Signals Notebook: Searching Experiment Names and Using Wildcards

Overview

Signals Notebook search behavior is governed by the Elastic search engine. Understanding how experiment names are tokenized and how wildcards function is essential to achieve accurate and efficient search results. This article explains known search limitations, supported wildcard behavior, and how to troubleshoot incomplete or missing search results.

Search Behavior and Limitations

Signals Notebook separates text into searchable words using specific delimiters. This affects how experiment names are indexed and retrieved.

• Recognized word separators
  • Space ( )
  • Forward slash (/)
  • Hyphen (-)
• Unsupported separators
  • Underscore (_) is not treated as a word boundary

Example
If an experiment name is:

ABCD_EFG-12345

It is indexed as two searchable terms:

• ABCD_EFG
• 12345

As a result:

• ✅ Supported searches:
  • 12345
  • ABCD_EFG
  • ABCD*
  • "ABCD_EFG-12345" (exact phrase search)
• ❌ Unsupported searches:
  • EFG
  • EFG*
  • *EFG

Wildcard Usage in Signals Notebook

Wildcards can be used to improve search results when only part of an object name is known. However, wildcard usage is limited by Elastic search constraints.

• Supported wildcard
  • Asterisk (*) as a suffix only
• Unsupported wildcard
  • Leading wildcards are not allowed

Example If the full name is:

exp010203

You can search:

exp010*

This returns all objects that begin with exp010.

You cannot search:

*0203

Key Notes

• Wildcards must always follow the known beginning of the name
• Case sensitivity may apply depending on the search method used
• These limitations are inherent to the Elastic search engine and cannot be overridden in Signals Notebook

Troubleshooting Search Issues

If an experiment or object does not appear in search results:

1. Check naming structure
   • Identify whether the missing portion comes after an underscore (_)
2. Adjust the search
   • Search using:
     • The full token (e.g., ABCD_EFG)
     • A suffix wildcard on the first token (e.g., ABCD*)
3. Avoid unsupported patterns
   • Do not use leading wildcards (e.g., *EFG)
4. Use exact phrase search
   • Wrap the full experiment name in quotes: "ABCD_EFG-12345"
5. Confirm access
   • Search results only return objects you have permission to view

Summary

• Searches depend on how text is tokenized
• Underscores are not treated as separators
• Only suffix wildcards (*) are supported
• Partial searches inside tokens are not supported

Understanding these rules ensures more predictable and accurate search results in Signals Notebook.