LiveSearch | September 29, 2004

What a cool idea. A live search ala Spotlight for your site. The slickest implementation I’ve seen so far is over at CollyLogic.

However the search doesn’t work with Javascript turned off, which is a bit of a problem. The next logical step would be to check that the necessary objects are available, and if not, display a regular search box instead. It would also be a really good idea to separate the behaviour from the display. That way you could add the livetext.js file to any page and it would automatically add the behaviour to any search boxes it finds.

Posted at September 29, 2004 12:37 PM

Comments

Colly said on September 29, 2004 11:51 PM

Thanks Andy - as stated in the article it is a work in progress. The originators did develop the idea well, but making it sync with my CMS has been tricky. I really need it to search inside entries too - not just article titles.

Agreed regarding javascript on/off. It also doesn’t work with pre-Panther Safari, and some older browsers, hence the help (?) link next to the search field. Basically, I deemed it too useful to exclude just because of sporadic support, although offering alternatives would have supported this standpoint.

As suggested in the article, once it’s fully resolved, I’ll aim to offer it as a download, although the Live Search wiki (http://blog.bitflux.ch/wiki/LiveSearch) is the best place to learn more…

Rob Mientjes said on September 30, 2004 6:32 AM

Michael Heilemann of Binary Bonsai does it so you can still search it the old-fashioned way. So it does work with JS turned off.

Andy Budd said on September 30, 2004 9:37 AM

Yes, Michael’s approach is a little better. However he doesn’t show the search button, which I see as a bit of a usability issue.

Still, I do realise it’s all work in progress and I think when these few small issues are sorted, the live search idea will be a cool addition to many blogs.

Jay said on October 2, 2004 12:01 PM

I really love the implementation on Maniacal Rage