Using Drupal 6.19, Apache SOLR Search Integration v 6.x-1.2, Acquia Search v 6.x-1.5288.

In the Apache SOLR Search Integration module, there is a Current Search block... I gather from a number of developer conversations in posts on drupal.org that, at least at some point, the Current Search block was intended to work as an interactive additive/subtractive search interface, turning user queries (input via the search form) into filters dynamically to allow users to search within results. Conversations I read seemed to say that users could build a search that way:

1. User enters initial search terms via search form
2. Result set is displayed, and an initial link to filter on initial search terms, appears in Current Search Block w/ link to disable initial filter
3. Enter second set of search terms via search form
4. 2nd result set, filtered by both initial and secondary search terms, is displayed, and a second filter on second set of search terms, appears in addition to initial filter in Current Search Block w/ link to disable second filter
... etc

The above is exactly what I am looking for. But, as things stand I only get one single such filter at a time and upon entering a new search, a single new filter shows up, replacing the one from the previous search.

Have I misunderstood - is this by design, or should the Current Search block be working as described above for Apache SOLR Search Integration v 6.x-1.2?

Is it possible Acquia Search is overriding some of this functionality - it appears to be using hooks for some possibly related Apache SOLR Search Integration functions?

Would anyone be willing to help me understand how to go about customizing for such functionality?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks...

Comments

gaëlg’s picture

gaëlg
he/him
Primary language French
Location Lille, France
commented

It looks like you can only have one textual search filter at a time. What you can add then are facet filters (blocks "Filter by..."), and you'll see a checkbox under the textual search field which ask you if you want to remember current facet filters.

butler’s picture

butler commented

Thanks for the reply GaëlG - are you saying it is not possible to retain previous textual search filters, or that it is not possible without customization? Would something like theme_apachesolr_currentsearch make this possible? If so, any hints on where to start with that would be hugely appreciated - is there some way to retain the previous query and add it to the next one, or somehow convert the previous query to a filter so the remove link remains?

Re: faceting, the default available facets and any I have been able to create via Apache SOLR Facetbuilder won't work for this site - some background re: Facetbuilder and other issues for this site:

- users need to search 4 fields of content type Audio for field:value

- my client refuses to deal w/ taxonomy tagging of content - they need to be able to create and id3 tag Mp3 files, importing them en masse, and need that to be the end of their process. id3 metadata is replicated/stored with the Audio node on import, available as field:value

- fields for Audio node id3 metadata are not available via CCK

- (while I can build a View for field:value) Apache SOLR Facetbuilder can't seem to get past faceting on the field for a given View, and since there are no empty fields, faceting on the field is not helpful - returns a result set of all content for any of these 4 fields).

- re: the immediately above, in any case facets of all available field:value pairs for this site are a large enough set to be quite daunting in terms of navigation. On the other hand, field:values are being indexed, and are seen almost instantly by autocomplete in the search form, which is kind of awesome since users will know very well what they are looking for.

... so my conclusion has been that any filtering/faceting would need to be dynamic based on user input. Does anyone see anything I'm missing or any ways to approach this?

Thanks very much again for any replies.

gaëlg’s picture

gaëlg
he/him
Primary language French
Location Lille, France
commented

I meant it's not possible without customization. If you dive into the code, you might be able to do what you need. I don't know the module enough to be more helpful. Maybe someone else could help. You may first have a look at the apachesolr hooks documentation, understand the module's code and maybe the basics of the solr schema too.

butler’s picture

butler commented

... and thanks again... yes, I am really hoping someone who knows the Apache SOLR Search Integration module well, will weigh in here.

pwolanin’s picture

pwolanin commented

The current search block will show the keywords and ALL the filters that are applied to the current search. You can remove them one at a time by clicking them.

butler’s picture

butler commented

pwolanin, thanks for your reply, and also for your efforts vis a vis this great new (-ish?) functionality. I would like to leverage Apache Solr Search Integration/Acquia to accomplish some sort of search within results interface for users - i.e. somehow queries generated by the search form persist, can be added to, ideally can be disabled.

The needs of the site I'm working on are not covered by any out-of-the-box functionality provided by Apache Solr Search Integration. Basically CCK and Taxonomy are circumvented. Users need to search Audio node metadata imported from audio (mp3) file metadata via id3. This metadata is not saved in CCK fields and has no relationship with the Drupal Taxonomy system. This metadata does show up as field:value in Views.

If you have another moment, do you have any ideas re: a direction or where I could start in terms of customizing functionality available in Apache Solr Search Integration, to accomplish some kind of search within results interface for users?

Thanks again...

pwolanin’s picture

pwolanin commented

Evolving web has done some interesting UI work: https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dfmz85hd_297fjkj42f3

butler’s picture

butler commented

And thanks again for the reply pwolanin. I had seen that doc/presentation and looked at some other SOLR info from Evolving Web I found online/from links on this site. Unfortunately there is little in terms of specifics which would help me, at an intermediate skill level, get a handle on actually accomplishing (I can think UIs up all day long but implementing is another story) any kind of SOLR user interface that will work for the site I am working on.

I have also tried your Apache SOLR Facetbuilder module (did you also work on that - I think another thank you is due you?) and came back to that in the last few days, but can't get where I need to with it either. I will post separately on that.

pwolanin’s picture

pwolanin commented
Status: Active » Closed (fixed)