Feature Request - Search Links in Back End

8 posts by 2 authors in: Forums > CMS Builder
Last Post: April 22, 2013   (RSS)

By Perchpole - March 14, 2013

Hello, all,

I've been using cmsb for years - almost since it was first released. As a result, some of my early cmsb sites are starting to grow rather big! It would help if we had a few new features or plugins (in the back end) to make them easier to manage. Id like to propose one such feature...

Currently it is possible to create a special search for an editor. This is useful but isn't intuitive for most end users. I'd like to make it possible to build a search into a link.

Let's say I have an editor called "Records". When I click on the link in the cmsb back end it shows me a list of all the records I've created. What I want is to be able to create a sub-link, under the Records link, called "news". When I click on this it shows me all the records where the type field is set to 'news'. This would give me direct access to a filtered list of records, without having to perform a manual search.

You could then set up as many sub-links as you want, each primed with a particular search.

I think this would be a very useful feature.

:o)

Perchpole

By Dave - March 15, 2013

Hi Perch, 

You can kind of do that already, how about this example (using Accounts): 

  1. Admin > Section Editors > Add Editor (Advanced Menus > Text Link) > "Admins Only"
  2. Set link url to: ?menu=accounts&isAdmin_match=1&_ignoreSavedSearch=1
  3. Open Link in: Same Window
  4. Check: Indent on menubar
  5. Then Click "Section Editors" in the page title and drag the new "Admins Only" menu under accounts

You should now be able to client on that to get a filtered list of records from Accounts.  If you wanted it to never show the accounts menu you could just check "Hide Menu" for it.

Let me know if that works for you.  Thanks!

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com

By Perchpole - March 15, 2013

Yikes!

How did I miss that!

What's the "_ignoreSavedSearch=1" bit?

:0)

Perch

By Dave - March 15, 2013

Hi Perch,

It's an undocumented feature.  It just ignores any previously saved searches and only uses the one in the URL, we use it for Related Records in the "Show More >>" links.

So say you go to a section and search for "widget" and get 3 results.  If you click away and then reload that section if will show your previous search and results.  But if _ignoreSavedSearch=1 is in the url then it will just ignore it for you.  You can always show all records by clicking the reset button.

Cheers!

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com

By Perchpole - March 15, 2013

Ah yes.

So, say I have a Records section - and then a sub-search for type=news - (?menu=records&type_match=news&_ignoreSavedSearch=1) - the link will show me all of the records where the type is "news".

But then if I click back on the main Records link (?menu=records), it just shows the same entries. It doesn't show "all" of the records. In other words, clicking on the link alone does not reset the search.

Mm.

:0)

Perch

By Dave - March 20, 2013

Hi Perch, 

Hmm, yea these undocumented features are doing exactly what we need are they? :)  

I can get to work on a patch for this, basically we just need it to reset the search and page number when they click off the menu, right?  Then you'd be able to do everything you need?

Let me know and I'll get to work on it.

Dave Edis - Senior Developer
interactivetools.com

By Perchpole - April 22, 2013

Hello, All -

I've just set-up a new editor search link in the CMSB back end - but it's returning too many results. I'm trying to make it return only those records which have a particular checkbox selected:

?menu=category&onNav=Yes&_ignoreSavedSearch=1

Unfortunately it is returning every record!

Have I missed something?

:0(

Perchpole