Custom enhanced search function

[Steve]

Inspired by this thread:

Customize search? Make it search a table? Questions

Hi everyone I have a simple home inventory app, with tables for items, categories and locations. But when I’m on a “view” in the app that shows categories, clicking the search icon at the top just searches categories. I’d like to make it instead search items. Is that possible? If not, can I hide that top search icon? The other issue I’m having is that “search” is so literal. Searching “Usb cable” finds an item called ‘usb cable’ but not ‘usb black cable’. Is there a simple way…

I put together a sample app to perform a more free-form search rather than the literal search provided by the built-in search bar. The app uses slices, a dashboard view, and keeps searches isolated to each device.

https://www.appsheet.com/samples/community28312?appGuidString=2ea965d7-8656-4d9d-a9d2-ed3dc5ca5813

A huge limitation is that text manipulation in AppSheet is very difficult. The inability to easily isolate words from non-space non-words (e.g., punctuation) makes matching whole words difficult when the words are adjacent to non-space non-words. Would be nice to have EXTRACTWORDS()…

[tobyinla]

Oh DARNIT I was hoping you had magically solved the “partial search” problem with AppSheet lol. But this is awesome too! So good to have an example - wish I’d had this two weeks ago! :-))) The next person trying to do this should find it easier.

Yes it’s a massive, massive problem with AppSheet that “partial word” search just isn’t possible. When I search “light” I expect to find “lighting”, but its not possible. Insanity. Especially now from a Google product. LOL

My current workaround (it sucks) is to have a Keywords column in my table, and for each item I try to manually add variations (light lighting lighter lite) believe it or not. And make sure I don’t put any commas or periods or anything in there. (!!)

[tobyinla]

Also, Steve, if you think of any other way to say “partial word search”, please write it here so people desperately trying to find this info can find it! And know that it’s not possible before they hit their head against a brick wall too much lol

[Steve]

tobyinla:

I was hoping you had magically solved the “partial search” problem with AppSheet lol

My sample app does partial matching.

[tobyinla]

lol sorry I checked it out so fast as I have an insane day - so sorry!!!

[tobyinla]

Well done!! My head just exploded trying to figure out what you’re doing under the hood to make this work hahaha. I’ll get back to this and try to figure it out someday!!! Then try to implement it on my own stuff!