Improve WebApp Builder Search Widget for Address Searches

594
1
11-14-2017 05:14 PM
Status: Open
AshleySeim3
New Contributor II

We live in an area where the road directional (e.g., SE, N, NE) in the address isn't always used or known.  When entering an address in the Search widget without the road directional no match is found.  We have found if users enter a '%' sign as the road directional the address will be found by the widget so we supply instructions to do so.  However we feel this may be too much of a learning curve for some users.  We would like to see the Search widget improved so that it is more predictive or smarter and will return addresses when the road directional is not typed with the address.  Here is the current application where we have addressed this: ArcGIS Web Application 

1 Comment
by Anonymous User

Search has some issues with the autocomplete interface. Maybe I'll split this out but I searched a bit and only found this.  So, in WAB 2.5-2.7 for example, using my 10.5.1 geocoder, if you get a result from autocomplete, then click it, it says No Results. Example: I type 1 E Bay. OK so it finds matches. But if I then click it again, it says No Results. Literally, I just delete the suffix, it's still sitting there and clicking it gets No Results. But retype it exactly the same, and it finds it again. And also it creates fake "ghost addresses" out of range, in autocomplete. Then you click it and it says they can't be found.  

The old one, which did in fact autocomplete just fine even with old Arc Server 10.0 and 10.2 worked fine. The API broke autocomplete in the widget in WAB 1.1 or around then, mostly for a namespace change to Suggest. The old 1.1 widget still worked ok though, and even autocompleted. I shoved the old 1.1 widget into 1.3 in fact, so I could keep autocomplete and it worked great, because 1.1 talked to 10.2.x whereas 1.3> didn't. I am finally migrating some trusty viewers from 1.3 to 2.5 and 2.7....

....Fast forward to 2018 with WAB 2.x and 10.5.x Suggest.  It needs refactoring. Anyone else noticing these issues with autocomplete? It may be more on the REST API side, of the Suggest, but I only use it through WAB. We just went to 10.5.1 from 10.2 and I'm on WAB 2.5 and 2.7. I also just noticed it doesn't list the address source, if it's composite. I would like it to say from "Address Points" then a bar below them "Centerline Ranges" etc. I'd be glad to beta test the next vers. This is an important widget. Now.. - huge props to Esri for doing a WAB 2.8 beta, that was just in the nick of time! Good pattern to keep. I'll hop to the 2.9 beta forum and work with whoever the folks on Search are to maybe hammer out this autocomplete thing.