Forum Discussion
Data product search is broken: no results for partial terms
Searching for data products using partial terms returns zero results, despite the existence of data products with matching names. For example, searching for 'risk' yields no results even though we have three data products that have 'riskscores' in their names.
I have created a support ticket, and was told that the PG has stated this behavior was by design. I just can't wrap my head around this statement. Search is the reason why data catalog tools are popular and help democratize data, and this type of searching doesn’t really help to make the data products discoverable.
A feature request was created (3135) but I was also asked to post here for visibility.
Here's some proof:
The correct approach is for users to enable the “Search with natural language” option, which is located on the right-hand side of the interface.
However, this behavior is not intuitive. I was unable to discover this option on my own, as the natural expectation is to enter a query and press Enter to initiate a search. The option only came to light when a colleague clicked it after typing a query, assuming it would start the search. Instead, the option disappears once text has been entered and must be selected before typing the query.
This interaction pattern is confusing and easy to miss, which leads to unnecessary friction for users.
I strongly recommend revisiting the UI/UX design of this functionality to make it more discoverable and aligned with standard user expectations.
Why is this option not the primary choice in the first place?
4 Replies
Thanks for sharing this information, it is very helpful
The correct approach is for users to enable the “Search with natural language” option, which is located on the right-hand side of the interface.
However, this behavior is not intuitive. I was unable to discover this option on my own, as the natural expectation is to enter a query and press Enter to initiate a search. The option only came to light when a colleague clicked it after typing a query, assuming it would start the search. Instead, the option disappears once text has been entered and must be selected before typing the query.
This interaction pattern is confusing and easy to miss, which leads to unnecessary friction for users.
I strongly recommend revisiting the UI/UX design of this functionality to make it more discoverable and aligned with standard user expectations.
Why is this option not the primary choice in the first place?
Prathista IlangoMicrosoft
Hello Rik,
Thanks for reaching out. There might be related incidents reported when there are assets with their own schemas in the data products and the total number exceeding 3k.
But I am not sure if that is your case. Please share your case number for us to track better. Thanks!
Regards,
PI
Hi Prathista, thanks for replying. I think that's unrelated. Our data products, and the products in these examples, do not contain such large assets. The Service Request number is: 2508180050002714.
