Work Item Search Widget

Overview

The Work Item Search Widget is a powerful Azure DevOps dashboard extension that enhances your work item search capabilities with intelligent field detection, flexible date filtering, and smart query building.

Key Features

🔍 Smart Search Capabilities

• 100+ Field Support: Search across all available work item fields in your project
• Intelligent Field Detection: Automatically detects field types (text, numeric, date, boolean)
• Dynamic UI Adaptation: Interface adapts based on selected field type

📅 Advanced Date Search

• Flexible Date Input: Date picker, preset options, or natural language
• Smart Date Parsing: Supports "today", "this week", "last month", day names, etc.
• Precise Date Ranges: Accurate date range queries for exact results

🔢 Intelligent Numeric Search

• Partial Matching: Search "12" to find items with "123", "1234", etc.
• Exact Matching: Full numeric precision when needed
• Smart Operators: Automatically selects appropriate WIQL operators

⚡ Enhanced User Experience

• Enter Key Support: Press Enter to search from any input field
• Persistent Configuration: Saves your preferred default search field
• Modal Details: Click any result for detailed work item information
• Responsive Design: Works seamlessly across different dashboard sizes

Supported Widget Sizes

• 2x3: Compact layout for basic searches
• 3x3: Standard layout with full feature access
• 3x4: Extended layout for optimal viewing

Installation

1. Download the latest .vsix file from the GitHub releases
2. Upload to your Azure DevOps organization or Visual Studio Marketplace
3. Add the widget to your dashboard

Alternatively, install directly from the Visual Studio Marketplace once published.

Usage

Basic Search

1. Select a field from the dropdown (Title, Description, Tags, etc.)
2. Enter your search term
3. Click Search or press Enter

Date Search

1. Select any date field (Created Date, Changed Date, etc.)
2. Choose from:
   • Date Picker: Select specific dates
   • Preset Options: Today, this week, last month, etc.
   • Custom Text: Type natural language like "yesterday"

Configuration

1. Click the ⚙️ settings icon
2. Select your preferred default search field
3. Save configuration (stored locally per browser)

Field Types Supported

• Text Fields: Title, Description, Comments (uses CONTAINS operator)
• Numeric Fields: ID, Story Points, Priority (supports partial and exact matching)
• Date Fields: Created Date, Changed Date, Closed Date (intelligent date parsing)
• Identity Fields: Assigned To, Created By (searches display names)
• Boolean Fields: True/false value matching
• Picklist Fields: State, Work Item Type, etc.

Technical Details

Architecture

• Built with VSS SDK for Azure DevOps integration
• Uses WIQL (Work Item Query Language) for efficient searching
• localStorage for configuration persistence
• Responsive HTML5/CSS3/ES6 implementation

Performance

• Optimized API calls with batched work item retrieval
• Efficient DOM manipulation and event handling
• Minimal network requests with intelligent caching

Security

• Uses Azure DevOps REST API authentication
• Minimal required permissions (vso.work scope only)
• XSS protection with proper input sanitization

Version History

1.0.0

Initial release

Support

For issues, feature requests, or contributions:

• GitHub Repository: azure-work-item-search
• Report Issues: GitHub Issues
• Documentation: Getting Started

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Enhance your Azure DevOps workflow with intelligent work item search capabilities!