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How to use prefixes and wildcards in NetSuite Global Search

Use emp:, cust: and other record-type prefixes in NetSuite Global Search, then use % and _ wildcards to find a record when you only know part of its name.

Published 5 min read Watch the walkthrough

The quick answer

Type a record-type prefix and a colon before your search text in the Global Search box, such as emp:Ren for employees or cust:Ren for customers. To match a name you only partly know, use % for any number of characters and _ for exactly one: emp:Ren%a finds Rena, Renda and Renata, while emp:Ren_a finds only Renda. The _ behavior is less documented than %, so test it in your account. This is the classic search box at the top of the page; NetSuite Next has a different search panel.

Searching for a short piece of a name can pull back matches from several record types at once: employees, customers, contacts, transactions, files. The example searches for Ren in an account with four employees, a customer and a contact whose names start that way, then narrows the list one step at a time until one employee is left. The screenshots use sample data and fictional person and operating-company names.

Before you start

You need the classic Global Search box at the top of the page. Global Search only shows records your role can see, and inactive records are excluded by default. The example uses the Administrator role; another role may see fewer rows or be unable to open the record at the end.

The dropdown shows suggestions, not every match. If you search a common fragment in a busy account, the record you want may not be in the first rows. That's what prefixes and wildcards are for.

Global Search can match fields other than the name you see in the row, such as an email address, an entity ID or a transaction number, depending on the record type. In your account, a record can show up even when its displayed name doesn't look like your search text. The example's records don't have matching emails or IDs, so every row is explained by its name.

The example has the Page Search preference turned on, so the dropdown also has a Current Page Results group. On Home it reads No results found for every search here. If you've turned Page Search off, that group isn't there.

01. Search across record types

On Home, click the Global Search box and type Ren. Every row in Global Search Results starts with its record type. The example returns four employees (Rena Ortiz, Renata Bell, Renda Park, Renzo Hill), a customer (Renwick Supply) and a contact (Ren Cole).

A plain keyword matches from the start of a word, so Ren finds Renda Park and Ren Cole. It wouldn't find a name like Warren by its name alone, because ren sits inside the word.

In this example, Ren shows six records across three record types.

02. Limit the search to employees

Select the text in the search box and type emp:Ren. The part before the colon is the record type and the part after it is the search text. The four employees stay. Renwick Supply and Ren Cole are gone, because they're a customer and a contact.

emp: keeps the four employees and drops the customer and the contact.

03. Switch to customers

Replace the text with cust:Ren. In the example, only Customer: Renwick Supply is left. Same search text, different record type.

A prefix is usually the first few letters of the record type, and it has to be long enough to mean one type. c: could be customer or contact, so use cust: or cont:. inv: works the same way for invoices. If a short prefix returns nothing, type more of the record type's name.

cust:Ren returns only the customer.

04. Use % for any number of characters

Replace the text with emp:Ren%a. The % stands for any number of characters, including none. Three employees stay:

  • Rena Ortiz: nothing between Ren and a.
  • Renda Park: one character, d.
  • Renata Bell: two characters, a and t.

Renzo Hill drops out because there's no a after Ren anywhere in the name. You can also put % first, as in %ren, to find text in the middle of a word.

emp:Ren%a keeps Rena, Renata and Renda. Renzo Hill drops out.

05. Use _ for exactly one character

Replace the text with emp:Ren_a. The _ stands for exactly one character, so only Renda Park fits: Ren, then d, then a. Rena Ortiz drops out because nothing sits between Ren and a, and Renata Bell drops out because two characters do.

Oracle documents % more thoroughly than _. The one-character behavior has been observed in classic Global Search, but try it in your own account before you rely on it. If it doesn't work there, fall back to %.

emp:Ren_a leaves one employee: Renda Park.

06. Open the record

Click Employee: Renda Park. Click the row. Pressing Enter opens the full search results page instead of the record. The employee record opens. Check that the page title says Employee and the name is Renda Park. Which buttons you see, such as Edit, depends on your role and form.

The Employee record for Renda Park.

To check your own search, look at which rows drop out when you add a prefix or change a wildcard, not just how many rows are left. If a row stays that you didn't expect, open it and look for the search text in its email, ID or another field.

Common questions

Where can I find the full list of Global Search prefixes?

NetSuite Help has a Global Search Prefixes page that lists them. The common ones are emp:, cust:, cont: and inv:. Which prefixes work depends on the record types and features in your account.

Why does Global Search show a record whose name doesn't match what I typed?

Global Search also looks at other searchable values, such as an email address or an entity ID. If a row surprises you, open it and look for your search text in those fields.

How do I find text in the middle of a word?

Put % in front of it. A plain keyword only matches from the start of a word, so ren won't find Warren, but %ren will.

How do I search for one exact name?

Put it in quotation marks, like emp:"Renda Park". Quotes ask for an exact match, so you don't get Renda Parker or other names that just start the same way.

Why can't Global Search find an inactive record?

Inactive records are left out by default. Turn on Include Inactives in Global and Quick Search under Home > Set Preferences > Analytics and search again. It's a personal preference, so it only changes your own searches.

How do I see more results than the dropdown shows?

Press Enter instead of picking a row. That opens the full Global Search results page for the same text, prefix and wildcards included. The dropdown only shows the first few suggestions.

Do prefixes and wildcards work in NetSuite Next?

This guide covers the classic search box at the top of the page. NetSuite Next moves search to a panel on the bottom bar, and prefixes and wildcards may behave differently there, so test them before you rely on them.

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