How to Use Wildcards in SAP SLCM – Search Tips and Examples for University Users

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Learn how to use wildcards in SAP SLCM (Student Lifecycle Management) for efficient searching. Discover the difference between asterisk (*) and plus (+) wildcards, see practical examples for student, course, room, and faculty searches, and get best practices for university SAP users.

🔎 Wildcards in SAP

1. **Asterisk (*) → Multiple Characters**

Works like “anything / any number of characters.”
Example:
- Search: *Ali*
- Result: Finds Ali Raza, Muhammad Ali, Khalid Ali Khan

2. Plus Sign (+) → Single Character

Works like “exactly one character.”
Example:
- Search: M+hmad
- Result: Finds Mohmad, Mehmad, but not Muhammad (too many characters).

3. Search Term with Wildcard

You can use wildcards with Search Term fields too.
Example:
- If Search Term = BIC* → it will show BIC Training Hall 01, BIC Lab, BIC Seminar Room.

⚙️ Where You Commonly Use Wildcards

Student Search → when you don’t know full student name/ID.
Vendor/Customer Search → partial vendor names.
Room/Resource Search → e.g., *Lab* to list all labs.
Course Search → e.g., CSC* for all Computer Science courses.

✅ Best Practice for University Setup

Use structured codes with prefixes (e.g., CSC101, BIC-LAB01).
Then, wildcard searches like CSC* or BIC* will bring neat results.

🔎 Wildcard Usage in SAP (University Context)

Wildcard	Meaning	Example Search	Result / Use Case
`*` (asterisk)	Any number of characters	`Ali`	Finds Ali Raza, Muhammad Ali, Khalid Ali Khan
		`CSC*`	Finds all Computer Science courses: CSC101, CSC202, CSC305
		`Lab`	Finds all labs: Physics Lab, Computer Lab, BIC Lab
`+` (plus)	Exactly one character	`M+hmad`	Finds Mohmad, Mehmad but not Muhammad
		`CSC10+`	Finds CSC101, CSC102, CSC103 but not CSC110
Combination	Mix * and + for precise results	`ahm+d`	Finds Ahmad, Rahmad, Shahmed
		`BIC-TRN0+`	Finds BIC-TRN01, BIC-TRN02

📌 Examples by University Use Case

1. Student Search

Search: *Yasir* → Finds Muhammad Yasir Bhutta, Yasir Khan.
Search: 20* in Student ID → Finds all students admitted in 2020 batch.

2. Course Search

Search: CSC* → Lists all Computer Science courses.
Search: ENG1* → Lists all English Level 1 courses.

3. Room / Resource Search

Search: *Lab* → Shows all labs (Computer Lab, Physics Lab, Engineering Lab).
Search: BIC* → Shows all rooms in Business Incubation Centre.

4. Faculty Search

Search: Dr* → Shows all faculty members starting with “Dr”.
Search: *Khan → Shows all faculty members with surname “Khan”.

✅ Tip for your staff:

Use structured codes (e.g., BIC-TRN01, CSC101) so that wildcard searches like BIC* or CSC* give organized results.
Always use * when unsure about spelling.