Online search

[Marek Scholtz]

Hi guys, I am glad to introduce our new version of online search system. It consists of two main sections:

1. Suggestions

• Provides 4 main types of suggestions (Historical searches, Categories, Pois and Places)
• Historical searches are available for both logged in and not logged in users and each item can be deleted by trash icon.
• Click on category navigates to Results above map section.
• If user is not satisfied with suggestions and exact term is already typed, pressing search icon on keyboard navigates also to Results above map.

2. Results above map

• Shows items from previously selected category or results by exact term.
• In case of category, results are reloaded automatically by map movement, otherwise Search this area button is available.
• First visible item in result list is highlighted on map.

Regarding implementation - tree of four "segments" are in house built from scratch, and can be somehow "fixed", or "adjusted". These are history, category, point of interest. Category search is based on language specific dictionaries written by some of the Locus community translators. (Thanks again!). These can also be adjusted or even build for new languages - currently EN, DE, CS, PL, IT is supported, other languages just work in the very bare bone sense. For places (towns, cities, villages, admin. boundaries, streets, street numbers), some third party service is used. There is rather slim chance we can "fix" it, unfortunately.

New online search is available from version 4.16.0.2 (http://bit.ly/lmVersionsTest). Thank you in advance for all feedback!

[Tapio]

First thoughts about the search. It's a good approach.

1. Preferable for the average user base.
2. The offline db based search screams for the same unification? I'd really love it.
3. Problem. Entered a street name. First few letters typed it was good priorities, closest town street appeared, but after more letters similar streets from more important cities appeared and the street here in close vicinity wasn't listed any more.
4. Some Icons are just too small for this type of dialoue - peaks
5. The Hamburger Menu is every time shaking, if I use another search. Not just one time in order to take notice
6. Screenshot. That screen can be removed. It was some approach of Menion to make offline search easier. But people who use it don't need that. It's somewhat disturbing the ui flow. I always go back as a first step there
7. Results, presentation on map... it's special 😁 Will need more testing first before I comment.

[Tapio]

If I pick a category like "Shelter", it displays other categories like peaks, as dots. But I didn't ask for those. Their color permanently changes while moving map.

[Tapio]

Oh, I notice a disadvantage: there is no possibility to browse POI categories hierarchically.

[luce]

When searching for a POI, e.g. a bank, the online search is sorting the results according to my current location, not according to the cursor's position. This makes it impossible to search something in a distant place.

[Radim V]

I tried to reproduce the cursor vs GPS location problem. Currently I am in Prague, but my cursor is near Pilsen. See the screenshots. If I search for "Shell", all top results are situated around Pilsen. This is expected and in accordance with the logic: In case that map window is available, use it, otherwise use the fallback to GPS location. 

[Marek Scholtz]

Hi guys, new version 4.16.0.3 has been released with some fixes and improvements. Thank you for feedback!

@Tapio
2. It is definitely not the end of search rework. 🙂
3. For places third party service is used, so we don't have full control over it.
5. Yes, it was shaking for years, so we disabled animation.
(8.) if you are zoomed enough and all points from the selected category are already displayed, we show also points from another categories. There is the same solution on web.
(9.) Should be discussed next weeks.

[luce]

Hello Radim,

concerning the cursor vs. GPS Position issue: I found out the "problem" was on my side:

Sometimes the online search shows up two similar "latest search" results (see screenshot). One is with location, one without.

Maybe yesterday I clicked on the wrong one with "Vienna" while my cursor was somewhere 100 km away.

So --> sorry, my fault.

[luce]

But still there is an other faulty behaviour: When I search for "Supermarkt" in a distant place, I get a supermarket around the cursor position in Austria, then one far away in Germany, then one in Austria, then one in Germany

See video: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AredTfs4J1f5gvAIW6FgiDlbWVMfcQ

[Andrew Heard]

I'm finding similar - tried online address search for "laundromat" in Ireland but the closest points start 1,000km away in Denmark! A Google Maps search correctly finds a point 1km away.

[Tapio]

(8.) if you are zoomed enough and all points from the selected category are already displayed, we show also points from another categories. There is the same solution on web.

But I didn't ask Locus to show something else... IMO that makes no sense in a search context.
And tapping those points (without without really knowing what they are) makes the search results disappear.

Speaking of "making sense" - sometimes the whole bottom window is just not useful. Of course depends on the results, but maybe you can add something useful, like distance, idk... Screenshot related.

Will you unify the offline LoPoints system as well at some point?

A problem: see screenshot, if I tap on the parking icons on map one by one, then accidentally miss one and tap beside it, the search is gone.

[michaelbechtold]

Tried online search, with disappointing experience, when it comes to results.
Reason: the Locus object repository is way too weak.
Do we have to use Google Maps first, then transfer the results to Locus?
Or did I miss a magic configuration option?

[Tapio]

When entering street names, some kind of auto completion is needed. If we know street and no. of house it's cumbersome to enter.

Yes it's tragic, search system will be compared with Google Maps 😁

Also I was thinking it's not perfect to add every searched item to the history entries. A more user organised approach is missing.

[michaelbechtold]

The search we Locus had so far allowed to select the search engine. There should be no step back from that.
In fact, there should be what the Locus search team built so far PLUS the search engine selection (only active when internet connection exists).
Such combines the strengths of the existing with the new functionality.

[TrulloF]

I think the new search function is a big improvement. I always grieved about the loss of GooglePlaces search, but with this solution it's quite comfortable to search for bakeries and stuff.