- 6 minutes to read

Search and Discovery

New .7.x

The Search and Discovery feature provides search across your entire integration landscape. Whether you manage 10 integrations or 10,000+ entities, global search with autocomplete and fuzzy matching helps you find the entity you need in seconds.

  • Find entities in seconds – Locate specific integrations, systems, services, or resources instantly without manual graph navigation
  • Typo tolerance – Fuzzy matching finds results even when search terms are misspelled or partially entered
  • Enterprise scalability – Optimized for datasets with 10,000+ entities and sub-second response times
  • Keyboard-first design – Power users can search without touching the mouse

Search finds entities; it doesn't filter the graph. To narrow the graph and rerun the same view later, use the filter builder on a Saved Map. Mapify has no filter operators, saved searches, or scheduled searches; see Advanced Filters and Saved Searches for what to use instead.

Target Users

  • Integration Architects – Quickly locate specific integration patterns or dependencies
  • Operations Teams – Find a system or integration by name during incident response
  • Compliance Officers – Search for all entities tagged with regulatory requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, SOX)
  • Business Stakeholders – Discover which integrations connect to critical business systems

What is Search and Discovery?

Search and Discovery is Mapify's intelligent search system that indexes all entities in your Repository Model and provides:

  1. Global search bar – Prominent search input accessible from any Mapify view
  2. Real-time autocomplete – Instant suggestions as you type, ranked by relevance
  3. Fuzzy matching – Finds results even with typos (e.g., "SAP Finanace" → "SAP Finance")
  4. Multi-entity search scope – Search across Integrations, Systems, Services, Resources, Domains, and Custom Metadata fields
  5. Visual result highlighting – Search results highlighted in the graph with zoom-to-fit behavior

Search Scope

Entity Type Indexed Fields Example Query
Integrations Name, Description, Domain, Owner, Tags, Custom Metadata SAP to Salesforce
Systems Name, Description, SystemType, Version, Owner, Tags ERP
Services Name, Description, ServiceType, Endpoint, Protocol OrderProcessing REST
Resources Name, Description, ResourceType, Connection String, Owner Production database
Domains Name, Description, Owner, Compliance Tags Finance
Custom Metadata All custom field names and values 12345

Fuzzy Search and Typo Tolerance

Fuzzy search uses Levenshtein distance algorithms to find approximate matches. This handles:

  • Typos: "Salesforse" → "Salesforce"
  • Spelling variations: "Authorize" vs "Authorise"
  • Case insensitivity: "sap finance" matches "SAP Finance"
  • Partial matches: "Order" matches "OrderProcessingService"
  • Word transposition: "Finance SAP" matches "SAP Finance"
Query Length Max Edit Distance Example
1–3 characters 0 (exact match only) "SAP" requires exact match
4–7 characters 1 character difference "Ordr" matches "Order"
8–12 characters 2 character differences "Salesfore" matches "Salesforce"
13+ characters 3 character differences "OrderProcesing" matches "OrderProcessing"

Configuration: Administrators can adjust fuzzy matching sensitivity in Mapify > Search > Fuzzy Tolerance.

Autocomplete Behavior and Ranking

Autocomplete suggestions appear as you type (minimum 2 characters) ranked by:

  1. Exact prefix match – Highest priority (e.g., "SAP" → "SAP Finance Integration" ranks #1)
  2. Word boundary match – Second priority (e.g., "Finance" → "SAP Finance Integration")
  3. Fuzzy match – Third priority (typo tolerance)
  4. Recently accessed – Boosts entities viewed in the last 7 days
  5. Entity type priority – Integrations > Systems > Services > Resources > Domains
  6. Custom metadata matches – Lower priority than core fields

Visual Indicators

  • Recently accessed – Star icon for entities viewed in last 7 days
  • Active status – Green checkmark for healthy/active entities
  • Issues detected – Warning icon for entities with monitoring alerts
  • Restricted access – Lock icon for entities with read-only permissions

Filtering and Saving

The search box takes plain search text. It has no filter operators (such as type:, owner:, tag:, or modified:), no boolean operators, no saved searches, and no scheduled searches.

You want to Use
Narrow the graph by conditions, in nested AND/OR groups The filter builder on a Saved Map
Rerun the same filtered graph later, or share it with your team Save it as a Saved Map
List Repository items by a Custom Metadata value The Custom Metadata filter on the Repository lists (Portfolio Filtering)

Advanced Filters and Saved Searches lists what isn't available and what to use instead.

Visual Highlighting

When a search returns results, matching entities are highlighted in the Mapify graph with:

  • Blue border (4px, #0066CC) + glow effect for immediate visibility
  • Size increase (115%) and icon badge for colorblind accessibility
  • Numbered badges (1, 2, 3…) showing result rank
  • Automatic zoom-to-fit to show all highlighted nodes in viewport
  • Keyboard navigation (Tab, Ctrl+↓, Esc) to cycle through results

For complete CSS examples, animation specs, WCAG compliance details, mobile behavior, and example scenarios, see Visual Highlighting.

Best Practices

  • ✅ Use autocomplete – Let autocomplete guide you to valid entity names and reduce typos
  • ✅ Save recurring views as Saved Maps – Search results aren't saved; a Saved Map keeps its filters for weekly or monthly checks
  • ✅ Use quotes for exact phrases – "Order Processing Service" (exact) vs Order Processing Service (fuzzy)
  • ✅ Combine keyboard shortcuts – Press Ctrl+K to focus search, arrow keys to navigate, Enter to select
  • ⚠️ Avoid overly broad queries – Searching just "Service" may return thousands of results
  • ⚠️ Don't rely on fuzzy search alone – For precise compliance or audit lists, use the Custom Metadata filter on the Repository lists (Portfolio Filtering)

Troubleshooting

No Results Found

  1. Check spelling and try with fewer characters
  2. Verify you have permissions to view the entity
  3. Try a partial search (e.g., "SAP" instead of "SAP Finance Integration Complete")

Slow Search Performance

  1. Use a more specific search term to reduce the number of results
  2. Avoid leading wildcard searches (*Order is slower than Order*)
  3. Clear browser cache — old cached search index may cause conflicts
  4. Contact your administrator — server-side indexing may need rebuilding

Autocomplete Not Working

  1. Type at least 2 characters — autocomplete requires a minimum of 2
  2. Verify JavaScript is enabled and there are no browser console errors
  3. Check network connectivity — server-side autocomplete requires server communication
  4. Clear cache: Mapify > Settings > Search > Clear Autocomplete Cache

Next Steps

  • Filter and save a graph – See Saved Views for the Saved Map filter builder
  • Graph highlighting – See Visual Highlighting for how results appear in the graph