You've been exploring data on the search page. You have created a query to find molecules with a certain substructure and biological activity, and you have customized your report to display just the view you want to see.
What is a saved search
A saved search is both the query parameters and report options from a specific search you performed, which you can re-run at a later time.
When you load a set of results on the Explore Data -> Search page, you see a structure-activity table that contains molecules that match your search criteria. You can search for biological activity and hits, or a substructure, or a set of molecule keywords. This is the query part of a saved search, and it includes only the search criteria, not the returned results.
When the results of a search are loaded, you customize your report to show/hide pieces of data in your results table. This is the report part of the saved search, and it ensures a consistent view of the data you searched for.
How to save a search
Once you've run a new search and customized your report, click on the "Save this search" link underneath the query building panel.
In the light-box that pops up, enter a name for your search, then either select a project, or check "only for me" box.
When you select a project, the search will be visible to all members of the project, and they will be able to run it to see the same search results and the same report format as you. Saving a search to a project allows you to easily share the results with other project members- we talk about that later on in this article. When you select the "only for me" option, the search remains private. Lastly, click "Save".
How to use a saved search
Now that you've saved a search, you will be able to run it anytime from the Explore Data-> Saved Searches tab.
You will see a list of your private searches, as well as all searches within the projects you have selected on the left-hand panel. If you don't see a specific saved search, make sure that the corresponding project is selected.
Click on the search name (show details) to see the query parameters, and the report fields. In the screen-shot below the query/search criteria include all data from the "Primary HTS" assay, while the report show the Average Inhibition data, and some Physico-chemical properties of the returned molecules.
Click on the green "search" button to run the saved search.
You are now redirected to the Explore Data-> Search page, where you see the result table, as described by your saved search report fields.
The returned results will be updated based on the query parameters, so if more data was added since you've saved this search, the new results will also be returned. For example, if a new Run was added to the "Primary HTS" assay, you will see all of the old results, plus the new Run. The saved search does not save the results- only the search terms.
Manage saved searches
Navigating the Saved Searches tab
You can "star" a search to add it to your list of favorites. This setting can be used to filter down the searches.
The Saved searches tab of the Explore Data page displays the full list of saved searches visible to the user, depending on the selected project scope.
To view searches belonging to a particular project, make sure to select on the necessary project in the sidebar.
Use the radio-buttons along the top of the page to subset searches further:
Selecting "Just favorites" will return the list of starred searches
Selecting "Searches you saved" will return your private searches, and project-level searches that you created.
The search bar at the top of the tab allows you to look for search names by keyword.
Editing and deleting searches
Delete a search
You can delete a saved search using the delete link next to it on the "Saved searches" tab. The underlying data will remain intact.
Re-name a search
While you can not current re-name a search, you can use the following workflow:
- Search for the data in the saved search you wish to change
- Save a new search with an updated name without changing anything else
- Delete the search you started with in step 1
Overwrite/update a search
You can change an existing saved search by over-writing it using the following workflow:
- Copy the name of the search, and then run it
- Customize your report, or update search parameters as needed
- Click "save this search" and enter the name of the search you copied in step 1
- When a dialog comes up informing you that this search already exists, click to "overwrite existing search", and save
How to share a saved search
A project-level saved search may be shared with colleagues. When a colleague loads a saved search you have created or shared with them, they will see data displayed exactly as you have defined in the search.
The result set may be updated if new data were added, but the report columns will always be the same.
To share a saved search, you need the search url or link. You can obtain it after running a saved search and loading results on the Explore Data tab. Simply copy the web-page url and paste into an e-mail or another message.
