Patent ID: 8386464

Claim:
A method for searching a custom property in a data finder tool comprising: storing an index in a memory medium, wherein the index comprises a plurality of base tables, wherein the base tables in the index store meta-data associated with measurement data, wherein the meta-data describes characteristics of the measurement data, wherein the meta-data comprises a plurality of base properties, wherein the measurement data is stored in a plurality of data files in an enterprise system; storing a value of a custom property of the measurement data in a custom property table, wherein the custom property is at a first level, wherein the custom property table stores information regarding the custom property, and wherein the custom property table is at the first level; determining whether searching for the custom property should be optimized; creating a new column in at least one base table, wherein the new column is associated with the custom property; and storing the value of the custom property in the new column of the at least one base table, wherein the value of the custom property is not present in the plurality of base tables prior to said storing, wherein said creating the new column and said storing the value in the new column are performed in response to determining that said searching should be optimized, and wherein said creating and said storing optimizes searching for the custom property; wherein the value of the custom property is searchable as a base property without requiring searching of the custom property table.