Searching for objects

In order to use objects saved in edu-sharing, we have got to find them first . For this edu-sharing offers different search functions depending on the context .

The search can, depending your configuration, help you find and use different content such as:

documents, media & metadata enriched Web Links stored in edu-sharing
Content of connected sources, such as YouTube or the German Digital Library
Courses in connected learning environments such as Moodle
Course templates for reuse in a connected LMS
Tools for use in courses or learning groups, for example ONLYOFFICE, Etherpad

The edu-sharing search engine offers the most extensive features such as the advanced search options. The edu-sharing search can be used to offer a public OER search engine.

If learning platforms like Moodle or portals were connected to the edu-sharing repository, the search-engine is used to select objects to use them in learning and working scenarios (in courses of learning management systems, wiki articles ...).

The workspace view of the repository offers a simple one field search.

on this page:

Searching for objects using the search engine

Layout and operation of the search engine

The search engine consists of 4 panes:

The search field - Enter your search term here and press the enter key. The repository search now scans the metadata of all objects you have at least reading rights for in the repository. For objects that allow so-called indexing (Office, OpenOffice and PDF documents), a full-text search is also performed within the objects. A search term must consist of at least 3 characters. If you enter more than one word, only those results that contain both search terms in the title, the description, or the content of the document will be displayed.
Source selection - For repositories that are connected to external sources, such as YouTube, you can choose, whether you would like to display the search-results from your own repository (in this case callesd "LOCAL", one of the external sources or ALL (left) sources.
Advanced search - With the help of the advanced search you can narrow down the scope of your search. Depending on the configuration of the system, different search criteria are available for this purpose. Select the filter criteria and press the "APPLY" button. The result-list will be updated. Please note that not all connected content sources provide the same metadata for the description of their objects. Therefore, the selection of search criteria of the extended search can be different when switching between the tabs of the content sources.
Result list - Here you can find the results of your search. You can switch between a row or a grid view using the corresponding button on the right above the list of results. Using the context menu (
) you may now (according to your permissions) :
1. insert results into collections,
2. open the original storage location of an object in the worrkspace or
3. save a copy of an object in the inbox of your workspace (for objects stored in external sources).

Sorting search results

To the right of the list of search results you will find a button to sort the results. The "Relevance" and "Last modified" options are activated by default.

Additional options can be configured by your administrator.

Select the desired sorting by clicking on it. An arrow behind the option indicates the current sorting direction (e.g. "last changed" descending ).

sorting search results

Displaying search results

The search results already offer a variety of information about the object in the results list:

The object is an image.
It has the title "Bild 1500881168837".
It was last changed on August 22 and has been published under a Creative Commons CC BY SA license.
It is stored in the local (home) repository.

In order to find out more about the object, click/tap on the preview image in the results list.

For objects that are stored in your home repository, you are forwarded to the detail view of the object.
For objects from external sources, you are redirected to the individual view of the object in its home repository (e.g., YouTube).

opening the detail view of an object in the search

Starting a new search expand the search focus

To expand the search focus of the advanced search, delete the selected filter options bit by bit and press the APPLY button.

To restart the search completely, delete the search term from the main search field and press the Enter key.

adding and deleting keywords in the advanced search

Saving a search

The filter settings used in the advanced search can be saved in edu-sharing for later use.

Your current search is saved in a file. If you open this file and thus the filter settings, you can restore the current search query.

The results of the search query will not be saved and may change over time as objects matching your search criteria may be added or deleted.

Saved searches appear in two places in edu-sharing:

In the advanced search - The filter settings can be reused here. Here you will find your own and shared searches.
In the SavedSearch folder of the Workspace - Here you can manage and share your saved filter settings with other users. This works exactly like sharing objects.

To save a search, specify the desired filter options of the advanced search and execute the search. Now click on the "disc" icon in the advanced search. You are prompted to give the search a name.

The search has been saved and can be used again.

saving a search

Using saved searches

Open the advanced search. There you will find your own and shared searches in the tab "SAVED". For a better overview, you can only display your own searches.

Click on the name of the corresponding search to reuse it.

Searching objects in the workspace

The search for the workspace offers a single-field search. To search for an object in the workspace, enter the search term in the search field and press the Enter key.

search filed of the workspace

Keywords are searched in the metadata (for example, title and description) of the stored objects. For documents containing text, (for example, Office, OpenOffice and PDF) the search-engine will also scan the actual content of the documents for the search term.
The search results appear in the content area.

Limiting the search focus to a folder

To restrict the search to a specific folder and its subfolders, select the folder in the navigation pane, by clicking on it. The selected folder will be highlighted. Now start the search.

selected folder( „images" )

Open search results in their source folder

To switch to the source folder of a found object, open the context menu (

) of the object. Select "Preview & Info"

button for the "Preview & Info" option in the context menu

You will be forwarded to the detail view. Here you will find the option "OPEN STORAG LOCATION".

The content area opens to the storage location of the selected object.