How to Search for Devices Using Search Keywords

Overview

The search field on the Devices page is the fastest way to locate a device in your fleet. When you type a term on its own, Senturo checks the three fields people search most often: Device Name, Serial, and Asset ID. Keeping the default search focused on those three fields is what makes an everyday lookup quick, even across a large fleet.

When you need to search on something else, such as a device note, a Wi-Fi network, or the last user who signed in, you can point the search at that one field using a search keyword. A search keyword is a short prefix followed by a colon and your search term, for example note:student. Because Senturo only checks the field you name, the search returns fewer irrelevant matches and returns them faster.

This article explains how the default search behaves, lists every available search keyword, shows how to combine terms in a single search, and covers the most common reasons a search does not return what you expect. 

How the Default Search Works

Type a term with no keyword and Senturo searches three fields at once, returning any device where the term appears in one of them.

Two things are worth knowing about every search in Senturo, whether or not you use a keyword:

• Matches are partial. You do not need the full value. Searching C02XK1 returns any device whose serial contains that string.
• Matches are not case-sensitive. macbook, MacBook, and MACBOOK all return the same results.

If the field you want to search is not one of those three, use a search keyword instead.

Searching a Single Field with a Search Keyword

To search a specific field, enter the keyword, a colon, and then your term with no space in between.

user:jane.smith

That search checks only the last logged-in user on each device. The keyword itself is also not case-sensitive, so USER:Jane.Smith and user:jane.smith are treated identically.

Why this matters: a keyword search does two things at once. It narrows the results to the field you actually care about, which cuts out coincidental matches from other columns, and it reduces the work Senturo has to do to return them.

Available Search Keywords

There are seventeen search keywords, grouped below by the kind of information they search.

Device details and ownership

Hardware and software

Activity, network, and location

Organization

Combining Search Terms

A single search can contain as many terms as you need. The rules below apply to any combination.

1. Every term must match. Terms are combined with AND, so a device is only returned if it satisfies all of them.

   note:lost user:jane

This returns devices whose note mentions lost and whose last logged-in user matches jane.

1. Keywords and plain terms mix freely. You can pair a keyword with an ordinary term in the same search.

   MacBook note:student

1. Wrap values containing spaces in quotation marks. Without quotes, only the first word is treated as part of the keyword.

   address:"Baker Street"

The quotation marks are removed before the search runs, so they never affect the match itself.

1. Separate terms with spaces, not commas. A comma splits your search before the keywords are read, so group:sales,marketing is interpreted as group:sales plus a separate plain term marketing, which is not what you intended. Use group:sales group:marketing only if you genuinely need both to match, and remember that terms are combined with AND rather than OR.

Common Search Examples

Tips for Accurate Results

• Use at least three characters in your search term. Shorter terms still return correct results, but they take noticeably longer to come back, particularly on a large fleet. This matters most if you are typing into the search field and watching results update as you go.
• Reach for a keyword as soon as you know the field. If you are searching a serial number, serial: is always a better choice than the same term on its own.
• Know the difference between assignee: and user:. The assignee is the person the device is assigned to in Senturo. The user is the account that last signed in to the device itself. These are frequently different people, particularly on shared or loaned devices.
• Use Filters for anything you repeat. Search is built for a quick, one-off lookup. When you need a view you will return to, or a condition that search cannot express, build it under Filters on the Devices page instead.

Troubleshooting

A keyword search returns nothing, even though you know the device exists. Confirm you are searching the right field. A device name and its asset ID are often similar in structure but stored separately, so name: and asset: will not return the same results. Then shorten your term. Because matching is partial, a shorter fragment is more forgiving than a full value that may contain a character you did not expect, such as a hyphen or trailing space.

The search returns unrelated devices instead of a narrowed list. This usually means the keyword was not recognized, most often because of a typo. An unrecognized keyword is not treated as an error. Senturo falls back to a normal search of device name, serial, and asset ID using the whole string you typed, which is why the results look unfiltered. Check the keyword spelling against the tables above and search again.

Nothing appears while I am part-way through typing a keyword. A keyword with no value after the colon, such as note:, does not match every device. It falls back to a standard name, serial, and asset ID search for the text you typed, which normally matches nothing. This is deliberate, so a half-typed search never returns your entire fleet. Finish typing the value and results will appear.

A multi-word search returns nothing. Values containing spaces need quotation marks. Search address:"Baker Street" rather than address:Baker Street, otherwise only the first word is applied to the keyword and the second is treated as a separate plain term.

Only part of my search seems to have been applied. Check for commas. Commas split the search before the keywords are read, so any keyword followed by a comma-separated list will only apply to the first value. Separate every term with a space.

A search takes longer than expected. Very broad terms are the usual cause. A term that matches a large share of your fleet has more results to gather, and terms shorter than three characters cannot be resolved as efficiently. Add a second term to narrow the search, or lengthen the term you already have.

Conclusion

Search keywords let you tell Senturo exactly which field to look at, so a lookup returns the device you are after rather than everything that happens to contain the same string. For quick lookups, a plain term across device name, serial, and asset ID is usually all you need. For anything more specific, a keyword such as note:, user:, group:, or wifi: gets you there in a single search.

Combine keywords when you need to narrow further, keep terms to three characters or more, and separate them with spaces. For any view you expect to reuse, save the work by building it under Filters instead.

FAQs

Q: Do I have to use search keywords? A: No. Search keywords are optional. A term typed on its own still searches device name, serial, and asset ID, which covers most day-to-day lookups. Keywords are there for the times you need a different field or a tighter result set.

Q: Can I use more than one keyword in the same search? A: Yes. You can combine as many keywords as you need, and you can mix them with plain search terms. All terms are combined with AND, so a device must satisfy every term to appear in the results.

Q: Are search keywords case-sensitive? A: No. Both the keyword and the value are case-insensitive, so NOTE:Finance and note:finance return the same devices.

Q: What is the difference between the assignee and user keywords? A: assignee: searches the name or email address of the person the device is assigned to in Senturo, and matches on either. user: searches the username of the last account to sign in on the device itself. On shared or loaned devices these are often two different people.

Q: What happens if I mistype a keyword? A: Nothing breaks. Senturo treats the whole string as an ordinary search across device name, serial, and asset ID. That fallback is also why a serial number containing a colon still returns the correct device.

Q: Should I use search or Filters? A: Use search for a fast, one-off lookup when you already know something specific about the device. Use Filters when you want a view you can return to, or when you need conditions that search does not cover, such as device status or a saved segment of your fleet.