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AJAX and Mobile

1/27/2014 11:59:39 PM
PHPRunner General questions
S
SkyForum author

I have a question. Why can't we use the Ajax search functionality in the mobile version? I have a DB that has literally 2 thousand license plates listed in it. In the desktop version I can set it up as a drop down, then enable the Ajax feature and this gives me a text box that searches the data by the string or partial string entered. It is a very good way to tell if that plate already exists in the DB.
In the mobile version of the same page, I cannot make use of this functionality. I am forced back to a drop down menu. Obviously, a drop down menu with several thousand choices just won't do especially on a mobile device...
If I disable the mobile side of my site and go to the page with this search box on my mobile device in desktop mode, the Ajax function seems to work just fine. The only drawback to this approach is how the regular web page displays on the mobile device.
So, the question remains. How come the AJAX functionality is not available in the mobile version of phprunner?

R
rstackhouse 1/28/2014

ditto.. seen the same thing.. with 80,000 entries .. the iphone sort of melts.
I also notice that safari (windows browser) will open a new tab for each search that AJAX does

Sergey Kornilov admin 1/30/2014

In version 7.1 we are adding one of options that will provide AJAX based search through lookup wizard in Mobile version.

HJB 2/3/2014

In version 7.1 we are adding one of options that will provide AJAX based search through lookup wizard in mobile version.

unquote
Rather than to use the wording "it really rocks" here, I want to use the term "late 2013 XMAS gift" here as I can see my 530 sea ports records table content to rotate under AJAX on a tiny mobile gadget already by now. So, like a child, excitingly waiting for Santa Claus, I now only need to cool down on the promised 47th/5th instant release of v7.1, stay tuned, Sergey, you did it ...
P.S. Re-citing with many thanks your 2nd April 2008 delivered hint on my query to only start AJAX after 3rd character entry:

Quote
sure, just modify searchSuggest function in include\ajaxsuggest.js file:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

function searchSuggest(oEvent,oElement,searchType)

{

if(oElement.value.length<3) return;

oEvent=window.event || oEvent;

S
SkyForum author 2/3/2014



In version 7.1 we are adding one of options that will provide AJAX based search through lookup wizard in mobile version.

unquote
Rather than to use the wording "it really rocks" here, I want to use the term "late 2013 XMAS gift" here as I can see my 530 sea ports records table content to rotate under AJAX on a tiny mobile gadget already by now. So, like a child, excitingly waiting for Santa Claus, I now only need to cool down on the promised 47th/5th instant release of v7.1, stay tuned, Sergey, you did it ...
P.S. Re-citing with many thanks your 2nd April 2008 delivered hint on my query to only start AJAX after 3rd character entry:

Quote
sure, just modify searchSuggest function in include\ajaxsuggest.js file:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

function searchSuggest(oEvent,oElement,searchType)

{

if(oElement.value.length<3) return;

oEvent=window.event || oEvent;


Oh cool. That was going to be my next question. !! Thanks! I have also put my project on hold until 7.1 arrives. I need that added functionality for what I am doing.

S
SkyForum author 2/7/2014



In version 7.1 we are adding one of options that will provide AJAX based search through lookup wizard in Mobile version.


Have been testing the new version. Ajax search is not working properly in mobile. regular drop down menus display as list boxes and Ajax search does not return any results. Tried on 3 different android phones as well as the windows phone I have. I have given up on the Windows phones.
I can buiold the pages in desktop mode and the ajax search works perfectly, even on the android phones but for some reason, in mobile mode, it completely fails...

Sergey Kornilov admin 2/7/2014

I'm struggling to understand what exactly you trying to say. I do understand that you tried many things and all of them "failing".
Here is an example for you:

http://demo.asprunner.net/volinrok_yahoo_com/Project24v71/Cars_add.php
Open it from your mobile device, click 'Select' button next to Make field, run search etc. As we promised, we made Lookup wizard in 'List page with search' mode work in mobile mode.

S
SkyForum author 2/7/2014



I'm struggling to understand what exactly you trying to say. I do understand that you tried many things and all of them "failing".
Here is an example for you:

http://demo.asprunne...71/Cars_add.php
Open it from your mobile device, click 'Select' button next to Make field, run search etc. As we promised, we made Lookup wizard in 'List page with search' mode work in mobile mode.


Ok, I think we are talking about 2 different things. I am probably describing it wrong. I'm going to make a little video & post the link here. Then we can be on the same page....

S
SkyForum author 2/7/2014



Ok, I think we are talking about 2 different things. I am probably describing it wrong. I'm going to make a little video & post the link here. Then we can be on the same page....


Ok, here is a quick video. It shows the desktop version as compared to the mobile version. I am using Google Chrome Canary to create the virtual mobile so I apologize, it's a little hinky but does reflect the problems I am having.

A couple clarifications.

  1. Unlike everyone else on the planet, I search vehicles by their model, not the make. Since there is only 1 model of car across all the makes, you can eliminate several steps in the process. I then concat the make to the model in the search list. For example, typing 'Cam' into the search box comes back with 'Camaro, Chevrolet' Neat, clean and very quick to use.
  2. When we enter a license plate, we need to know if we've ever had contact with that plate before. Entering 'abc' in the search box returns several plates with 'abc' in the string. I have this box set to allow new entries so we can continue recording the violation if it does not already exist.

This is the exact function I am trying to get working in the mobile version. As you will see watching the vid, the mobile version just doesn't come anywhere near doing what I need it to do. In essence, I need the mobile version to act just like the desktop version.
I have uploaded the vid to screencast, please review.
http://screencast.com/t/rypG6aqz

Sergey Kornilov admin 2/7/2014

The control you use in desktop mode is Lookup Wizard in 'Edit box with AJAX popup'. The only Lookup wizard with search capability in mobile mode we have added in version 7.1 is 'List page with search'.
At some point we are going to make 'Edit box with AJAX popup' work in mobile mode as well. Unfortunately this is not a quick fix.

HJB 2/7/2014

quote

2. When we enter a license plate, we need to know if we've ever had contact with that plate before. Entering 'abc' in the search box returns several plates with 'abc' in the string. I have this box set to allow new entries so we can continue recording the violation if it does not already exist.

unquote
... why not using the "avoid duplicate" feature inside PHPRunner to get the problem ""f we've had ever had contact with that plate before" under control? Say, whether you or anybody else is trying to enter an "already stored license plate", he would fail to enter a new record at all, so..., talking about built-in basics in regard to "Need to know if we've ever had contact...", it would be just a simple mouse-click away ..., by activating "avoid duplicate" function inside PHPRunner ...

S
SkyForum author 2/7/2014



quote

2. When we enter a license plate, we need to know if we've ever had contact with that plate before. Entering 'abc' in the search box returns several plates with 'abc' in the string. I have this box set to allow new entries so we can continue recording the violation if it does not already exist.

unquote
... why not using the "avoid duplicate" feature inside PHPRunner to get the problem ""f we've had ever had contact with that plate before" under control? Say, whether you or anybody else is trying to enter an "already stored license plate", he would fail to enter a new record at all, so..., talking about built-in basics in regard to "Need to know if we've ever had contact...", it would be just a simple mouse-click away ..., by activating "avoid duplicate" function inside PHPRunner ...


For one very important reason. We don't want to not be able to add a second violation if the situation requires it. We just need to know if it has been ticketed previously. If the ticket is old, we would need to be able to add another one under the same plate. Also, that olnly solves one of the issues. What about the drop down for the car model selection?
On the last application I built using a well known dot net web application builder, I couldn't solve this problem either. My final solution with that was to just create a secondary search box for the plates and allow text input for plates as well as car models. Needless to say, the data got very 'dirty' and it was just clunky to use.
I've decided that this is a stopping point for me as far as mobile is concerned. I have decided to use the Samsung Galaxy tab3 to give me more screen real estate and just use the site in desktop mode until such time that I can solve this problem. Thank everyone for your input....

HJB 2/8/2014

http://www.xlinesoft.com/tutorials/MultipleDropdowns.html
... got your point. In regard to the said currently existing limitations (as per ADMIN comment above)..., the multilple chained dropdown tutorial is showing a good way out. In order to get a better "ergonomic usability" on e.g. a tiny 5 inch smartphone display, you would need to place field content inside TABS and SECTIONS (using the mobile page editor in PHPR v7.1) which compares to run likely as a "5 Inch homepage" designer here, say, to "customize" content on a 5 inch screen that way, you have ALL on one tiny page to avoid scrolling/swiping and still being readable enough by font size and table Content width with still good ergonomical handling in regard to well thought TABS and SECTIONS arrangements which can be time consuming "manual design" oriented thing. Anyway, with a product like PHPR v7.1 and its events programming ability, I would say that even the "avoid duplicate" problem (to allow you to add in case of need) can be definitely solved by "customized" code.