion is especially useful for SAP Legal Change Notes, which you can retrieve by selecting Legal Change as Category.
  
  
• SAP Security Patch Day – In connection with the criterion Document Type (set to SAP Security Notes), all notes are selected that were released on a regular patch day or that were distributed as part of a support package.

Tip:  If you restrict your selection by software component, software component version, or support package, the result list will contain SAP Notes, no KBAs. A restriction by product version will launch a list of KBAs, but no SAP Notes.

You can Save Variants, Change and Delete Variants, and Customize the Filter Area of Variants.

You can save filter settings for future use as Variants, saving you time if you carry out regular analyses of relevant notes.

1. Use the Filter area to specify your selection criteria.
   An asterisk (*) next to the variant's name will indicate that the current variant has been modified but not saved.
2. Click the Variant selector.
3. Click Save to overwrite the current Variant's selection criteria.
   Note: The default variant Standard cannot be modified.

Alternatively you can do the following:

1. Click Save As to store a new variant.
   The Save Variant dialog is displayed.
2. Specify a Name for your search.
3. Select Set as Default if you would like this variant to be pre-selected the next time you launch the application.
   Note: The number of new notes matching your default variant's selection criteria is displayed on the launchpad tile.
4. Select Apply Automatically if you would like the search to be executed immediately when selected the variant, i.e. without the need to click Go.
5. Select Notification if you want to be notified about new notes matching this variant's search criteria.
   A bullhorn icon in the launchpad header will then alert you about these updates. Furthermore, in the Notification setting page, you can opt to receive e-mail notifications.
6. Confirm with OK.
   Or revert with Cancel.

To change the selection criteria of a particular variant:

1. Select the Variant from the Variant selector.
   The filter area shows this variant's selection criteria.
2. Adjust the Selection Criteria.
3. Click the Variant Selector, then click Save to overwrite the previous filter settings with the new ones.
    

To change the name or behavior of a variant:

1. Click the Variant Selector and click Manage.
   The Manage Variants dialog is displayed.
2. When changing a Variant, you have the following options:
   • Change the name of a Variant.
   • Select the Variant that is preselected upon entering the application by clicking its Default radio button.
   • Change the Variant's behavior with the Apply Automatically on Select checkbox.
   • Enable or disable notifications for the Variant with the Notification checkbox.
   • Delete a Variant by clicking Delete.
3. Confirm your changes or deletion with OK.
   Or revert with Cancel.

To customize the filter area of a Variant:

1. Create a Variant or select one from the Variant selector, then click Filters.
   Alternatively, you can first click Filters. Then, in the Filters dialog, choose a Variant from the variant selector.
   The selected variant's filter criteria is shown.
2. Select the checkboxes for the desired filter criteria to be displayed in the filter bar.
3. You now have options to:
   • Click OK to store these settings. 
   • Click Go to retrieve all notes matching your filter criteria.
   • Click Reset to revert changes that you have made.
   • Click Cancel to leave the dialog without saving any changes.