topic Re: ExB search widget issue in ArcGIS Experience Builder Questions

ExB search widget issue

JRhodes — Sun, 23 Oct 2022 19:39:10 GMT

I've configured an ExB app with a search widget that allows users to search for a property development by name or permit number, then populate a Feature Info widget with the popup for the selected result, using a data view for the developments so the map features don't get filtered.

Everything works great, except I had to set the search suggestions to 0 because when the user starts to enter another search term, the suggestions immediately show "No results found...", because the layer source has been filtered by the widget. If they press Enter or click the search icon, the correct results are returned because this clears the filter and initiates a new query.

Am I just out of luck if I want to have suggestions enabled for successive searches? Users can click the X to clear the results, but this is unintuitive and user testing has shown that they usually don't think to do this, they just highlight the text in the box and start typing a new search term. We basically just want it to work like the WAB search.

Re: ExB search widget issue

TonghuiMing — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 02:26:17 GMT

Hi @JRhodes - Unfortunately, what you have observed is the current behavior of the layer search.

However, it does make sense to clear the search immediately when the users remove all the content. We will keep a note and evaluate if it can be enhanced later. Thank you for bringing this up.

Re: ExB search widget issue

TonghuiMing — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 10:11:16 GMT

Hi @JRhodes - this should be enhanced with the latest AGOL 10.3 release. Now clearing the search content will remove all the previous search results.

Re: ExB search widget issue

JRhodes — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 15:29:56 GMT

Thanks @TonghuiMing, but it still doesn't work the way we need it to. It seems the user needs to clear the text by pressing delete or backspace. If they just highlight and start typing a new search term, which is how I believe most people would do it, it still returns no results.

We would really love a search widget that just works like Web AppBuilder, which allows multiple successive searches no matter how the user interacts with it, because it doesn't filter the data. An option to open the popup like you can do in WAB would be nice as well.

Re: ExB search widget issue

TonghuiMing — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 09:38:56 GMT

Unfortunately, that behavior will not change for now, since there are other users who do not want the results to be cleared out entirely, e.g., they want to look at the previous result on the map when searching for a new one. And that's the only workaround they have - "to just highlight and start typing a new search term".

Re: ExB search widget issue

JRhodes — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 04:28:45 GMT

Thanks @TonghuiMing; however, this is different from the way search tools work in all other Esri products and across the internet in general. The filtering behavior should be optional. The JS API Search widget does not automatically filter results, nor does the search functionality in the other 4.x configurable apps. The user preference you mention ("want to look at the previous result on the map while searching for a new one") is satisfied if you don't filter the results. I'm not talking about clearing the map features, I'm talking about being able to get results returned for a new search term.

The average public user is expecting a Google Maps/Bing Maps experience. If I search for a restaurant by name in Google Maps, it doesn't filter other nearby restaurants. And if I want to search for a different restaurant, I simply start entering another search term.

Re: ExB search widget issue

TonghuiMing — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 04:06:55 GMT

Hi @JRhodes - we will keep a note of these details and further evaluate if we can enhance the behavior in the upcoming releases. Thanks for staying with us.

Re: ExB search widget issue

NateRenn — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 21:44:14 GMT

I would like to reiterate everything mentioned in this post. Why the search widget in ExB does not function like WAB is baffling. I should be able to choose whether to filter the layer or not, adding the layer again as a work around is insane. We should have the option to display the popup on finding the feature not build an info widget to do the thing the map is already doing if I just clicked on a feature. Honestly this search widget feels like it was designed by someone who has never used a search bar ever.

Re: ExB search widget issue

JonathanLee — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 13:14:16 GMT

I agree that mimicking the WAB search widget functionality would be great (posted separately: https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-experience-builder-questions/search-widget-with-layer-source/m-p/1253685#M6112).

For example, when someone searches a parcel and selects it from the search widget, the geometry for all other parcels "disappears" because it functions as a filter. Very easily could be confusing to the average user why the other parcels are "disappearing" because they're just wanting to find a parcel, not necessarily filter.

Re: ExB search widget issue

NedCake1 — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 16:26:07 GMT

If the Search Widget cannot be configured to select a feature from the map and deploy a popup for the selected feature, then the Search Widget is not complete. Having to create a separate feature info widget instead of using the awesome html/arcade popup that I've already developed is not helpful.

Re: ExB search widget issue

Jack_in_the_box — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 20:06:26 GMT

Hi Managers at ESRI,

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to share some honest feedback regarding the current design and development philosophy behind ExB widgets.

After working extensively with them, it feels like the overall UX and developer experience have not been given the level of attention they truly deserve. In many cases, the widgets come across as unintuitive, overly rigid, or lacking in core flexibility sometimes to the point where they seem designed without real-world usage in mind.

I strongly encourage the team to reexamine the foundational assumptions and workflows that are driving widget design. Perhaps incorporating more direct input from active developers and users in the field not just at the enterprise level, but from those building with these tools day to day would help shape a more
practical, robust, and user-centric approach.

If ESRI wants to continue being a leader in GIS solutions, I believe this kind of introspection and iteration is critical.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

Re: ExB search widget issue

DougBrowning — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 14:50:49 GMT

Form my experience meeting Esri staff most of them do not have much real word experience and it does show in the products. That is pretty common in the industry though really. Programmers program, they do not often go to the field.

They could hire more staff with the experience or they could simply use this board more. Some groups like 123 are very involved in the board here and their product has benefited greatly from it. Other groups are almost never on here and it shows.

Overall Esri has been very good about taking the time to talk to me over the years. Unfortunately these talks rarely turn into a action item and make it into the product. I tend to get long complicated workarounds, given a rare use case where the idea does not work, or they basically do not believe me. So user engagement is good but action items on that interaction needs improvement.