Searching for Documents in the OnBase Web App

This article covers how to search for scanned documents in the OnBase web client using custom queries.

Please note that you must be connected to the campus VPN if you are accessing OnBase from off-campus or while using campus wi-fi. Learn more about connecting to the campus VPN.

PeopleSoft Access Request Forms are required to request access to OnBase and to view specific queries (types of documents). If you are unsure what type of request to submit, contact IT Training at [email protected] or contact the department associated with the document type (e.g., contact Financial Aid about financial aid-related documents).

Note that it is not possible to save your query keywords/settings. Your query keywords will be saved during a session, but once you log out (or are signed out), you will need to enter the query keywords again.

Accessing Documents & OnBase Features

Access OnBase on the Web directly

1. Log in to the campus portal and click on the OnBase icon in the Titan Online widget.

Titan Online widget with OnBase icon highlighted
Access OnBase from PeopleSoft (view only documents for a specific user)

1. When viewing a user in PeopleSoft, click on the Docs button.

Enrollment Summary screen with Docs button highlighted

2. A pop-up OnBase window will appear with all of the documents associated with the user.

Not all OnBase features are available to you when you use this view.

OnBase pop-up window with documents for student
Search for documents using Custom Queries

Custom Queries are all of the search templates that you have access to use in OnBase. Each query is set up to search a specific set of documents. Previously, these templates were in separate folders, but in OnBase, they are all in a single list. You can filter the list using the search box above the list.

1. Select a query from the list in the left panel.

OnBase landing page with queries highlighted
1.1. To filter the list of queries, you can enter search criteria in the search box above the query list.
filter applied to query list to show only FA queries

2. Enter a Document Date range to find documents that were uploaded/modified during that date range (if applicable).

Document Date range
  1. Use the calendar icons to select a date. Or you can type in a date.
  2. Click on the caret icon to view additional document date options, including relative dates.
2.1. If you clicked on the caret icon, you will see options to select a specific month or select a relative date (e.g., today, previous week, etc.).
specific months and relative dates
  1. Months will appear in reverse order with the current month at the top of the list.
  2. Relative date options include today, yesterday, current week, previous week, current month, or year to date.

The available keywords will depend on the type of document(s) that this query is tied to.

types of keyword fields
  1. Some keyword fields are text fields that allow you to enter specific text to search for such as a first name or last name.
  2. Some keyword fields are date fields that allow you to specify a date associated with a document to search for.
  3. Some keyword fields are drop-down menus that allow you to select from specific values to search for.
  4. Note the comparison operators next to each keyword field. For example, = next to First Name means that OnBase will look for first names that are equal to the keyword entered.
  5. Click Search when you are ready to search for documents.

4. The search results will appear in the Custom Query Results pane on the right.

custom query results pane
Adjust the size of the query pane, the custom query results pane, or the document pane

You can adjust the size of each pane in OnBase to make it easier to focus on the information that you want to see.

1. Click on the dots in between the panes to adjust the size of the pane.

dots between the panes can be used to adjust panes

2. Drag the document pane up or down to increase/decrease the size of the pane.

animation showing dragging document pane up to expand the pane

3. Drag the query pane right or left to increase/decrease the size of the pane.

animation showing dragging the query pane to the left to minimize it

4. Drag the keywords section up or down to increase/decrease the size of section.

animation showing dragging the query keywords section up to adjust the viewable filters
Hide or show the query pane or custom query results pane

You can hide the query pane or custom query results pane to maximize the amount of space on the screen for other panes.

1. Double click in between the document pane and custom query results pane to hide the custom query results pane.

animation of double clicking on dots between results pane and document pane to hide the results pane

2. Double click in between the document pane/custom query results pane to hide the query pane.

animation of double clicking on dots next to query pane to hide query pane

3. Click on the open icon to un-hide a pane.

open icons that will unhide panes are highlighted

Query Options

Clear query keywords (reset query filters)

You can easily clear the query keywords to reset the query filters.

1. Click on the clear keywords button at the bottom of the query pane.

query pane with clear keywords button highlighted

2. All of the keywords you entered for the query have been cleared, but the Document Dates are unchanged.

all keywords cleared
Clear all panes (reset entire screen)

The Clear All button resets your entire screen; this can be useful if you want to switch to another query or if you want to start over with a query.

1. Click on the clear all button at the bottom of the query pane.

query pane with clear all button highlighted

2. You can now select a query to use.

OnBase landing page
View query/search history

You can view previous queries/searches that you have done today using the Query History button.

1. Click on the query history button at the bottom of the query pane.

query pane with Query History button highlighted

2. Click Repeat next to a query to run the query again. Or click Close.

Search History screen with Repeat and Close buttons highlighted
  1. Click Repeat next to a query to re-run the query.
  2. Or click Close to close the query history pop-up.
Change comparison operators (=, >, <) for keywords

The default comparison operator for most fields is equal (=), but you can change the operator to make your search more complex.

The types of comparison operators that are available will depend on the type of field and the query.

1. Click on the comparison operator next to a keyword field to change the operator. Keep clicking on it until you see the operator you want.

Scan Date with = operator

In the example above, the equals (=) means that only documents that have a Scan Date of 7/1/24 will be in the search results.

2. Now the operator is set to the one you want.

Scan Date with < operator

In the example above, this can be read as Scan Date > 7/1/24, meaning that documents that have a Scan Date after 7/1/24 will be included in the search results. Documents with a Scan Date of 7/1/24 will not be included.

Add conditions (AND, OR, TO) for keywords

You can duplicate keyword fields to utilize AND, OR, or TO to create more complex searches.

1. Hover your mouse over the keyword title until you see a + next to your pointer. Then click your mouse.

add additional Scan Date keyword field

In the example above, this can be read as Scan Date > 7/1/24, meaning that documents that have a Scan Date after 7/1/24 will be included in the search results. Documents with a Scan Date of 7/1/24 will not be included.

2. This creates a second instance of that keyword field and adds a condition for the two keyword fields (usually AND). Enter text/make a selection for the second keyword field and update the condition (and/or the comparison operators) as desired.

Additional Scan Date field and AND condition
  1. Update the second keyword field as desired.
  2. Click on the condition to change it to AND, OR, or TO. The available conditions will depend on the type of keyword field.
  3. Click on the comparison operators for both keyword fields to change them.

3. Now the condition and operators you want for this keyword are set.

Scan Date range set as keyword fields

In the example above, now documents with a Scan Date between 7/1/24 - 7/5/24 will be included in the search results. The greater than/equal to (>=) and less than/equal to (<=) operators mean that documents with a Scan Date of 7/1/24 and 7/5/24 will also be included.

Custom Query Results Options

Change the sort order of query results

1. Click on a column header to sort the query results by that column.

Custom Query Results with Year column header highlighted

2. The query results are now sorted by that column, typically in ascending order. Click on the column header again to change the sort to descending.

Custom Query Results now sorted ascending by Year

3. The search results are now sorted in descending order.

Custom Query Results now sorted descending by Year
Search within the query results

The comparison operators under each column header can be used to further filter your search results.

1. Locate the column you want to filter and make a note of the operator (e.g., equals, contains, etc.).

Custom Query Results with the Equals box under Year is highlighted

In the example above, Year is set to Equals, meaning that you can enter a single year to see only documents for that year.

2. Type in the filter you want to use. The search results will automatically update to match your filter.

Custom Query Results filtered to show only 2024 as the Year

In the example above, entering 2024 has filtered the search results to only show documents for 2024.

Document Options

Open a Document in the document pane

1. Double click on a document in the search results to open it.

Custom Query Results with a document highlighted

2. The document opens in the document pane below the query results.

The document you are viewing will remain highlighted in the query results pane.

Custom Query Results and Document Pane with document open
Open a Document in a new window

1. Right click on the document you want to open in a new window.

Custom Query Results with a document highlighted

2. Then select Open in New Window.

right-click menu for a document with Open in new window highlighted

3. The document will open in a new window.

document open in a new window
Move to the next document or previous document in the search results

The Previous Document and Next Document links are most useful when you have a document open in a new window or have shrunk the custom query results pane to be less visible.

1. Click Previous Document to open the previous document in the search results. Click Next Document to open the next document in the search results.

Previous Document and Next Document links in toolbar for document highlighted
1.1. For non-PDF documents, use the arrow buttons in the toolbar to move to the previous or next document.
navigation arrows in toolbar for scanned images in document pane

2. The previous or next document in the query results will open in the document pane.

The document you are viewing will be highlighted in the query results pane.

next document in the search results is shown
View notes for a document

1. If you don't see the Notes section when you open a document, click on the caret to the right of the document to expand the Notes section.

document pane with arrow pointing to collapsed notes section

2. Click on the caret icon to expand an individual note. Or click on the expand all icon to expand all of the notes. Click the search icon to search all of the notes for specific text.

Notes section expanded to show options
  1. Click on the caret icon to expand an individual note.
  2. Or click on the expand all icon to expand all of the notes.
  3. Click the search icon to search all of the notes for specific text.

3. You can now see the text of each note.

all notes expanded
Add a note to a document

1. To add a note to a document, click on the plus sign button in the Notes section of the document panel or click the Add Note button.

notes section for a document with plus button and Add Note button highlighted
  1. Click on the plus sign button in the Notes section of the document panel.
  2. Or click the Add Note button.

2. Click Add to create the note.

Notes pop-up screen
  1. Click Add to create the note.
  2. Click Show Document to view the document as you create the note.

3. Type the text for your note in Note Text. Then click Save or Save and Close.

Each note cannot be more than 250 characters.

text added for new note
  1. Type the text for your note in Note Text.
  2. Then click Save to save the note but remain on this screen.
  3. Or click Save and Close to save the note and then close the Notes screen.

4. The note now appears in the Notes section for the document.

new note shows in Notes section
Edit a note for a document

1. If you don't see the Notes section when you open a document, click on the caret to the right of the document to expand the Notes section.

document pane with arrow pointing to collapsed notes section

2. Click on the caret icon to expand an individual note. Or click on the expand all icon to expand all of the notes. Click the search icon to search all of the notes for specific text.

Notes section expanded to show options
  1. Click on the caret icon to expand an individual note.
  2. Or click on the expand all icon to expand all of the notes.
  3. Click the search icon to search all of the notes for specific text.

3. Click Edit next to the note you want to edit.

notes expanded with edit link highlighted

4. Edit the note as needed. Then click Save or Save and Close.

text of note is edited
  1. Edit the note as needed.
  2. Then click Save to save the updated note but remain on this screen.
  3. Or click Save and Close to save the updated note and then close the Notes screen.

5. The note has now been updated.

updated note in Notes section

Need More Help?

For training and how-to assistance, contact IT Training at 657-278-5647 or [email protected].

For technical assistance, contact the IT Help Desk at 657-278-7777 or [email protected].

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