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There are any number of ways to search and organize your materials in IdeaMason using categories, projects and activities (see our blog posting on “The Matrix“). But one area that may not be immediately obvious is that the Saved Searches feature goes way beyond just searching or even saving searches.

You might already know that the Search folder tab on the homepage provides you with the opportunity to perform either a simple or advanced search of a portfolio. And, so that you can rerun the search at a later date, you can also click on the Save Search button. However, the Saved Searches feature goes beyond a basic search tool. When you setup the parameters of a search and save it you are essentially setting up a customized folder view. When you think about it this will give you a whole new perspective on the information stored in a portfolio. No longer do you have to use the standardized portfolio folders to view your materials and sources. You can utilize the saved search feature to setup your own customized folder views.

For example, while working on a particular activity you find yourself working with a select number of categories. For an easy way to view the union of materials in those categories, just click on the search folder tab, layout the parameters of the search and select the categories you want to view, then save and name the search. This saved search then becomes like a customized folder view of the portfolio contents. Each time you rerun the saved search (from the Saved Searches tab) it will automatically update the results of the search.

Naturally, you can set up your custom folders to view materials from any perspective using any of the search fields available. The great thing is that you can update and edit the parameters of a search anytime you want, or duplicate the search and create a new search by changing a couple of the search parameters. To quickly view the parameters of your customized folder/search see the Search Summary Description at the bottom of the Saved Searches window.