Search Functionality (1 Viewer)

[fforde]

Looking for a bit of input on how search functionality should work with the categories system. Basically I am debating on whether the search should always search your entire collection or if it should be context sensitive. If I enter the plugin, click on Genres, click on Action, then click search, should the results be restricted to the Action category? Or should it search your entire collection (minus parental control restricted movies)?

 

[Inker]

I initially thought context sensitive, but then I figured it is probably more annoying when it doesn't work, then it gains you when it works. Realistically, what is the average movie collection size? And for any realistic search, would you get so many results out of the category you are in that it makes the search seem to "not work", as opposed to when you do actually just want to search for a movie, figure out that you first have to get out of "Action", then out of Genre, then into "All movies".

Therefor, I think search should be searching your entire collection.

 

[pgjensen]

how about putting the current category in the top results and then still search the entire catalog and put those results below that?

 

[SilentException]

Maybe context sensitive search as default.. And last facade item "Search more (entire collection)..."

 

[Shukuyen]

Maybe context sensitive search as default.. And last facade item "Search more (entire collection)..."

This is what I would have proposed, too

 

[mpsam]

Maybe context sensitive search as default.. And last facade item "Search more (entire collection)..."

+1

 

[RoChess]

Search in current position (be it genre/category/etc): "example"
Search entire collection: "?example"

 

[MrCrabs]

AW: Re: Search Functionality

Maybe context sensitive search as default.. And last facade item "Search more (entire collection)..."

+4 (My wife, two children and me)

 

[floeti]

Maybe context sensitive search as default.. And last facade item "Search more (entire collection)..."

and another +1

I like the idea of pgjensen too, but maybe would have negative impact on performance with large collection. So proposal of SilentException is the best, in my opinion.

Masking the "search entire collection"-feature with some weird and hard to remember character (like RoChess proposed) will definitely lower the WAF...

 

[fforde]

Thanks for all the great feedback guys. I think I agree, a context sensitive search that is easily expandable to the entire collection makes the most sense.

The additional item in the facade where you can click "Search Entire Collection..." or something like that might be problematic though because the search output could theoretically be viewed in thumbnail, filmstrip or coverflow views in addition to a list view. I guess we could always just let the skin designer come up with some cover shaped artwork for this though. Maybe a big stylized magnifying glass.

I like pgjensen's idea as well, to just prioritize results in the current context first. We could even partition this with our section headers. Again though, this might cause problems in thumbnail, filmstrip, etc views where it would be more difficult to clearly delineate the different categories of results.