diff --git a/application/config/searchfunctions.php b/application/config/searchfunctions.php
index 898069aed..276652997 100644
--- a/application/config/searchfunctions.php
+++ b/application/config/searchfunctions.php
@@ -1,12 +1,16 @@
 <?php
 
 if (! defined('BASEPATH')) exit('No direct script access allowed');
-
-
+/*
+ * TODO: 2025-07-21 ma0080 bare integer comparision results in db error
+ *       if searchstring is numeric but out of range of int, think about 
+ *       more sophisticated solution using column data type - quick fix 
+ *       convert field and search string to text
+ */
 $config['equal-int'] = [
 	'priority' => 4,
 	'rank' => "0",
-	'compare' => "{field} = {word}",
+	'compare' => "{field}::text = {word}::text",
 	'force_integer' => true
 ];