How do you define source for “Find an item” contextual search in 2013?

Question

I'm a bit confused by the complexity of SharePoint 2013's search functions and was hoping to get help.

I created a simple contact list for all our field techs. Our dispatcher wanted to be able to search for a specific tech using the "Find an item" search box which usually works for everyone... except for my name, which just shows everything.

I believe the reason for this is because I am the one who created the list and it's data, so my assumption is that my name is listed somewhere in the metadata for each item.

My question: is there any way to redefine the "Find an item" search scope for that list to look only at one or two specific columns in that list?

P.S. I found this post about renaming the "Created/Modified by" field to ID or username so it does not pickup my name but it did not work. I looked for any other column that may have my name, but there was none. It's still showing everything when searching my name.

Regards.

Answer 1

You can refine the search by using the syntax PropertyName:Value. e.g. Title:Bob. You may find all available properties ("Managed Properties") in the search settings, from the CA.

Some links:

• Default managed properties are listed here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj219630.aspx.
• See existing properties: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj219667.aspx#proc1
• Automatic creation of managed properties: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj219669.aspx#mps_map