17. Computer Search

Searching for Computers
Searching for Computers

17.1 Search for Computers

Clicking the Search menu item will present you with a dialog to find computers by their hostname. OVERLAPS will remember the last 10 searches you performed within 30 days and allow you to select from them to perform the search again.

Checking the "Search Computer Descriptions" option will allow you to search by the computer's "description" attribute in AD as well as by its name.

17.2 Limiting Searches to Containers

You can limit the container that is searched by by clicking the "Limit results to" dropdown as shown below.

Limiting Computer Search Results
Limiting Computer Search Results

By default, depending on certain circumstances, the options are:

  1. All Containers - a global search of all containers that the current user has permission to read.
  2. Current Container - If search is opened while a container is open, you have the option to search within that container only (and its children).
  3. Default Search Container - If specified in the System Settings (see Configuration -> Settings) this is the default container for all searches.
  4. Specific Domain - in a multi-domain (single forest) environment, child/sibling domains will be shown here to limit the search to them. The root domain is not shown as that would include all child and sibling domains by default.

Depending on where the search window was opened from and your system settings, a different option may be selected by default:

  • If opened from the "Search" button in a computer list, that container will be selected as the default.
  • If opened from the main "Search" menu option, All Containers will be selected if no Default Search Container is specified, otherwise the default search container is selected.
  • If opened from anywhere else in OVERLAPS, the Default Search Container will be selected if specified, it will default to All Containers (and will be hidden if no other options are available).

17.3 Search Results

Search results are grouped by Active Directory container, and function just like a normal computer list.

Clicking your search term at the top of the results allows you to refine your search or to include the computer’s description in the search.

Editing Search Parameters
Editing Search Parameters

If you limited the results to a container, then you will also have the option to select a different container to limit the results to by clicking the container name, or to clear this limitation by unchecking the box.