I am having issues understanding CB search.

I am using the stock cb search and also tried this using the cb advanced search plugin.

my setup.

j 1.5.14
cb 1.2.2
cbsubs 1.0.3
praise builder template
praise builder cb list template. (grid layout)


issues:

When looking for a business called Ricks Sporting Goods.


most user will just type the word- ricks -or the words- sporting goods

when doing this ... these are the results

If list is set to Search option #1 "simple exact"
produces zero results

If list is set to search option #2 "simple any"
produces every user in the DB

If list is set to Search option #3
produces a search screen that is too difficult to quickly be used by casual users.
exact, exact phrase,any words....etc etc.
(but it does allow just searhcing of the word ricks and produces proper results)

how can I properly tune my cb_search to work?


my lists are set to only display and search this

Business Name
city
state
profile pic

but search by anything except the absolute exact name produces either the entire website of users or nothing.

the only option that works is #3 but it is too confusing for casual users to understand


shouldnt it just be:

Looking for Ricks sporting goods?

type in- ricks -and anyone using the word "ricks" in their name appears

type in- sporting goods -and one could expect similar results

type in the exact name and get the exact results.


I am just not understanding this properly.

I have used the regular CB search and the advanced plugin.. both produce a similar effect.

its like there is no soft area.. its a strict search..or a very lax search... or an advanced phrase search and thats it.

why cant it just be simple by the word search?

and if the option #3 allows for such advanced filtering.. why cant we set that to be the default?

having so many options will confuse casual users.

Okay so I have bought a few other search components to test them out.


- cb core search
- cb advanced search plugin
- cb mod_ezsearch
- cb mod_search
- stock cb search.

none of them work easily or as expected.


it al boils down to 3 choices, each of the 3 are lacking in some way.

when searching inside a cb userlist.

---

Option 1
Simple Exact match only "is" and ranges

This options produces ONLY the exact match to what is typed.

If the field you are searching contains this word and any other words
the results will not display.

this is what could be called STRICT search.

example: User is looking for Rick sporting goods.
-typed- ricks...no results
-typed- sporting goods... no results
-typed- Ricks sporting goods... result appear

---

Option 2
Simple any word match. Only "and of" and ranges
I am not clear as to the purpose of this field as one would think that this would provide the most flexible of searches.

Its intent is to display result matching any of the words entered in the search.

typed- ricks...all users appear
typed- sporting goods...all users appear
typed- ricks sporting goods...all users appear

---

Option 3
Advanced. All possibilities.

this provides the most options when performing a search , but also the most confusion for regular users.

you are presented with a drop down for each field that you can specify different methods of searching for your word.

although this did provide me with the proper search results..it was by no mean easy to understand or pretty.

search ricks...drop set to "contains phrase"
all users with Ricks in their searchable displayed fields appear

searched sporting goods...drop set to "contains phrase".
all users with sporting goods in their searchable displayed fields appear.

Option 3 is the best bet for getting a good search, but it also the one the users will avoid.


Options 3 settings should be able to be set in the backend for a custom search setup, as the stock searching doesnt have an option for a regular flexible search.

example: search for word DOG, and any profile containing the word dog in its displayed searchable fields gets displayed....why is it not that simple?

---

I cant see my users using any of these 3 options
they will either be disappointed at their search results or overwhelmed by options.

Users want QUICK and easy...not 20 million different things to drop down and select just to search for one profile.

Suggestions?
other components maybe.. I am willing to fork over the cash to buy any component for testing.


as a side note:
this com: CB core search
www.seedcoregroup.com/services/joomla-products/cb-core-search
I felt ripped off, I dont see any difference in what it does that the stock cb search doesnt already do.

made me feel as though they just took my money and provided me with a dummy component that just regurgitated the stock cb 1.2.2 search settings.

although it is a component its instruction just tell you to link a menu item to an existing CB list...
(I was doing this already and although you can link directly to their component and have a search page..its nothing more/less than the regular CB search page.

CB devs!!...I can email you my copy if you want to see this for yourself to determine anything further about its functionality...like I said , it feels like a dummy component to me...but what do I know.

Post edited by: jakobe75, at: 2010/04/16 20:04

Post edited by: jakobe75, at: 2010/04/21 22:48

yes completely upgraded...no conflicts.
not getting any errors.

and other users complain of the same thing in the forums and have been complaining for a very long time.



search #1 , must be exact full field entry no partial words or phrases..so unless you know exactly the name you are looking for, it wont display satisfactory results.


search #2 , returns every user containing even partials inside the word, which can retunr hundreds of unrelated profiles.


search #3 , returns best results, but way to confusing for users to understand terminology quickly. They just want to type in "Ricks", click search and then see the results.

this is just the more natural way to search


I read several posts on this same subject about the search either being too strict or too lenient and the only acceptable method being too confusing with too many options.


the searching works.. but there is no middle ground.


you either have to have the EXACT spelling and name or you have to accept all of the entries containing the characters as the word you wanted to search.
(which is pretty much everyone)


you can get this to work decent but your users must become experts at search terminology.

you cannot just type in "sporting goods" or "Ricks"

and have all users containing only the words sporting good or Ricks show up, unless using search option 3 "contains phrase"

I dont think its necc. broken just not built correctly.

My suggestion is to be able to configure and lock in search option #3 to any of the drop down fields that it allows.

this would enable users to ONLY search by "contains" word" contains phrase"

instead of giving the the confusing list of choices...just set it for them and make it simple.

I guess not an issue but more of a suggestion to refine the system.

its not easy to use.. nor is it friendly to searches.

basically you cant use 1 or 2 as they are either too strict or too lenient.

so you are left with #3 if you want your users to actually have success in their searches.

but as I have mentioned, by selecting #3 you are asking the users to perform alot of steps and give a lot of thought into their search as there are so many drop down choices.

being able to lock in one of those drop down choices for the user would make a great option #4.

can I write code for this.....?of course not.


but I do know that the system needs to be better.

Having an option #4 that is locked to "contains phrase" or "contains word"

would be the best way to search.

Looking for Ricks sporting goods?
type in "ricks"...or type in "sporting goods"

either way your going to find them in just a handful of results.

this way to dont need to know the exact spelling (which with usernames sometimes this is 100% impossible)

nor do you need to manually sort though hundreds of similar results.

you get results that contain only "ricks" or you get only "sporting goods"


this just seems to be the most natural way to search.