CMS search
Brightspot provides robust full-text search capabilities within the CMS to allow you to find the correct asset with your first search attempt (or similar). You can also create an advanced query search to provide more granular search data. Once you set up and perform a search, you can also save those search settings to use again in the future.
In cases where your search returns multiple results, Brightspot has very granular filtering abilities to narrow down your results. Some of the filtering capabilities of Brightspot search include:
- Configuring global filters.
- Configuring placement of content-type filters.
Once you retrieve your list of search results, you can configure how the results are displayed to you within Brightspot. This section provides information on:
- Understanding search panel views.
- Adding fields to search results.
- Search display options.
Finally, once you have narrowed down your search results to the assets you are looking for, there are several actions you can perform on your results including:
- Sorting your retrieved assets.
- Printing your search results.
- Exporting your search results.
The easiest way to search for items is to type words you remember from the item in the Search field in the header. Starting with the second character you type, Brightspot uses full-text search to display all items having words with the characters you typed so far.
For example, after you type play
, Brightspot displays all items having words that contain play
, such as plays
, playing
, and play
.
Every time you perform a full-text search, Brightspot saves the search term in the Recent Searches widget.

If you repeat the same search often, you can save the search criteria in the search panel. You can then run the saved search without again entering the criteria.
To save a content search:
- In the search panel, create search criteria and filtering options as described in Filtering search results.
- Click , then select Save Search. The Save Search widget appears.
- In the Name field, type a name for the search.
- Click Save.
The Save Search widget closes, and the saved search appears in the Saved Searches list.

Using the advanced query builder, you can compose retrievals to almost any level of complexity. For example, the advanced query builder can construct queries in the following MySQL patterns:
SELECT fieldnames WHERE field1 = A;
SELECT fieldnames WHERE field1 = A AND field2 = B;
SELECT fieldnames WHERE field1 = A AND field2 <> B;
SELECT fieldnames WHERE (field1 = A AND field2 = B) OR (field3 LIKE '%philosop%' AND field4 <> D);
The following procedure describes how to build a query that retrieves all articles containing the word Critique
and authored by Immanuel Kant.
To perform an advanced query search:
In the search panel, in the Filters widget, in the Advanced Query field, click . The Advanced Query Builder widget appears.
- From the drop-down list, select
Match All (AND)
. This selection ensures Brightspot retrieves items that match all of the criteria you enter. - Click Add Another Match All (And). A set of fields appears.
Do the following:
- From the top drop-down list, select
Comparison
. - From the next list, select
Article
. - From the next list, select
Any Fields
. - From the next list, select
Contains Text
. - From the next list, enter
Critique
.
- From the top drop-down list, select
- Click
Add Another Match All (AND)
. A new set of fields appears. Do the following:
- From the top list, select
Comparison
. - From the next list, select
Article
. - From the next list, select
Author(s)
. - From the next list, select
Is:
. - Click the selection field, and select
Immanuel Kant
.
- From the top list, select
- Click Search.
The Advanced Query Builder widget closes, and the matching items appear in the search panel.
Full-text search can display many matching assets, most of which may not pertain to the asset for which you are searching. You can narrow the retrieved assets by filtering on fields in the search panel. Each time you make a selection, Brightspot immediately updates the list of filtered assets.
You can also filter assets without doing full-text search.
Except for step 1, all steps in the following procedure are optional.
To filter search results:
- In the header, click in the search field. The search panel appears.
- Type text in the Search field to perform a full-text search.
- From the topmost list, select the type of content for which you are searching. Making a selection from this list displays additional filter fields relevant to the content type. For example, if you select
Article
, Brightspot displays filter fields forAuthor
,Section
, andTag
in the Article Filters section. This section changes based on the content type you choose. - To search for an asset based on a date range, expand the date range list and select from the following choices:
- Any Publish Date—returns assets of the selected status regardless of date.
- Publish Date: Today—returns assets of the selected status for today only.
- Publish Date: Yesterday—returns assets of the selected status for yesterday only.
- Publish Date: Past 7 Days—returns assets of the selected status from within the past seven days.
- Publish Date: Past 30 Days—returns assets of the selected status from within the past 30 days.
- Publish Date: Custom—opens a date range picker that allows you to choose the start and end date of the date range you want to search for assets of the selected status.
- To search by an asset's status, open the status list and select one or more of the following statuses:
- Published
- Archived
- Draft
- Revision
- To reset the search criteria, filters, and search results, click Reset at the top of the search panel.
Every time you apply a filter, Brightspot saves it along with the search criteria under the Recent Searches list.
The following table provides examples of search and filter criteria.
![]() | Filters for any content type published between June 16, 2021 at 9:00 AM and June 30, 2021 at 9:00 AM. |
![]() | Filters for any content type published on or before June 30, 2021 at 9:00 AM and is currently in a status of draft. This scenario occurs if you publish an item and then subsequently create a new version of that item and save it as a draft. |
![]() | Searches for published articles containing the word imperative, and filters the results for articles authored by Immanuel Kant. |
![]() | Filters for images tagged careers containing colors close to black. |
Author
, you can automatically filter by Article
as well.
In the Global Filters widget, some filters are always visible, and some are in a collapsible widget. You can configure the filters appearing in that widget.
To configure placement of global filters:
- In the Global Filters widget, click . The Show/Hide Filters pop-up displays.
- Click the next to the field in the Hidden Filters column to move it into the Selected Filters column. Filters in the Selected Filters column display under the Global Filters widget on the CMS Search page.Setting the Global Filters
- Click the next to a filter name in the Selected Filters column to move them to the Hidden Filters column. Filters in the Hidden Filters column are still available in the More Filters or Less Filters widgets.
- Use the next to a filter to drag and drop it into the desired order. This is the order the filters are displayed in the Global Filters widget.
- Click Update.
In a content-type filters widget, some filters are always visible, and some are in a collapsible widget. You can configure the filters appearing in that widget.
To configure placement of content-type filters:
- Under Global Filters, select the required content type. A content-type filters widget (such as Article Filters) appears.
- In the content-type filters widget, click . A Select Fields widget (such as Select Article Fields) appears.
- Click fields in the Selected Fields column to move them to the Hidden Fields column. These fields appear in a More Filters or Less Filters widget.
- Click fields in the Hidden Fields column to move them to the Selected Fields column. These fields always appear under the content-type filter.
- Click Update.
The search panel provides different views of search results depending on the retrieved content types.
List view
List view displays the retrieved assets as a list with columns of fields. This view is available for all content types. The following illustration is an example of list view.

You can customize the columns appearing in list view. For details, see Adding fields to search results.
Grid view
Grid view displays previews of the retrieved assets. This view is available for content types that have a preview image, such as images and attachments. The following illustration is an example of grid view.

Mixed view
Mixed view is a combination of list and grid views. The assets with a preview appear in the grid, and other assets appear in the list. The following illustration is an example of a mixed view with images in a grid and authors in a list.

Board view
Board view groups results by a field. For example, you can view articles grouped by section or assignments grouped by editor. The following illustration is an example of board view with articles grouped by section.

You can update assets in board view by dragging and dropping them between columns. Referring to the previous illustration, the article Webinar insights: SEO trends in 20201 and beyond
is in the section Industry Trends
. You can change that asset's section by dragging it to the Media
column. For another example, see Updating assignments from the dashboard.
Brightspot lists the retrieved items with a standard set of fields. You can add or remove fields from the listing.

The previous illustration shows how the search panel displays column and summary fields.
- Column fields appear in columns across the search panel.
- Summary fields appear within each result in the search panel.
To add fields to search results:
- Select the content type from the Global Filters widget for which you would like to configure the search results page.Set the content type to configure search result fields
In the search panel, click Select Fields. The Show/Hide Fields pop-up displays.
Show/Hide Fields pop-up- Select to modify the Columns shown on the search results page, or the Summary data shown on the search results page, by clicking the appropriate tab.
- Under Hidden Fields, type all or part of a field’s name. As you type, Brightspot filters the list of hidden fields.
- To add a field to the Selected Fields list, click next to a field name in the Hidden Fields list.
- To remove a field from the Selected Fields list, click next to a field name in the Selected Fields list.
- To modify the order of the fields in the Selected Fields list, click next to a field name, and drag it to the desired order.
- Click Update once you have the fields added, and in the appropriate order, in the Selected Fields list.
The Show/Hide Fields pop-up closes, and you return to the listing of retrieved items with the new fields appearing. Now, every time you search on that content type, the fields you selected are displayed.

The search panel includes a variety of controls you can use to modify the listing of retrieved items.

To sort retrieved assets:
- From the Sort list, select the field by which you want to sort the listing of retrieved assets.
You can print search results to any destination available from your browser.
To print search results:
- In the search panel, search for and filter the required items.
- Click > Print Search.
Brightspot displays a print-friendly page and your browser's print dialog box for configuring the output. The output includes only those search results visible in the search panel.
You can export the search results as a CSV file. This feature is available only if you filter by a particular content type.
To export search results:
- In the search panel, search for and filter the required items. Include a filter for content type.
- Do one of the following:
- Mark the checkboxes for found items you want to export.
- Clear all the checkboxes to export all found items.
- Click , then select Export or Export All.
Your browser downloads a CSV file. The file contains a column for each column in the search results except Update Date and Viewers.