A Faster Way to Find What You Need in Business Central: Modern Search on Lists

If you’ve ever scrolled endlessly through a Business Central list trying to find the exact record you’re looking for—only to realize the search couldn’t quite match what you typed—you’re not alone.

Microsoft has heard the feedback and introduced a modern search experience that significantly improves how users find data in Business Central list pages. It’s faster, smarter, and more intuitive—and it just might be one of the most underrated productivity boosters in the latest release.

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Why This Feature Matters

Getting the right data—quickly—is critical for decision-making. The new modern search helps users:

• Search faster across large lists
• Find more relevant results (even when the exact phrase isn’t used)
• Reduce frustration from inconsistent search behaviors
• Improve overall productivity and satisfaction

And the best part? Users can now switch between the old and new search modes with just a click.

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What’s Changing: Modern vs. Legacy Search

Business Central now gives users two ways to search list pages:

Feature	Legacy Search	Modern Search
Searches all columns?	✅ Yes	🚫 No – Only optimized columns
Full-text indexing?	❌ No	✅ Yes
Handles partial or fuzzy matches?	Limited	Much better
Search in quotes?	✅ Yes, but limited accuracy	✅ Yes, and more accurate
Speed	Standard	⚡ Faster

Let’s say you’re looking for an item called LONDON Swivel Chair.

• Typing London chair in legacy search? No results.
• Typing the same in modern search? It finds the item instantly—even if the words don’t appear side-by-side.

That’s the power of full-text optimization.

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How to Use the New Search Option

To enable modern search:

1. Go to Feature Management.
2. Turn on Use optimized text search in lists.
3. On supported list pages, look for the option to toggle between:
   • Use legacy search
   • Use modern search (faster)

The toggle is available right inside the search box on applicable list pages.

If you don’t see the toggle, the list you’re on may not support full-text search yet.

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Pro Tip for Developers

If you’re a developer or partner building custom lists, you can enable modern search support by setting the new OptimizeForTextSearch property on specific fields in AL code.

This opens up faster search capabilities for custom tables—without waiting on Microsoft to enable it globally.

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Limitations to Know

• Not all list pages are supported yet.
• Modern search is only available on tables that are optimized for full-text indexing.
• If you don’t see the option, that list isn’t compatible—yet.

Still, the impact on day-to-day usability is big. Teams who rely heavily on long item, customer, or vendor lists will notice the difference immediately.

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Final Thoughts: It’s All About Speed and Satisfaction

Business Central’s new modern search option might sound like a small tweak—but in reality, it’s a big win for usability. When your team can find what they need in seconds, they spend less time clicking and more time doing.

And that’s the kind of change that adds up.

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