Let's Talk About Dolphin Search

I need more information on using Dolphin search to return relevant results.  For one, I noticed there is no way to include/exclude fields; I would have to create a different section for each field.  For example, I have a section that includes several attributes; from what I am seeing there is no way for me to choose three of the attributes of the section and exclude the others; for example, searching on film genre without searching on music and the select boxes in Dolphin always includes one of the options in the list.  Or what if I want to search profiles on hair colour and have it match any eye colour?  If eye colour is in the search section, then it comes into play even though I don't care about eye colour in the search.

Seriously, we need to talk about the search.  It needs some rework.  Has anyone tackled the search?  Which files are involved in the search function?  Even the keyword search needs work; it was returning every photo on the site.

never used it, always found it to be simply horrible in every way :-)

We need to work on search, any help on this?

Without a decent search engine, Dolphin is a piece of crap for use as a dating platform and many other applications as well.

I have to agree with geek_girl.

The search function is not good enough for those with dating sites. There seems to be no way of offering multiple search parameters and allowing users to choose maybe two or three parameters from those listed. They have to choose all which then returns much less members due to the search being too specific.

At the moment, I currently have:

• Simple search
• Quick search
• Advanced search

I have tried all kinds of combinations to satisfy my members but I am finding it too difficult to keep everyone happy. The problem is that any field I add into one of the search options above must have an answer selected which makes the searching of members very complicated.

It is making the searches too specific, which means that each search returns less results because for the members to appear in someone's search results, they have to match up exactly with the requirements of the search option used.

It would be much simpler to have many parameters within one search option only where people can choose what they would like to search for. This would mean that any search parameters not selected would not affect the result.

For example, if you had the search parameters with the following options:

• Gender - Male/Female
• Hair colour - Brown/Blonde/Black/Auburn
• Orientation - Straight/Gay/Bisexual
• Eye colour - Brown/Blue/Green

and you wanted to search for a blonde female but you do not care about eye colour or sexual orientation, using the current search system there is no way of leaving the eye colour and orientation field blank. Therefore you are forced into making a choice for eye colour and orientation which makes your search too specific, thus returning less results.

Is there a way to include more fields in the search function but to leave the choice of which fields each member wants to base their search up to that individual?

I hope this makes sense.

The Search  and the apps are dead boring..  Members Hate them.

Exactly the problem as I have been trying to explain.  The search engine form builder is the same as the join/profile edit.  This needs to be separate.  We can not build proper search forms to conduct proper queries.

Members hate the search because the way it is currently set up, it is worthless.  We can not build the search forms that allows members the power to search for other members.  This is a must for some sites such as dating sites.  It is a good chance that if we had known that Dolphin has such a shitty search feature, we would not have spent the money.  How has anyone created a dating site with such a useless search application where you can not build proper search forms?

@Andrew Boon - Surely you can see the importance of sorting out the search function?

I am quite sure that you want people using your product if they want to set up a dating site. If they can't get the functionality out of Dolphin they will end up using one of your competitors' products that actually have a product with a search facility that works for dating sites.

This issue has been going on for years, when members such as Caltrade tried getting a "NULL" value to be made available in predefined fields.

http://www.boonex.com/forums/#topic/Cannot-null-a-dropdown-from-a-predefined-values.htm

Here is another reference made toward it by other members, including Houstonlively.

http://www.boonex.com/forums/topic/How-to-Default-Null-Drop-list-value-.htm

Please, please, please get one or more of your guys on this. It is costing me as well as many others with dating sites the valuable price of members and once they are gone, it is virtually impossible to get them back.

It's time to invest in your long term members' needs, don't you agree? :)

Here is a link to a more recent mention to it which was completely ignored.

http://www.boonex.com/forums/?action=goto&search=1#topic/Predefined-Values-make-NULL-.htm 

AntonLV has addressed this issue with a $20.00 module that lets you have different controls on the search from the join/profile edit forms and allows you to set the control to a null value.

Audanbal kindly pointed me to the following link: http://www.boonex.com/m/advanced-search-form

Now I think it's great that AntonLV has created this solution and I am in no way trying to deny him to earning some cash for his fabulous efforts, but why is such an important feature such as this not actually been bought out by Boonex from AntonLV and incorporated as an upgrade? 

I have not yet installed it (but soon will) but it sounds as though he has resolved an issue that was first asked to be resolved back in the days of Dolphin 6.x.x..

Your question is one that has been asked before on other areas as well and I don't know the answer; perhaps Andrew Boon might answer if so inclined.

Here is a corollary to your question; third party developers have fixed issues or added features and offered them to Andrew free of charge to be included yet they were not integrated into Dolphin.

I have never heard the word "corollary" before. Thank you for teaching such a cool word.

By the way, it would be nice if Andrew did try to explain your corollary.

Oh gosh, this issue has been there forever - and I doubt very much Boonex will ever do anything about it.  It worked fine in 6.1 but as I understand some of their comments they "forgot" to use the right code when they made 7.0 - but promised it for every release since.  It more or less destroyed the entire reason for being for one of my sites but Boonex seems to consider it unimportant.  The "dead guy" ran interference for them on this for almost a year confusing an issue that was difficult, but not impossible to explain.  I am not optimistic they will ever do anything about it. 

My members are pissed and confused with good reason.

Get AntonLV's module from the market that allows you to change the search form; you can change to checkboxes and such.

Then go into the profile fields builder (yes, that is where you build your search forms).  Click on the search in the top links and you will be in the search builder.  Build your search forms the way you want.  AntonLV's module then allows you to have null entries and change multiple select to check boxes, etc.

Also, look at the text fields search, you can add the profile text fields to the search as well.

PM me if you are interested in offering a job.