Vault: Searching Slop Factor

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Vault Application Specialist, Joseph Corson
Now that you’ve read about Vault Search Tokens and have a basic understanding of the searchable properties, we will discuss how to use the Slop Factor. This feature within Vault helps fine-tune searches by manipulating the “range” of Vault search results that users receive.
The Slop Factor by default is set to 10. This can be set to 0 for EXACT results. The slop number designates how far away the separate tokens are from each other. So, with a slop factor of 10, the tokens can be 10 characters away from each other in ANY direction. This means you can search for ABC-DEF and get results of DEF-12345678-ABC.
By lowering the slop factor, you will tighten up your search results by closing the gap between tokens. If you set the slop factor to 0 or 1, the results will show you only files with the values in order.
Below is a chart showing a simple search and slop factor results searching for A-123*

To modify the slop factor you will need access to the server that your Vault is being hosted on.
Then, you will need to modify the Web.config file that is located by default in (C:\ Program Files\Autodesk\ADMS Professional 20xx\Server\Web\Services).
For safety, please copy the Web.config file. This will allow you to revert back to the original file in case something gets unintentionally modified.
Right click and edit the Web.config file in Notepad.
In here find:
The Value of 10 is what you will need to modify. Change this input to as low as you and your company feel is necessary.
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