search() Function Share Share via LinkedIn Reddit Email Copy Link Print On This Page Function search( search_text, within_text, start_num ) Searches the text for the given, case insensitive substring. Returns the one-based positional index of the first character of the first match. Returns zero if the substring is not found. See also: searchb(), find() Parameters Keyword Type Description search_text Text The text that will be searched for. within_text Text The text that will be searched in. start_num Number The index of the first character within the within_text value from which to start searching. 1 by default. Returns Number Usage considerations Using the search_text parameter The search_text parameter does not support wildcard characters. Using the within_text parameter The first character of the entire within_text value is considered to have an index = 1. Examples Searching for a substring within a string 1 search("to", "boston") Returns 4. Searching for a substring not contained in a string 1 search("ne", "boston") Returns 0. Searching with a start index 1 search("o", "boston", 4) Returns 5. The function starts searching the string at index 4. Lists Searching multiple strings at once 1 search({ "t", "i" }, { "boston", "paris" }) Returns { 4, 4 }. Searching with multiple start indices 1 search("o", "boston", { 1, 3 }) Returns { 2, 5 }. The search is repeated at each start index in the list. Edge cases Empty list parameters 1 search({}, "boston") Returns {}. Empty string start_num 1 search("o", "boston", "") Returns 0. The function always returns 0 when given an empty string start_num. Feature compatibility The table below lists this function's compatibility with various features in Appian. Feature Compatibility Note Portals Compatible Offline Mobile Compatible Sync-Time Custom Record Fields Compatible Can be used to create a custom record field that only evaluates at sync time. Real-Time Custom Record Fields Incompatible Custom record fields that evaluate in real time must be configured using one or more Custom Field functions. Process Reports Compatible Process Events Compatible Feedback Was this page helpful? SHARE FEEDBACK Loading...