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Wildcard searches in Quickbase

A wildcard search is when you use the special characters * or ? to maximize your search results. Using these characters allows you to find relevant information, even if you’re unsure of the exact spelling or details.

  • * finds any number of matching characters. For example, Jo* would match Joe,Jon, or John. 

  • ? finds a single matching character. For example, Jo? will Joe or Jon but not John.

This article covers where wildcards are supported in Quickbase and best practices for using wildcards to search Quickbase.

Wildcard search availability in Quickbase

Wildcards in searches are supported in the following areas of Quickbase:

Area Example Details
Table report search Highlighted search field on a table report Not available in legacy table reports
Table report column filters Highlighted report filter fields on a table report. Only available in fields where you can type values. Fields with dropdowns to not support wildcard search 
Dashboard search widgets Dashboard that contains a search widget. Search widget is highlighted.
  • Available on the most updated version of dashboards
  • Not available on home pages
  • Settings for the widget must allow partial matches
    Setting dropdown in the search widget that contains the setting to allow partial matches
  • Wildcards only work if the user has not selected Exact match only
    End user option to select exact match when using a search widget on a dashboard.
Global search

Search field in the global bar

Search window where you type a search term after selecting the search field

 Wildcards only work when Exact match is not selected
Report builder Filter on a report builder, where you select a field, then a search operator, and then type a value. The search operator list is a dropdown that contains wildcard match. Use the operator wildcard match to include wildcards in the report filter
APIs See API_DoQuery Use WC as a query operator

Tips for using wildcards

1—Create wildcard expressions that match exactly what you are looking for.

For example, you are looking for the name Niklas Owen, but are unsure of the spelling.

  • Niklas will likely bring up Niklas Owen but only works if you know the exact spelling

  • Ni?la does not return the result Niklas Owen. This is because the wildcard is only allowing for the single unknown letter.

  • Ni?las* does return the result Niklas Owen. This is because the * at the end allows for more matching characters.

2—To include special characters in a search, escape them with a \.

The escape applies to the entire string, no matter where it is included. If you search Hello\?* you’re searching for the literal text Hello?* “

Hello\?\* , Hello\?*, and Hello?\* are all the same search for the literal text Hello?*.

Note

When you use wildcard match in the report builder, you do not need to escape special characters. That's because the report builder lets you define if you want to search using contains or wildcard match. 

3—Wildcard match is different than a search that uses the contains operator.

For example, you are looking for the field value Task is assigned to John.

  • Field 8 CONTAINS "John" would match find the value. 
  • Field 8 WILDCARD MATCHES "John" would not match. However, you can replicate a contains search by doing something like Field 8 WILDCARD MATCHES "*John*"

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