Microsoft Search with SQL Graph Connector

 

Introduction 

 

Microsoft Search shows the content that your organization has stored in Microsoft 365 Tenant or indexed through connectors.

 

Microsoft Graph connectors can index third-party data to appear in Microsoft Search results. The third-party data can be hosted on-premises or in the public or private clouds. Connectors expand the types of content sources that are searchable in your Microsoft 365 productivity apps and the broader Microsoft ecosystem.

 

In this article, Let's understand how to index "Azure SQL" data using Graph Connector into Microsoft Search Results.

License requirements

 

To view data from connectors in your search results, users must have one of the following Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscriptions:

• Microsoft 365 or Office 365 Enterprise E3 or E5
• Microsoft 365 or Office 365 Education A3 or A5

Let's start with the configuration steps.

 

Step 1 - Navigate to Connectors

1. Go to Microsoft 365 admin center.
2. In the navigation pane, go to Settings.
3. Select > Microsoft Search.
4. Select > Connectors
5. Select > + Add

Step 2 - Select Azure SQL as a data source

 

Microsoft has seven connectors available to connect with external data sources and several partners released connectors to connect with an external data source.

Step 3 - Fill connection name details

• Name (mandatory)
• Connection Id (mandatory)
• Description (Optional) 

Step 4 - Configure Database settings

• I already have Azure SQL in place, So I used the same to connect
• Server > Azure SQL Server Name
• Database > Azure SQL Database name
• Credentials -> Basic (for this article purpose)
• Click the Test Connection, On succeed > click next.
• 
  

Step 5 - Configure Full Crawl Setting

 

Navigate to the Azure SQL Database table and create a SQL query, which will be used to get data. The full crawl selects all the columns or properties you want to be made queryable, searchable, or retrievable

 

Importance of watermark 

 

To prevent overloading the database, the connector batches and resumes full-crawl queries with a full-crawl watermark column. By using the value of the watermark column, each subsequent batch is fetched, and querying is resumed from the last checkpoint. Essentially this is a mechanism to control data refresh for full crawls.

 

Example:

 

WHERE (FlightId> @watermark). watermark column name with the reserved keyword @watermark. If the sort order of the watermark column is ascending, use >; otherwise, use <.

 

ORDER BY CreatedDateTime ASC. Sort on the watermark column in ascending or descending order.

Step 6 - Configure Incremental Crawl Setting 

 

With this query, the SQL connector determines any changes to the data since the last incremental crawl. As in the full crawl, select all columns that you want to be made queryable, searchable, or retrievable. Specify the same set of ACL columns that you specified in the full crawl query.

Step 7 - Configure Incremental Crawl Setting

 

You can choose which column can be set as Querable, Searchable & Retrieve, It is standard schema configuration as SharePoint Search. 

Step 8 - Manage Search Permission

 

You can choose to use the ACLs specified in the full crawl screen or you can override them to make your content visible to everyone 

Step 9 - Content Refresh Settings

 

You can configure the incremental and full refresh interval.

Step 10 - Review connection and complete

 

All defined configurations can be reviewed and modified here. Once it complete, click to finish to proceed.

Step 11 - Review connection and complete

 

Wait for a couple of minutes, connection content will full crawl and the connection state will also change from Publishing to Ready. Once the connection state will be ready, two actions need to be performed in sequence.

1. Create a Result Source.
2. Create a Vertical.

Step 12 - Result Type Section

 

Once you select create result type, It will simple steps to follow a naming convention, like enter the result type name:

Step 13 - Result Type Content Source

 

Select the appropriate content source so that crawled or configured data can be mapped properly.

Step 14 - Result Type Rule

 

Define the rules for result type is optional but you can define the filter or other criteria to exclude or include the results.

Step 15 - Design Layout

 

These are the important steps, how you can design your layout or adaptive rich card, which will be rendered into search results.

 

Once you click "Launch Layout Designer", it will navigate to https://searchlayoutdesigner.azurewebsites.net/

Step 16 - Search Layout Designer

 

Select a blank layout and design the required card.

 

Copy content from Layout Payload editor and paste into step no. 15. 

Layout payload editor added to GitHub link here

 

Step 17 - Review the result type settings

 

Review the result type configuration and proceed to Vertical creation to map with a defined result type

Manage Vertical

 

Verticals make it easier for users to find the information that they have permission to see.

 

You can add search verticals that are relevant to your organization. These will appear on the Microsoft Search results page in SharePoint, Office, and Bing

 

Before you start, make sure that the connector has been indexed. This can take up to 48 hours, depending on the file size.

 

You can’t create a vertical for content that resides in SharePoint.

 

There are three basic steps to add a vertical:

1. Create the vertical. In this step, you define the vertical’s name, content source, and scope of the content to search.
2. Define what the results for this vertical will look like.
3. Enable the vertical (to be displayed) from the vertical list page.

Step 18 - Create a Vertical

 

In the navigation pane, go to custom connector, and then select the Verticals Link.

 

To add a vertical, select Add. Or, to edit a vertical, select it in the list.

 

Remember, verticals are created in a disabled state. They must be enabled before users can see them

Step 19 - Connect Vertical with Content Source

Step 20 - Add Query (Optional)

 

You can add a KQL query, It will help to filter the result further to the result set. 

Outcome

 

Use the Microsoft Search results page in SharePoint, Office, and Bing, Navigate to respective vertical to get external items result.

Limitations

• Indexing rich content inside database columns is not supported. Examples of such content are HTML, JSON, XML, blobs, and document parsings that exist as links inside the database columns.

Same Article published here also:- https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/article/extend-microsoft-search-with-azure-sql-graph-connector/

I hope you have enjoyed and learned something new in this article. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next article.

Interactive Experience With Microsoft Search using PowerApps

 Introduction 

 

Let's understand Microsoft Search and how it works:

• Microsoft Search is a secure way to search both your intranet and web content.
• Microsoft Search indexes all your Microsoft 365 data to make it searchable for users. When a user executes a search, Microsoft Search pulls results from data sources in Microsoft 365, including SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Teams, Yammer, and organizational and directory service information.
• Microsoft Search uses insights from the Microsoft Graph to show results that are recent and relevant to each user.

Microsoft Search BookMarks

 

If your organization uses a promoted results set, you can use Bookmarks to do the same. A bookmark can have several keywords and several bookmarks can share the same keyword, but a reserved keyword can't be shared. When a Bookmark is created or modified, the search index is refreshed immediately, and the bookmark is available to users immediately.

 

Microsoft Search Bookmarks integrated with Power Apps makes the search experience much more interactive.

 

Simply put, users search for a topic or keywords that are defined as keywords with the associated app. On the keyword or topic search, the user can launch the app within Microsoft Search. 

Step1 - How to add/edit a bookmark

1. Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
2. In the navigation pane, go to Settings.
3. Select > Microsoft Search. 
4. Select > Answers. 
5. Select > Bookmarks.
6. To add a bookmark, select Add new. To edit a bookmark, select the bookmark in the relevant bookmark list.

Step 2 - Create a PowerApps application

 

i.e. Leave Request > Save -> Publish. Note down the powerapp ID to configure into Microsoft search.

Note

To get an understanding of Power Apps, visit the previous reference article here.

 

Step 3 - Configure the Bookmarks with Power Apps

1. Add Title > It will be shown in the bookmark result.
2. Add Url > It will navigate to a reference document or link.
3. Bookmark description > Add bookmark description, it will be shown the description of the bookmark.
4. Keywords > it used to find this page.
5. Reserved Keywords > It should be unique and the same used to get the result based on unique keywords
6. Categories > it helps to organize or group the keywords.
7. Get App ID for the Power App that you want to add from step no.2.

• Select Power App, and then Add a Power App ID.
• Height and width are automatically adjusted. Bookmarks can support both portrait and landscape orientations, but currently, the size can't be changed. 

Select Publish or Save to Draft.

Step 4 - Publish the Bookmark

 

Once the bookmark gets published, it will start appearing as below. Bookmark gets indexed quickly and is available for use immediately. Finally, you can define keywords into the search box and a bookmark will appear with an integrated Power App link.

Same Article published here also:- https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/article/interactive-experience-with-microsoft-search/

Summary 

 

I hope you have enjoyed and learned something new in this article. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next article.