New Module: Backend Search for Magento 2

There is a high chance that one of the most frequently used functions by store staff is the search field available in the Magento admin panel. The search function in the admin panel facilitates swift and efficient navigation through backend pages. Recently, the search functionality in the Magento admin has been enhanced for even greater convenience. Achieve this convenience with our new extension: Backend Search.

How the Backend Search Module Can Be Useful for a Magento Store

Without an efficient backend search, users may find themselves manually scrolling through numerous menus and submenus, attempting to identify the desired functions or information. This not only leads to a loss of valuable time but also increases the likelihood of overlooking critical settings or getting lost in the intricate hierarchy of the Magento admin structure.

The Backend Search extension offers store staff a streamlined experience for navigating the Magento admin panel, precisely pinpointing the required backend page. Store staff becomes able to locate a necessary product, customer, order, or other information in a few clicks, ultimately saving a significant amount of time.

The default Magento admin search has the following drawbacks:

• offers knowingly irrelevant links in the search output. For example, when searching for a backpack product, the search will offer a link to the Customers grid page, which obviously does not have any backpack product.
• requires store staff to exactly remember order ID number to be able to find the order.
• does not search immediately after the customer has started typing in the search field
• has a significant delay before displaying the search result.

Our Backend Search module eliminates these drawbacks, and also offers additional functionality to streamline the navigation in the Magento admin panel:

• hotkeys that make using search field faster
• search results filter
• navigation in search results without leaving the current page

Search for Orders with Partially Known ID

What if you could navigate to an existing order several times faster, even when the order ID is only partially known?

It takes less than 10 seconds to find the required order with our module, while the default Magento admin search takes over 30 seconds only to deliver the message "We couldn't find any records."

This occurs because, in the case of a partially known order ID number, the default Magento admin search offers no useful results. Moreover, it consumes store staff time by providing links to the orders grid that will also yield no results:

As a result, a lot of time is wasted, and the store staff has to make additional efforts by manually scrolling the orders grid and looking for the required order. In default Magento, the admin search can find an existing order only if the full number is provided:

This is precisely what the Backend Search module solves: an immediate search even when a partial order ID is known:

See the main order info directly in search results or click a button to navigate to the order's page.

Enable Search when Customer/Product Name is Partially Known

Sometimes, store staff needs to find a product or a customer, but only one or two symbols from the name can be remembered. The default Magento admin search fails in this task, while Backend Search provides the required result.

Let's say a store admin wants to find a customer, Veronica Costello, with only knowing that the characters "ro" are present in the customer's name.

The default Magento admin search provides a lot of irrelevant results. It even finds some products that have the characters "ro". However, no customer named Veronica Costello is found:

If the store is equipped with the Backend Search module, the same search input "ro" immediately provides the relevant result - the corresponding customer:

View Additional Information Without Leaving Search

In addition to the fast search provided by the Backend Search module, it saves a significant amount of time for store staff by displaying more search-related information. This eliminates the need to jump from one admin page to another just to see additional information related to the search query.

For example, a store manager needs to see information about a Fusion Backpack product: its SKU, product type, product ID, etc.

With the default Magento admin search, a person must navigate to the product's configuration page and manually scroll to locate the required information. This process is slow and prone to errors.

When the store has Backend Search installed, the product's main information is available within the search results. Simply click on the product to view its details.

Moreover, our module displays additional product attributes such as Created At and Updated At, which are not readily available in the default Magento view.

Filters for Search Results

The Backend Search module offers Menu, Order, Customer, Product, and Invoice filters for the search output. Filters help navigate to the desired search result faster. Simply click on the relevant filter to hide results from other categories.

Hotkeys for Uninterrupted Workflow

The Backend Search aims to make the admin panel search fast and convenient with minimal workflow interruptions. It offers shortcuts so that store managers do not even have to take their hands off the keyboard to start searching for what they need.

Simply press a hotkey to effortlessly summon the search window, type in the search query to get the desired information, and close the search window with a corresponding hotkey.

The shortcuts seamlessly connect users to the information they need, contributing to a more streamlined and productive work environment.

No Configuration Required

The Backend Search module becomes an integral part of your Magento store, ready to spring into action without any additional configuration.

The beauty of this extension lies in its immediacy; users can delve into the search functionality right after installation without the need for manual setup.

Summary

While the admin panel search is represented visually by a small magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the Magento admin, from the perspective of store staff efficacy, it serves as a strategic asset.

Recently, the search function in Magento admin has been improved to make it even more convenient. You can experience these enhancements by installing our new extension called Backend Search. Simply click on this link to check how the extension works on a demo store.