topic Re: Search Widget in ArcGIS Viewer for Flex Questions

Search Widget

Anonymous User — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:20:37 GMT

After a day of fooling with this Flexviewer, I've finally got it where I can push maps to the public. I'd like to push our address data out and make it searchable for other local entities. I'm having trouble setting up the search widget to make this happen. I add a new search, save it, open the viewer and I can only search by selection, and I'm wanting to search by attribute via text string. Any ideas?

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 02:21:55 GMT

I've read the forums here and keep seeing the modified search widget pop up. Don't want you to think I haven't at least tried to research it. I only ask that particular question because I don't know programming or xml or anything else really. It would be awesome to see a UI tool that would build this sort of thing. That being said, I can tackle it and push through and eventually get it. I just don't want to burn up a few days on it if it's not going to be something pretty close to what I'm looking for.

Again, I'm looking for a widget/toolbox/whatever that will allow me to use text to search an address layer I have within flex viewer. For example, if my address is 123 Idiot Drive, I want to be able to type in 123 idiot and get a list of addresses that match that.

Thanks,

Jamie

Re: Search Widget

AnthonyGiles — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 04:45:32 GMT

Jamie,

The esearch widget created by Robert will allow you to do what you want without having to do any coding apart from amending the config file that comes with the widget.

There is a set of tags called <defaultselectionoption> that allows you set the initial input type for the search to either graphical, textual or spatial, so if you want the user to type his search into a text box set the value of this tag as follows:

<defaultselectionoption>textInput</defaultselectionoption>

To search for any match in a string set the expression of the search to be something like:

FieldName like '%' + '[value]' + '%'

the % symbol will then act as a wildcard in your search.

This would satisfy your question but ideally if you are wanting to search for an address you would want to use a geocode service that you can create yourself if you have access to your own ArcGIS Server or utilise one that is provided on line. Have a look at the Locate tool in the flex viewer.

Hope this helps

Anthony

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:16:33 GMT

Anthony,

Buddy! Thanks for your reply. I appreciate it. I think I've got what you're saying. Going to try to tackle it now. I have yet to see it explained like this, so that's good. I think some people take for granted just how little some of us know about Flex. Thanks again for your reply.

Jamie

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:02:40 GMT

Here's something I don't understand.

When you open the builder, There's clearly a Search Widget that as far as I'm concerned, it at least looks like it will do what I need it to do straight out of the box. See the below image. If I point to my Address service, create a Search within that widget...why doesn't that work? Why is it neccessary to add all this other stuff? I'm regretting this move to Flex already despite how awesome it looks. I already miss being able to take a MXD, push it to the server and publish a map to the public.

Sorry for whining. It's my own fault, I just don't know Flex.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]13085[/ATTACH]

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:45:24 GMT

Anyone else care to chime in on my last post?

Re: Search Widget

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:07:31 GMT

Jamie,

The OOTB Search widget is looking for a mapservice url to a particular layer in a map service and not a Address or geocoder service (this might just been a terminology issue here). Once you enter a url like this "http://sampleserver1.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Louisville/LOJIC_LandRecords_Louisville/MapServer/0" are you hitting load so that you can define which fields you will search on?

Have you seen the Application Builder documentation?

http://help.arcgis.com/en/webapps/flexviewer/help/index.html#/Getting_started_with_the_application_builder/01m30000002v000000/

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:19:11 GMT

rscheitlin

Jamie,

The OOTB Search widget is looking for a mapservice url to a particular layer in a map service and not a Address or geocoder service (this might just been a terminology issue here). Once you enter a url like this "http://sampleserver1.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/Louisville/LOJIC_LandRecords_Louisville/MapServer/0" are you hitting load so that you can define which fields you will search on?

Have you seen the Application Builder documentation?

http://help.arcgis.com/en/webapps/flexviewer/help/index.html#/Getting_started_with_the_application_builder/01m30000002v000000/

Robert,

Yes, when I load my own URL which would be http://<mysersver>/arcgis/rest/services/rapc/Addresses/Mapserver/0. I hit load, I pick and choose what to base the search off of and save it. After saving the map, I can go see the changes on the live map and see that I've added a Search widget but the widget only has the Search by selecting features. I have no tab to search with text, or by attribute. I've seen the documentation, maybe I've missed something though. I'll look over it again.

Thanks,

Jamie

Re: Search Widget

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:37:46 GMT

Jamie,

Did you put anything in the expression textbox when you added your search and if so what? Did you include fields?

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:52:31 GMT

Well, judging how you asked that question, I'm guessing something has to be there. But for the life of me, I couldn't find anything on "Expression" so it's been blank.

Jamie

Re: Search Widget

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 01:18:56 GMT

Jamie,

The Flex Team has had some feedback on this and this being the first couple of releases of the Application Builder, it will get better as more people provide feed back. Right now you would have to go to the actual search widget and look at the help for that particular widget and you will find the expression has this comment:

Predefined query for the widget used in the attribute (text) search. For example, PARCELID = '[value]' .

So you need to know a little SQL to know what to put in there. If you need specific help just let me know what field in your data you want to search for a value in and if you will want the user to know the exact value to be type or if you want them to just enter "Jones St." and it will find 123 Jones St.

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 01:25:11 GMT

Robert,

Let me start by saying thanks for your help. I see you all over these forums. You're like a wizard of flexviewer.

So, in a perfect world, I would like people to search by a specific address. As in, the municipal attribute and the address attribute. I know that seems redundant but we have some really old data mixed in with our current data that may or may not have the full address in the "address" attribute. However, they will have "municipal" if the address isn't there. There are so many addresses and we only have myself and one other in our department.

Hopefully I explained that well enough.

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:10:24 GMT

So the two fields are "address" and "municiple".

Re: Search Widget

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:44:46 GMT

Jamie,

OK the Expression for these fields would look like this then:

Upper(municiple) Like Upper('%[value]%')

Upper(address) Like Upper('%[value]%')

You use the Upper() command to remove the possibility of upper vs lower case causing an issue.
Next you use Like and the % wild card to find values that are like what the user will type.
So single quotes mean you are searching for text and '%[value]%' means that if they type jones than it will find anything with jones as part of it like 123 jones st.

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:30:54 GMT

Ok, I'm getting some function now.   Do you put the string in exactly as you typed it, with the numbering?   I've tried with and without the numbers, with and without spaces and so on but have yet to get both of them to work.   I can only get one or the other.

For instacne,

If I type:                                                  Upper(municiple) Like Upper('%[value]%')

I get the Search by Attribute tab and I'm able to search the Municiple field.

And the same for the other, if I type:          Upper(address) Like Upper('%[value]%')

I can search the Address field.   But no matter how I type both, I keep getting a 400 error. Do the numbers stay or go?

Thanks Robert.

Jamie

Re: Search Widget

RobertScheitlin__GISP — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:20:12 GMT

Jamie, Yes by default the search widget is not designed for multi field searches.

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:22:53 GMT

Gotcha. And I'm assuming that's the reason, with many others, that you made the Enhanced Search Widget? After going through this and watching the SearchWidget.xml change, I think I understand it way more than before.

Thanks again Robert. I appreciate you taking time out to walk me through it.

Jamie

Re: Search Widget

Anonymous User — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:57:39 GMT

So, after feeling my way around for a bit...I don't think the Search function is capable of doing exactly what I need it to do without getting outside of what I know and don't know.

I went with Anthony's suggestion and created a geocode service for "Locate". For some reason, I'm unable to get it to return any results when I search. Any ideas?