The quick answer
Open the saved search's definition, type a new Search Title, then click the arrow next to the save button and choose Save As. NetSuite saves the form as a new search with its own ID, and the original is left exactly as it was. Change the title first. If you leave it the same, NetSuite asks whether to overwrite the existing search, and confirming saves your changes to the original instead of making a copy. The copy inherits the original's settings, including Public, the audience, and any email schedules, so check those before you rely on it.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and company names are fictional. Use your own search and values when following the steps.
Before you start
In this example, the A/R team at Cedar Hollow Office Supply shares a Transaction saved search called A/R Team Open Invoices. Dana Whitfield owns it, it's Public, and it returns every open invoice. Riley Okafor only wants invoices more than 30 days overdue. Riley uses the Administrator role, so Riley could edit the team search directly. Saving a change there changes what everyone on the team sees, including any dashboard or list view built on the search.
Save As works from any search definition you can open. To create the copy, your role needs to be able to create saved searches (usually the Publish Search permission at Create or higher) and see the records and fields the search uses. Sharing the copy or setting up its email can need more. Test with the actual role, because Save As can be missing or fail without the right permission, and the save options you see depend on the role.
01. Run the team search first
Point to Reports > Saved Searches and click All Saved Searches. Some roles reach the same list through Lists > Search > Saved Searches. The list shows A/R Team Open Invoices with ID customsearch318, Owner Dana Whitfield, and Access Public. The toolbar's Total: 6 counts saved searches, not invoices.
Click View on that row to run the search. Here Total counts invoices. The results page shows Total: 7, one row per open invoice, sorted by Days Overdue from 58 down to 4. Write down the count or keep this tab open. You'll compare against it at the end.
02. Open the definition and rename it
Click Edit this Search. The definition opens as Saved Transaction Search. The Owner is still Dana Whitfield and Public is checked, which is why the whole team sees it. Opened from a results page, the main button reads Save & Run. Don't click it. That saves to the team's search.
Replace the Search Title with Open Invoices Over 30 Days. The ID below it still says customsearch318, because you haven't made the copy yet. You're only changing what's on screen.
03. Choose Save As
Click the arrow next to Save & Run. The menu lists Save, Save As, and Save & Email. Click Save As.
In this example, NetSuite goes back to the Saved Searches list. Total is now 7, and both searches are listed. A/R Team Open Invoices is still customsearch318, owned by Dana Whitfield. Open Invoices Over 30 Days is a new search, customsearch319, and in this example its owner is Riley Okafor, the person who chose Save As. Check the Owner column on your own copy rather than assuming it. The copy is Public, like the original.
04. Change the copy
Click Edit on Open Invoices Over 30 Days. The definition shows ID customsearch319 and Owner Riley Okafor, with the same three criteria as the original. This is also the moment to confirm you're editing the copy and not the team search. Clear Public so the copy is no longer shared with the team. A private search is still visible to administrators, and to anyone you add on the Audience subtab.
On the Criteria subtab, choose Days Overdue in the empty filter row below the existing criteria. In the popup, choose greater than, enter 30, and click Set.
The criteria now read Type is Invoice, Main Line is true, Amount Remaining is greater than 0, and Days Overdue is greater than 30.
This time you opened the definition from the list, so the main button reads Save, and Save & Run is on its arrow. The button follows how you got to the page, not which search you're editing. Click the arrow and choose Save & Run.
The copy's results show Total: 3, the invoices 58, 44, and 36 days overdue. All three were in the team search's seven rows in step 01. Days Overdue is calculated when the search runs, so your counts depend on the day you run it.
05. Confirm the original did not change
Click List at the top right of the results page. In the Saved Searches list, Open Invoices Over 30 Days is now Private. A/R Team Open Invoices is still Public and still owned by Dana Whitfield.
Check the result
- The Saved Searches list has one more search than before: Total: 7 instead of 6.
- The copy, Open Invoices Over 30 Days, has its own ID (customsearch319), Riley Okafor as owner, and Access Private.
- A/R Team Open Invoices still has ID customsearch318, owner Dana Whitfield, and Access Public.
- Viewing A/R Team Open Invoices still returns Total: 7, the same seven invoices as in step 01.
Click View on A/R Team Open Invoices. It still shows Total: 7, the same seven open invoices from step 01. The criterion you added only exists on the copy.
Check what the copy inherited
Save As copies the whole definition: criteria, result columns, sort, highlighting, available filters, and the Public and Audience settings. A copy of a Public search is Public too, which is why step 04 clears it. The copy starts with a new ID and its own audit trail; the original's history isn't copied. Nothing that pointed at the original moves over. Dashboards, reminders, list views, workflows, and scripts that used the original still use the original.
The copy also gets the original's Email subtab settings, including recipients, schedules, and alerts. If the team search emails a report every Monday and you leave that on, your copy sends a second one. Open the copy's Email subtab and turn off anything you don't want. Check Show In Menu and Available as List View too if the original uses them.
If the search came from a bundle, it can open locked, with a padlock after the Saved Transaction Search heading and only Save As, Preview, New Template, and Actions as buttons. You can't overwrite a locked search, so Save As is the only way to keep your changes. The copy isn't part of the bundle, so it won't pick up changes when the bundle is updated.
Common questions
Where is Save As on a NetSuite saved search?
It's on the arrow next to the save button in the search's definition. If you opened the definition with Edit this Search from a results page, the button reads Save & Run and the arrow lists Save, Save As, and Save & Email. If you opened it with Edit from the Saved Searches list, the button reads Save and the arrow lists Save & Run, Save As, and Save & Email.
How do I copy a saved search without changing the original?
Open the definition, type a new Search Title, and choose Save As instead of Save or Save & Run. NetSuite creates a separate search with its own ID. Make the rest of your changes on the copy, and the original keeps returning what it did before.
Why does NetSuite ask whether I want to overwrite the existing search?
Because the Search Title is still the same as the search you opened. If you confirm, your changes are saved to that search and no copy is made. Cancel, enter a different title, and choose Save As again.
Who owns a saved search created with Save As?
In the example here, the person who chose Save As owns the copy, even though someone else owns the original. Check the Owner column on your copy in the Saved Searches list. Save As isn't a way to keep or transfer ownership of the original.
Does Save As copy the Public, Audience, and Email settings?
Yes. The copy gets the original's criteria, result columns, sort, highlighting, available filters, Public and Audience settings, and Email settings. If the original is Public, so is the copy. If the original sends scheduled emails or alerts, the copy can send them too, so check its Email subtab.
I'm in a saved search's audience but can't edit it. How do I make my own version?
Audience members can save changes to a shared search only when Allow Audience to Edit is checked on its Audience subtab and their role allows it. Without that, open the definition, give it a new title, and choose Save As. That works if your role can create saved searches and can see the records and fields the search uses.
Does changing my copy change the original?
No. Once the copy exists, changes to one search don't touch the other. Dashboards, reminders, list views, workflows, and scripts that used the original keep using the original, so point them at the copy yourself if that's what you want.
Why is there no Save button on a saved search, only Save As?
The search was probably installed from a bundle and opened locked. You'll see a padlock after the Saved Transaction Search heading, and the buttons are Save As, Preview, New Template, and Actions. You can't overwrite a locked search, so Save As is how you keep your changes.