---
title: "Use custom search in Data Scanner"
slug: "using-custom-search-in-data-scanner"
updated: 2026-04-29T16:37:01Z
published: 2026-04-29T16:37:01Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.quickbase.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use custom search in Data Scanner

You can enjoy a better experience on our platform and the ability to gain valuable and actionable results by creating tailored custom searches in the Data Scanner.

## How to create a custom search

You must be an Account Admin to create a custom data scanner search. See [Scanning data in apps for sensitive information](/v1/docs/scanning-an-apps-data) to learn more about using data scanner.

1. From the **Admin Console**, select **Apps**.
2. Find the app you would like to scan. Select the **View** link in the **Data Scanner** column.
3. The main page of Data Scanner for this app displays. Here you can create **Custom scans** by selecting **Manage Configurations**. ![Data Scanner page showing Manage Configurations button](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/33621655313684.png)
4. The Scan configurations and rules page displays. Select **Add configuration** to create a new custom search. ![Scan configurations page with Add configuration button](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/33621669180052.png)
5. Enter a new name for your configuration.
6. Enter a percentage of probability for the scan threshold for your scans, so you can view results above certain probability. The minimum is 30%.
7. Select the data you would like to scan and select **Save**.

## Add custom rules

To add custom rules for your scan, select the **Custom Rules** tab. ![Data Scanner page showing Custom Rules tab](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/33621655319572.png)

1. Enter a name for each rule, an optional description, any keywords, and set the likelihood that the regex will correctly identify the data it's searching for, with 100 being extremely likely.

> [!NOTE]
> Note: If the scan's probability threshold set is higher than the regex's probability score you set, data won't be included in scan results.

When you use key words, it increases the detection confidence of the entity you are searching for in case a specific word appears before or after it in the searched field. You can enter more than one key word with a comma delimiter (max length is 1024 characters). For example: `arrhythmia,bradycardia,tachycardia`
2. Enter a valid regular expression.
3. Select **Save**.

## What is a regular expression?

A regular expression is a sequence of characters that specifies a match pattern in text. A regular expression, often called a pattern, specifies a set of strings required for a particular purpose. Regular expressions are extremely powerful.

### Regular expression syntax summary

Here are some common Regular Expression syntax.

### Special characters

| \ | escape special characters |
| --- | --- |
| . | matches any character |
| ^ | matches beginning of string |
| $ | matches end of string |
| [5b-d] | matches any chars '5', 'b', 'c' or 'd' |
| [^a-c6] | matches any char except 'a', 'b', 'c' or '6' |
| R\|S | matches either regex R or regex S |
| () | creates a capture group and indicates precedence |

### Special sequences

| \A | start of string |
| --- | --- |
| \b | matches empty string at word boundary (between \w and \w \) |
| \B | matches empty string not at word boundary |
| \d | digit |
| \D | non-digit |
| \s | whitespace: \| \t\n\r\f\v] |
| \S | non-whitespace |
| \w | alphanumeric: [0-9a-zA-2_] |
| \W | non-alphanumeric |
| \Z | end of string |
| \g<id> | matches a previously defined group |

### Quantifiers

| * | O or more (append ? for non-greedy) |
| --- | --- |
| + | 1 or more (append ? for non-greedy) |
| ? | O or 1 (append ? for non-greedy) |
| {m} | exactly m m occurrences |
| {m,n} | from m to n. m defaults to 0, n to infinity |
| {m,n}? | from m to n, as few as possible |

## Examples

Here are some examples:

### Date finder

To recognize a date as *mm/dd/yyyy or mm/dd/yy*.

```plaintext
r"\b(([1-9]|0[1-9]|1[0-2])/([1-9]|0[1-9]|[1-2][0-9]|3[0-1])/(\d{4}|\d{2}))\b"
```

### Date validation

This checks for a valid date format:

```plaintext
\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}
```

In this example, the code validates if given date string matches this pattern: YYYY–MM–DD, for example, 2019–12–18.

## How to view and edit configurations

Follow these steps to view and edit a configuration.

1. From the Admin Console, select **Apps**. Find the app you would like to scan. Select the **View** link in the **Data Scanner** column.
2. The main page of Data Scanner for this app displays. Access **configurations and rules** by selecting **Manage Configurations**. ![Data Scanner page showing Manage Configurations button](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/33621655313684.png)
3. You can **view** or **edit** your custom searches.

## How to start a custom search

Follow these steps to start a custom data scanner search. You must be an Admin for the app you want to scan.

1. From the Admin Console, select **Apps**. Find the app you would like to scan. Select the **View** link in the **Data Scanner** column. The Custom Scan page displays.
2. Select a configuration from the **Scan configuration** dropdown. ![Custom Scan page with Scan configuration dropdown](https://cdn.document360.io/dd260e4e-10bb-4b66-8fb3-5504c272b904/Images/Documentation/33621669188500.png)
3. Select **Start Scan**.

We store scan details for 31 days. Select **Export scan history to CSV** to save the scan results locally.

## Limits

The following are the known limits with the custom search functionality.

- Number of Configurations for Scan Regex—50 per account
- Number of Configurations for Scan Patterns—50 per account
- Max Min Probability—Maximum probability is 100%, minimum selectable probability is 30%