Searching Provider Connectivity Assurance Documentation

Need help when searching Cisco's Provider Connectivity Assurance documentation? We have you covered. In this article, the following topics are discussed:

• Overview of the Search Function

• Searching the Knowledge Base

• Using Tags

• Important Reminders

Overview of the Search Function

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance Documentation (Document360) uses the Algolia (SaaS) search engine to scan the content of the entire knowledge base.

You can search documentation from two locations, as shown below:

Homepage

Search bar above the articles

Search Results

Search results are listed with:

• Name of article/category
• Preview of searched keyword within article/category
• Article/category breadcrumb

The following attributes can be searched:

• Article and category titles
• Content within articles and categories (keywords)
• Slug of articles and categories (page and index)
• Tags

Homepage View

This is the main page where the entire project can be searched.

Documentation can be searched via the search bar or by category directly below the search bar.

Click Feature Docs above the search bar to dive right in without performing a search.

Category Filter

Once you have selected your desired category, you may notice a filter bar on the left side of the page.

This is the Category filter bar and it is used to narrow down and find specific categories; it does not affect article search capabilities.

If you use the Category filter to find a specific category, then perform a search, the results will still include all categories.

Unlike the table of contents found in the individual articles (next section), you can use the Category filter to navigate between articles of different products, or even the same product, with ease. Articles are classified by features and functions.

The Category filter does not exclude search results.

Example:
Searching for ‘F100’ in the Category filter will expand all of Provider Connectivity Assurance Sensor F100’s subcategories while removing all other categories.

This helps focus solely on articles relating to Assurance Sensor F100 but if you go back into the main search bar you will get results for all product categories, not only Assurance Sensor F100.

Table of Contents

The table of contents (TOC), located on the right side of the page, is made up of section headings and allows for easy navigation of the article you have selected. If you are searching for a specific section in the article, locate the heading in the TOC and you’ll be immediately brought to that section.

Searching the Knowledge Base

How to perform a search

1. As mentioned, you can search keywords from the homepage and the top of the article or use the Category filter to select a specific article.

2. After an article is selected, use the table of contents on the right side of the page to find a specific section or use CRTL-F to type keyword(s) and search for its exact location in the article.

Searching the article

3. You can download any article as a PDF and navigate with the table of contents or use CRTL-F in the PDF.

Searching the PDF

When performing your search, keep an eye on the path of the article you’re about to click on:

Example:
While using a Provider Connectivity Assurance Sensor F100, you search for the keyword 'Guidelines'. Looking at the article path, you know not to click on the second search result because that relates to Provider Connectivity Assurance Sensor Agents.

What the search engine does not do

There is no Advanced search function.

• Logical expression for multiple strings, AND / OR / NOT, is not possible.
• Unable to search within only one category at a time…yet. Feature requested.

Using Tags

Tags, found under the article’s Table of Contents, are keywords assigned to articles in the knowledge base.

Multiple product categories share the same tags.

Tip: Many keywords already have tags for them. Click these tags to have the search engine group all the relevant articles relating to that keyword. Everything will be centralized.

Important Reminders

• Using the Category Filter bar to filter down to one category will not filter the search results to only the selected category. The entire project will still be searched.

• Reference the article’s Table of Contents.

• Use CRTL-F to search for the keyword’s exact location in the article.

• You can also download any article as a PDF and use the Table of Contents or CRTL-F in the PDF.

User feedback is encouraged so that we can continue improving the knowledge base for optimal user experience.