Advanced search with PQL (Project query language)

The instructions on this page describe how to define and execute a search in the project navigator using advanced search. You can also define and execute a search using basic search.

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What is advanced search?

An advanced search in the project navigator allows you to use structured and complex queries to search for projects.

Performing an advanced search

As an example, we would like to see what Projects are on a "PREPARING" Status in the "Apps Management" Category. 

1. Go to Projectrak →  Project navigator. 

2. Click on the Show PQL link to switch to advanced Search.

3. Type any field you would like to filter through, "Status" and then type equals to (=) and finally type "ON TRACK"

4. To filter through our projects, even more, type "Lead" and then type equals to (=) and finally type "currentUser()"

5. Our PQL is completed and we can now click on the magnifying glass that will show us our result. 

You can see how easy this can be in the video below. 

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A simple query in PQL consists of a field, followed by an operator, followed by one or more values. For example, the following simple query will find all projects whose Technology ( id=23 ) is "Java":

Switching between advanced and basic search

In general, a query created using basic searching will be able to be translated to advanced search (i.e. PQL), and back again.

However, a query created using advanced search may not be able to be translated to Basic Search, particularly if:

• The query contains an OR operator (Note: You can have an IN operator and it will be translated, e.g. project in (A, B))

• The query contains the same field two or more times

• The query is too complex to translate to Basic Search

Setting the precedence of operators

You can use parentheses in complex PQL statements to enforce the precedence of operators, for example, if you want to find all development projects where Country is China or Continent is Asia: