Search Bug?

You bring up a good point. I see that it could be misunderstood, but by “show all” I meant “show all the records.” I generally like the idea that less controls is better, but in this case, it’s necessary to choose which field to search in because it is not a general search of the database.

The search form included in the plugin was never meant to be full-featured, I expect people who have specific search needs to create their own search controls, and many have done so.

I do appreciate feedback from a user-friendliness perspective, it’s very important to me, even if the plugin isn’t currently fully developed in that regard.

I share the same opinion with harleyquinn that the “show all” is not intuitive or user-friendly. I expected the search feature to be more robust.

You mentioned that others have created their own search controls. Could you point me in the right direction in coming up with a solution to this limitation? Is there an app I can add or is it PHP coding?

BTW: I admire tremendously your work on creating this plugin and also appreciate your involvement in supporting your product!
…mary

I understand the search function is very simple and is certainly not adequate for my applications. It has always been my plan to improve it, but that is on the horizon. The current state of things is that creating a more sophisticated search function is really only possible for an experienced programmer familiar with the use of WordPress hooks.

The approach I have been suggesting to people is using the do_shortcode function in a WP template, which allows you to build a filter statement into the shortcode based on the values submitted in a form.

The upcoming release will provide much better and easier ways to create a custom search, but it will still be a matter of coding your own. That release is still several weeks away.