I'd like to add after more time using the events module that it seems that the filter for the Events list is the only place where this limitation on the search exists. I have not had this issue on the Add Participant or Add Guest search boxes.

We've run into this issue as well and I think the thing we are seeking is something like what was recently added to Query: Fund Search where there's use of the % as a wildcard operator? IT would allow for someone to search, using JoAnn's example, Brad%Smith and it would pull those issues.

We keep running into this when someone does have a middle initial and someone else does not, and then our RSVP person ends up marking the wrong person as attending, because until recently we were unaware of this limitation in the event participant search function so it was assumed the person who showed up was the person in question. It wasn't until I went in to add a participation fee and link a committed gift that I realized that we had the wrong person -- because the gift I had just committed wasn't showing up for me.

So continuing to use JoAnn's example constituent, if there's a Bradley A Smith and a Bradley Smith, Bradley A Smith won't show up in the search at all. And if you have a very large invite list (for a few events we've done, we've had a 4k person invite list), just searching Smith or Brad may not return few enough people to be able to easily find the person you're looking for. We have enough records and similar names (and a few parent/child combinations with the same exact first and last name, but maybe a different middle initial or suffix) that this is an issue we regularly run into, especially with very common last names!

Thanks for the additional info, JoAnn! I was able to reproduce this and now see clearly what the problem is. I've passed this onto my team. This is a tricky area - we have to keep performance in mind given the importance of this list - but we'll look to see if there's any quick changes we can make to how the search works.

I'll keep this open for voting and I'll update the status if we find a change that will help!

--Samantha

Samantha,

In webview, we are going to Events, clicking on blue # of participants and then entering a name in search bar. Yes, if I only enter Br or Brad it will pull every name with "Br" or "Brad". This can be a tremendously large pull with multiple pages of results.

If I enter Brad Smith, results are null. If I enter Bradley Smith, results are null. To get this specific record I have to enter Bradley K. Smith. Have tried "Bra Smi" too. Null results.

Hi JoAnn,

Currently from the participant list, the search box allows a partial search. For example, if I type in "Be" in my sample environment and hit enter, I received the following results that included all variations of participants who had "Be" in any portion of their first or last name, or email address.

Can you tell me more about where you're seeing different functionality? Are you searching for participants somewhere other than the participant list?

Thanks!

Samantha McGuin
Principal Product Manager