Auto complete searches in OData

Auto completion in OData searches refers to capability to search for partial strings that match up against multiple fields in the underlying provider. The *_Summary property of the OData entities enables auto-completion in OData searches and is often a combination of multiple database fields .Auto completion is related specifically to the *_Summary (Elaborating text) of the entity.

The auto completion functionality is available in OData by entering a search criteria on the *_Summary property.

There are two mechanisms in the underlying provider for accomplishing auto completion functionality:

Freetext search: Freetext searches are by definition case insensitive and performs automatically partial matches. The entities File, Record and Document use the freetext form.
Regular Search: Regular searching is performed in all other places. Not all entities are enabled for regular searches.

Example:

Search Files based on the text “Test” (freetext)


var query =
from f in context.Files
where f.Summary == "Test"
select new File { ID = f.ID };
// Equivalent Url: Files?$filter=Summary eq 'Test'&$select=ID

Example:

Search Employees based on the text “John” (regular case insensitive partial match)


var query =
from e in context.Employees
where e.Summary.ToLower().Contains("john")
select new Employee { ID = e.ID, Summary = e.Summary };
// Equivalent Url: Employees?$filter=substringof('john', tolower(Summary))&$select=ID,Summary

Auto complete searches in OData

See Also