Team Practices Group/Phabricator tips/Maniphest

This is a brief walkthrough of the Phabricator search feature, Maniphest.

Overview
Maniphest can be found on your home page, in the navigation bar on the left.

Inside Maniphest, custom, saved searches and advanced search options are on the navigation bar.

Queries/Searches in Maniphest
Maniphest allows users to search for tasks using multiple data fields. Some fields allow for complex queries using Typeaheads (more on those below). To create a new search, click on "Advanced Search". Enter a few details to look up a new set of tasks and click "Search". Results will appears in a list below the advanced search UI. If you want to save this search, select the "Save Custom Query" button at the bottom of the Advanced Search UI. Note: once you save a search you cannot edit the parameters again but you can rename the search.

Typeaheads (AKA autocomplete)
Some fields in Maniphest have a feature called "Typeaheads". Typing in an expected piece of data will bring up a list of options under the data field. These extra options allow the user to create complex queries. The example below shows several options when attempting to type the project "Fundraising Backlog". The user can click on one of the menu items to add the desired string of text to the data field. Several typeaheads can be combined to create a complex query.

Here are a few common typeahead prefixes and their meaning:
 * "In Any:" indicates a data type is optional
 * "Not in:" indicates a data type should not appear on a task in the query
 * A box with a colored background and an icon (and no prefix) indicates a data type is required

Let's examine the typeaheads below to see what they mean in a query. Here we are searching against 3 boards in Phabricator: "Fundraising Tech Backlog", "Fundraising Sprint Miles Davis", and "Fundraising-Backlog"

The tasks in this query COULD be in the "Fundraising Tech Backlog". They SHOULD NOT be in the "Fundraising Sprint Miles Davis". They MUST be in the "Fundraising-Backlog".

Saving and Managing Searches/Queries
As stated before, queries can be saved and managed inside Maniphest. When looking at the main navigation in Maniphest, click on the "Edit Queries" link. You will see a list of your saved queries. All users have a default set which can be deleted in this UI.

Some options in this UI
 * Use the line elements on the left to drag queries up and down in the list.
 * The "x" will permanently delete a Query.
 * The Pencil icon allows a user to edit the name of a query
 * Clicking on the name of a Query will bring up the search options and results of that query

Please note: Once you save a query, you cannot change its parameters, but you can change its name. To edit a query, click on it's name, change parameters and save it as a new query. Also, Phabricator allows users to save multiple queries with the same name. TPG recommends you form your own naming conventions to keep your list organized.