[DONE in 2.1.1] Search Options

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AlCan
Posts: 150
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:00 pm
Location: New Zealand

[DONE in 2.1.1] Search Options

Post by AlCan »

Hi again DWP / Camel,

I know you have already touched on this question in another post about Advanced Searching:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2454&p=3515&hilit=search#p3515

However, I would like to request a similar feature. I love many things about DWP, but this area might be better still!

In my case, I am a new adopter of DW Contacts... I am busy filling up my phone with many business contacts. I am filling up as much information as possible under each contact because I work out of my car and you never know when you'll need a certain detail. That means my phone is getting filled with many repeated names and words, which means Searching can be difficult because I may get too many results.

Here is a case in point.

In my country, "John" is a very common name. What's worse is that the Company I work for is named after someone called John. Let's says it's called "John Bush Limited". We have quite a few employees, so I have entered many of their names, and put them under the organisation "John Bush". That means I can find my colleagues easily under an Organisation search.

However, if I want to search for someone called John under Contacts, the result list starts with myself (since my name starts with A), then a bunch more people from my company who are also not called John, then the 'real' Johns further down the list. That is because it is finding the word John in the Organisation data and giving it the same priority as people whose contact name starts with John.

While I think this is Fantastic - to be able to search the whole Contacts Database is great - but only when I want to. Could the Search be changed please?

When you search in "Contacts", could you restrict the Search to only contact names (first name and last name), (or at least, change the Result Order to put the people named John ahead of those who work for John Bush or live in John Street or Johnsonville)? Could you also add a "Deep Search" to another Tab button please? Currently, under Toolbox, there's a Search option but when you open it, it says "Search in Contacts" in the Search Box. There are no other choices.

Could you add a drop down box with various other search types to that Search Tool, please? Or, maybe even better, upgrade the Search tab to a proper, Advanced Search tool that allows you to include or exclude searching in any Data Field? That would be great! Even better if it allowed Multiple Search fields, like Search for Electricians who work in Johnsonville?

Many thanks!
Al
(using DWP V2.0.9.1)
Currently (i.e Now, not necessarily the date of this post)
using DW Contacts & Dialer version 2.5.3.0-pro
On Motorola Defy with Android 2.2.2 (Work Phone)
camel
Posts: 668
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:38 pm

Re: Search Options

Post by camel »

hi,
as you can see on posting:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2345
it is planned:
we will add to version 2.0.10:
.) add to search key words -> "OR and "AND" or "+" and "-" (we can make: "AND" / "OR" / "NOT")
then it will be working like:

john NOT wilson -> will find all "john", and NOT allowed to find "wilson"
then you have more posibilities

the tabs can be set as visible, then you can easily click on tab "search"
(to setup: see dwc -> settings -> tab settings -> sort and hide

for your understanding:
tab "search" -> search in all fields
tab "contacts" -> search onl yin name fields
tab "phone" -> t9-search -> can setup as you like (see dwc-settings-> t9-search settings)

cu camel
AlCan
Posts: 150
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:00 pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: Search Options ("Bug")

Post by AlCan »

Great! Sorry, I missed it under General.

Thanks for the additional details about current searching, and what is planned.

May I ask you to add a different Search Feature as a higher priority than the Advanced Search features you are already planning?

I'm pretty sure that the feature I'm asking for is already partly implemented, but just doesn't quite work yet, so I'm pretty sure it will be only a few minutes work to fix it and add what I'm asking for. I hope so anyway!

What I would like is this:

A new feature that allows you to jump "directly" (while, not quite, but almost) from contact to contact by Organisation.

What I mean is that when you have one contact open (for which you have an Organisation listed), then clicking on that Organisation will directly initiate a Search for that Organisation name, and list the results for all the Contacts in that Organisation. That way, it will be possible to quickly jump from one person in an Organisation to any other in the same Organisation.

This is a feature I would use very often in my work, as it is quite common to talk with one person in a Company, then have to talk to someone else immediately afterward in order to move something forward. Especially when someone calls you, and you then need to call back to someone else. Alternatively, when calling an Organisation, and the first person you call is not available, you want to try someone else. This is also a very common thing to want to do, and by simply being able to click on the Organisation in the already open contact would make it so quick and easy. (I believe the real advantage of a great Contact Manager program is to make life easier and more efficient!)

Now, to explain what I meant about this feature already being partly implemented:

When I first installed DWC (-reg), I found that quite often, when selecting a contact from a Search Results list, instead of opening the desired Contact, it would open a new Search Result panel, with just the one Search Result listed. I thought this was a weird, random bug that was something to do with click (tap) time - either tapping too fast or too slowly. The funny thing is, sometimes it would happen, over and over again, until the Contact itself would finally open. Other times, it wouldn't happen at all. It seemed like a bug...

Well, today, after I installed the Pro version, I realised it's not a tapping issue at all. It ONLY happens when tapping on a Contact that has an Organisation (or Title) listed in the Search Results list. Other Contacts just open as you'd expect.

What is actually happening is that instead of tapping on the top two lines of the Contact summary in the Search Results list, I was actually tapping on the 3rd line - not realising it was any different from the top 2 lines.

However, it is clearly different, and what it does is initiate a new, multi-variable Search, using the Contact Name and the Organisation name together. That is why it only lists the one result, because (hopefully) you only have one person with the same Name and Organisation in your Contacts. And that is why you can do it over and over again, because it lists the same contact, with the same Organisation data, so it just gives the same result each time. It would be a very useful feature, if it worked right!

But (as it turns out I have been doing), if you also create a separate Contact for each Organisation, with the same Contact NAME as the Organisation name, and you tap on the Organisation block (on the 3rd line) of the "Organisation" contact, the new Search Result lists ALL the contacts in the same Organisation. This is how I figured out what was happening, when I suddenly got a multi-line Search Result instead of the single result I'd been getting before. (Instead of searching for NAME + Organisation, you are now searching on NAME + Name (or ORGANISATION + Organisation depending on how you look at it) - but it becomes a single term search, so produces multiple results!

I'm sure this isn't really meant to happen, which is why I've called it a bug.

However, if you modified this feature slightly, and dropped the Contact Name from the Search so that only the Organisation was searched, it would go part of the way to what I want.

If you also added a jump to the exact same code (I guess) when you tap on an Organisation line in a Contact detail view, you would give me exactly what I want. It would also "Complete" the Contact Detail listing, in that for a fully populated Contact, every other line causes some useful action. The only one that does nothing is the Organisation block. All the rest perform useful functions: Phone numbers -> Dialer, E-mail -> Mailer, Address -> Maps, Contact visibility shows the details, Linked profiles shows what it says...

If Organisation performed an immediate Search for all contacts in that Organisation, wouldn't that be great?

Is it as easy to do as it seems?

Looking forward to your comments!

Best regards,
Al
Currently (i.e Now, not necessarily the date of this post)
using DW Contacts & Dialer version 2.5.3.0-pro
On Motorola Defy with Android 2.2.2 (Work Phone)
AlCan
Posts: 150
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:00 pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: Search Options

Post by AlCan »

Hi Camel,

Ok, I don't know what's going on! !!!

Today, when I use the "Organisation" block in a Search Result list contact (as described above), now it seems to work as I would expect. It lists the other contacts for that Organisation, which is what I'd want.

Yet previously, I kept on getting a single contact search result. I must be have been doing it somehow differently then. Sorry to waste your time to read all that... But if I can figure out what was happening before, I'll let you know.

Regarding the Organisation Search from the contact details screen, having looked at it further, I see the contact details view is still part of the Android system, not part of DWC, so I guess it may not be as easy as I hoped, or even possible from that screen. I'm guessing that means you would have to create a Contact Details screen as well.

I would like that though. I am currently using the White-based DWC theme and I like it much better. It seems to be easier to see in a bright environment, such as in-car. But the Android display is still black based. So if it was all DWP-based, the theme would be consistent at least as far as the Contact detail screen.

Can you easily implement the Organisation Search from the existing Contact detail view?

Best,
Al
Currently (i.e Now, not necessarily the date of this post)
using DW Contacts & Dialer version 2.5.3.0-pro
On Motorola Defy with Android 2.2.2 (Work Phone)
camel
Posts: 668
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:38 pm

Re: Search Options

Post by camel »

AlCan wrote:Hi Camel,

Can you easily implement the Organisation Search from the existing Contact detail view?
no, this is not easy, because on almost every ROM and every different android version the system application "contact" (viewer class) is different.
if we will add such kind of contact viewer class, which is possible in theory, would mean, that we can fight against all different versions, and to fight to support ~8.000 different android versions (manufacturer contact viewer classes). this is a mess and a never ending story.
so, the best is:
1.) i will ask my friend, which made "Contact Editor Pro" - maybe he can add a contact viewer class
2.) ask your manufacturer how to change the design and how to add there some new functions
3.) ask google about to implement such kind of search function.

but sorry, i don'T know, why you really need that - if you want to work with organization - use tab organization for it.

cu camel
AlCan
Posts: 150
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:00 pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: Search Options

Post by AlCan »

Hi Camel,

Thanks for your comments. I thought it might be like that - too difficult because it's outside your scope. But if you COULD create your own Contact Detail viewer for DWC, then my theme would be the same all the way, and the details would be SO much easier for me to read. (I'm getting to the age where I start to become long sighted, and in the car during the day, it's even more difficult. I use the White theme and larger fonts which actually works very well.)

The reason I'd like it (and Yes, I already do use the Organisation Tab frequently) is just to make life even easier.

However, I have figured out how to do what I want without so much trouble. Just go to DW Phone, find the relevant caller then click on the "Organisation" block in their entry. That takes me to the Organisation Search results, so it's almost as easy. Almost...

But I'm wondering if you can make a few small tweaks in that area, please?

Even with a larger font size, it is quite difficult to accurately tap on the thin Organisation block in the contact listing, especially when the phone is in a cradle, in the car.... Usually, I end up getting the detail listing instead of the Organisation list, or I get the detail list of the next contact down, or I do a Long Tap without meaning to.

I have thought of two ways to improve this.

Long tap is one, but it doesn't list "Organisation search" in the options. Could you add that, please? Maybe put it where Edit Contact is now (so it appears on the screen without having to scroll), and move Edit contact down. Maybe get rid of "Call xxxxxxx" because it isn't really necessary (I don't think). Or, move it to the bottom of the first page, above "More >"?

Alternatively, could you add an extra screen (like a small contact details screen) that lists the main details for the contact - like other numbers, Organisation, E-mail address, (between the Contact list and the Contact Details screen) so you can take action (still in DWC) without having to go to the contact details screen (which in the Defy is not user friendly anyway)? From there, you could easily select "Organisation", or whatever...?

As it happens, I'm about to buy Contact Editor Pro anyway - before I read your comment - so I'll see how that works and see if it's still a good idea.

Cheers,
Al
Currently (i.e Now, not necessarily the date of this post)
using DW Contacts & Dialer version 2.5.3.0-pro
On Motorola Defy with Android 2.2.2 (Work Phone)
camel
Posts: 668
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:38 pm

Re: Search Options

Post by camel »

AlCan wrote:Hi Camel,

Thanks for your comments. I thought it might be like that - too difficult because it's outside your scope. But if you COULD create your own Contact Detail viewer for DWC, then my theme would be the same all the way, and the details would be SO much easier for me to read. (I'm getting to the age where I start to become long sighted, and in the car during the day, it's even more difficult. I use the White theme and larger fonts which actually works very well.)

The reason I'd like it (and Yes, I already do use the Organisation Tab frequently) is just to make life even easier.

However, I have figured out how to do what I want without so much trouble. Just go to DW Phone, find the relevant caller then click on the "Organisation" block in their entry. That takes me to the Organisation Search results, so it's almost as easy. Almost...

But I'm wondering if you can make a few small tweaks in that area, please?

Even with a larger font size, it is quite difficult to accurately tap on the thin Organisation block in the contact listing, especially when the phone is in a cradle, in the car.... Usually, I end up getting the detail listing instead of the Organisation list, or I get the detail list of the next contact down, or I do a Long Tap without meaning to.

I have thought of two ways to improve this.

Long tap is one, but it doesn't list "Organisation search" in the options. Could you add that, please? Maybe put it where Edit Contact is now (so it appears on the screen without having to scroll), and move Edit contact down. Maybe get rid of "Call xxxxxxx" because it isn't really necessary (I don't think). Or, move it to the bottom of the first page, above "More >"?

Alternatively, could you add an extra screen (like a small contact details screen) that lists the main details for the contact - like other numbers, Organisation, E-mail address, (between the Contact list and the Contact Details screen) so you can take action (still in DWC) without having to go to the contact details screen (which in the Defy is not user friendly anyway)? From there, you could easily select "Organisation", or whatever...?

As it happens, I'm about to buy Contact Editor Pro anyway - before I read your comment - so I'll see how that works and see if it's still a good idea.

Cheers,
Al
well, as told before.... i contacted devel of "contact editor pro",a nd he will add a contact viewer, too. so it is not needed to investiage this in DWC.hopefully it is soone ready.
meanwhile i looked to different apps in google market -> and there is not a good app for contact viewer ;(, so you must wait, til a contact viewer will be made
AlCan
Posts: 150
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:00 pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: Search Options

Post by AlCan »

Hi again camel,

Ahh, okay. Great! Thanks again.

Didn't know you had already done that. Marten didn't mention it to me, though I did mention it to him in my discussions about what can be done.

I found a couple of small bugs in CE that he is going to fix. Maybe he's busy on that.

So I look forward to the new additions in due course.

Cheers,
A
Currently (i.e Now, not necessarily the date of this post)
using DW Contacts & Dialer version 2.5.3.0-pro
On Motorola Defy with Android 2.2.2 (Work Phone)
camel
Posts: 668
Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:38 pm

Re: Search Options

Post by camel »

AlCan wrote:Hi again camel,

Ahh, okay. Great! Thanks again.

Didn't know you had already done that. Marten didn't mention it to me, though I did mention it to him in my discussions about what can be done.

I found a couple of small bugs in CE that he is going to fix. Maybe he's busy on that.

So I look forward to the new additions in due course.

Cheers,
A
thanks for your feedback ...
maarten is investigation on it ...
meanwhile the new version DWC 2.1 is ready.
cu camel
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