- 7 minutes to read

What is a Search Field?

Find any order, invoice, or customer transaction across all your systems in seconds.

That's what Search Fields do. They turn buried integration data into instant, searchable business intelligence—so your team can troubleshoot problems, track transactions, and answer questions without waiting for IT.

Search Fields let you:

  • Search by Order Number, Customer ID, Invoice Number, or any business value
  • Track transactions end-to-end across different systems and formats
  • Click directly from logs into your CRM, ERP, or other business systems
  • Add new search criteria to historical data—even years later
  • Empower business users to self-serve without technical knowledge

Example: Your customer service team searches for "Order #12345" and instantly sees every message related to that order across SAP, your e-commerce platform, shipping systems, and invoicing—all in one view. One click jumps to the full order details in your ERP.

A Search Field is a named, searchable field that applies to Log Events across all Log Databases. You configure which Message Types to extract values from using Search Field Expressions.

Why Search Fields are a Game-Changer

Empower Your Business Users

Stop bottlenecking your IT team with data requests. With Search Fields, business users can:

  • Search for customer orders, invoices, or any business entity instantly
  • Filter and drill down using familiar business terms (Order ID, Customer Number, Invoice Date)
  • Answer their own questions without technical knowledge or database access

Real-World Example: Your customer service team can instantly find all messages related to Order #12345 across SAP, your e-commerce platform, and shipping systems—without calling IT.

See the full story of every business transaction:

  • Track an order from placement → fulfillment → invoicing → shipping
  • Correlate messages across different systems and formats (XML, EDI, JSON, flat files)
  • Group related messages together, even if they came from completely different systems

Real-World Example: Track a purchase order that arrives as XML from a supplier, gets processed in your ERP as EDI, and triggers warehouse notifications in JSON—all connected by a single Order Number search field.

Bridge the gap between Nodinite and your business applications—Search Field Links let users click directly from integration data into external systems for deeper investigation. Turn extracted values into actionable hyperlinks.

How it works:

  • Configure a Search Field with a URL template (e.g., your logistics system, CRM, or ERP)
  • The extracted value (transport booking number, customer ID, order number) becomes a clickable link
  • Users click to jump directly to the relevant record in the external system
  • No manual copy-pasting, no switching contexts—instant navigation

Business Benefits:

  • Faster problem resolution: From integration logs to business system details in one click
  • Seamless workflows: No context switching between systems
  • Empowered users: Business teams can self-serve without knowing system URLs or query syntax
  • Reduced errors: Eliminate manual data entry when investigating issues

Real-World Example: A customer service rep finds a failed shipment notification in Nodinite. The transport booking number "TRN-2024-12345" is a clickable link. One click opens the logistics system showing full shipment details, carrier information, and tracking status—enabling immediate action without IT support.

Common Use Cases:

  • Transport/Logistics: Link booking numbers to freight management systems
  • E-commerce: Connect order numbers to order management or CRM systems
  • Finance: Link invoice numbers to ERP or accounting systems
  • Customer Service: Connect customer IDs to CRM platforms
  • Warehouse: Link shipment IDs to warehouse management systems
  • Supplier Management: Connect supplier codes to procurement portals

Search Field Links transform Nodinite from a monitoring tool into a business intelligence hub—connecting all your systems through intelligent, contextual navigation.

Add Search Criteria Anytime—Even Retroactively

You can add new Search Fields to existing historical data:

  • Need to search by Customer ID? Add it now and apply it to all past messages
  • Business process changed? Create new search criteria without re-logging data
  • Compliance audit requires new reporting? Add fields retroactively

Real-World Example: Six months after go-live, finance needs to track VAT numbers. Add a VAT Number search field and re-index—now you can search all historical messages by VAT number.

What Makes Up a Search Field?

A Search Field is a configuration that defines what to search for and how to extract it. Each Search Field has:

Name and Data Type

The business-friendly name your users search with (e.g., "Order Number", "Customer ID") and its data type (String, Integer, Decimal, DateTime, Boolean).

Description

Clear documentation explaining what this field represents and when to use it.

Search Field Expressions

One or more extraction methods that pull values from messages. Each expression targets specific Message Types and uses plugins like XPath (for XML), JSONPath (for JSON), RegEx (for EDI), or Formula (for complex transformations).

See Search Field Expressions for the 12 built-in extraction methods.

Target Message Types

Which Message Types this Search Field applies to. Leave empty to extract from all message types, or select specific types like "Purchase Orders" or "Invoices".

Deep-links to external systems. When extracted values match, users can click directly into your CRM, ERP, or other business systems. See the Search Field Links section above for details.

How It Works (Architecture)

Search Fields connect three layers:

graph LR A[Integration Message<br/>arrives] --> B[Search Field Expression<br/>extracts values] B --> C[Stored in<br/>Search Field] C --> D[Available in<br/>Log Views] style A fill:#e1f5ff style B fill:#fff4e1 style C fill:#e1ffe1 style D fill:#ffe1f5
  1. Messages arrive from your integrations (any format: XML, JSON, EDI, flat files, etc.)
  2. Search Field Expressions extract business values using the appropriate plugin
  3. Values are stored in the Search Field—available across all Log Views
  4. Users search and filter using familiar business terms

Example: One "Order Number" Search Field can extract from both XML messages (using XPath) and EDI messages (using RegEx) by configuring two Search Field Expressions targeting different Message Types.

Plugins
12+ built-in Search Field Expression plugins—choose the right tool for each message format.

Key Architecture Points:

  • The actual values come from Log Events (message payload or context properties)
  • Search Fields define WHAT to search for (Order Number, Customer ID, etc.)
  • Search Field Expressions define HOW to extract it (XPath, RegEx, JSONPath, Formula, etc.)
  • One Search Field can have multiple expressions for different Message Types
  • Multiple values can be extracted per message (useful for batch messages with many orders)
  • Search Field Expressions are .NET plugins included in Core Services

Testing and Re-Indexing

Test in Real-Time

The Web Client provides a built-in test bench where you can:

  • Test Search Field Expressions against real logged messages
  • See extracted values instantly
  • Validate before applying to production data

Tests run in real-time using the Logging Service—ensuring expressions work with actual data during processing and re-indexing.

Re-Index Historical Data

Add new Search Fields to existing messages—even years old:

  • Apply Search Fields retroactively to historical data
  • No need to re-log or re-process integrations
  • Re-index by Message Type with a single click

Support & Maintenance Benefit: Find messages based on new criteria—even at a very late stage. You don't need to know, design, or code in advance!

Key Takeaways

For Business Users:

  • Search across all your integration systems using familiar business terms
  • No technical knowledge required—just search like you would in Google
  • Self-service access means faster answers and less waiting
  • Click through to external systems—no manual copy-pasting or URL building

For IT Teams:

  • No coding required for standard formats (XML, JSON, EDI, CSV)
  • Add new search criteria anytime—even retroactively to old data
  • Built-in test bench validates expressions before deployment
  • Reduce support burden with self-service capabilities
  • Configure Search Field Links to connect Nodinite with any business system

For the Organization:

  • Better visibility into integration flows and business processes
  • Faster troubleshooting and issue resolution
  • Improved compliance and audit capabilities
  • Future-proof—add new requirements without re-engineering
  • Seamless system integration—Nodinite becomes your central hub connecting all applications

Next steps

Ready to create your first Search Field?

Learn more about Search Fields and related concepts:

Search Fields power advanced features: