Allow, through user preference and system preference, to perform implicit wildcard searches through the keyword basic search.
Often when a person it using a keyword search they expect more of a Google type of search. If they put in "Bolt", they don't want just the things named "Bolt". They want to see "Bolt, 3/4 x 2", "Hex Bolt", "Bolt.prt", etc. Also, since there is a number uniqueness in Windchill often times we have to add extensions, dash numbers, modifiers, etc for different related data. So if someone doesn't add a wildcard (*) at the end they only get a portion of the data they are looking for.
A system preference would allow system admins to regulate if this is turned on or off. Users could also set it based on their preference as well if the system admin allows it.
If it is a performance concern, I could even see limiting it to a preceding wildcard, a following wildcard, or both kind of option to narrow down the options.
Ref:CS228245 - How to configure implicit wildcard search in Windchill PDMLink
