I am looking for some high level advice at this point.
I have the latest CF and CC and am relatively new to them, though I have built a few forms and used them to write to and read from database tables. I have copied the example in the forum of adding a Search filter at the top of a CC table display and got it to work (after seeing the advice to Enable Forms in the Data Connection!) - http://test2.sag.org.au/databases/soldiersandmarines.html.
OK here is what I still am trying to do and my proposed method of doing it - any advice or suggestions or references well appreciated!
1. I want to use the Search Filter on top of the CC table display, with sortable columns (found the post http://www.chronoengine.com/forums.html?cont=posts&f=12&t=13182&hilit=search+tables&start=45#p54608 but want the initial records display to be empty rather than showing the full records of the table. I intend to try to control this with PHP code - and somehow find the right spot in the CC data connection to insert it?
2. My client wants to have, in addition, a master search page where a user can enter search terms in a couple of key fields common to several data tables, and then select which data tables to search over - and then be returned with the number of hits from each data table with links to, rather than actual display of, the actual filtered records from each table. They want the search to be publicly available with the actual records only available to financial members. I have searched the forums and do not seem to find any CF/CC solutions for A. searches over multiple tables, or B. for returns of record count rather than records or C. for links to displays of filtered records. On this basis I propose to do this page (apart from the CF search field entry form) in raw PHP/mySQL (a different learning curve) with the links then going to the CC table displays with the search field entries passed to them. Is there a better simpler approach, or one that uses CF/CC more integrally as part of it?
Finally I haven't yet purchased GreyHead's CF cook book - does this address these more CC related issues?
I have the latest CF and CC and am relatively new to them, though I have built a few forms and used them to write to and read from database tables. I have copied the example in the forum of adding a Search filter at the top of a CC table display and got it to work (after seeing the advice to Enable Forms in the Data Connection!) - http://test2.sag.org.au/databases/soldiersandmarines.html.
OK here is what I still am trying to do and my proposed method of doing it - any advice or suggestions or references well appreciated!
1. I want to use the Search Filter on top of the CC table display, with sortable columns (found the post http://www.chronoengine.com/forums.html?cont=posts&f=12&t=13182&hilit=search+tables&start=45#p54608 but want the initial records display to be empty rather than showing the full records of the table. I intend to try to control this with PHP code - and somehow find the right spot in the CC data connection to insert it?
2. My client wants to have, in addition, a master search page where a user can enter search terms in a couple of key fields common to several data tables, and then select which data tables to search over - and then be returned with the number of hits from each data table with links to, rather than actual display of, the actual filtered records from each table. They want the search to be publicly available with the actual records only available to financial members. I have searched the forums and do not seem to find any CF/CC solutions for A. searches over multiple tables, or B. for returns of record count rather than records or C. for links to displays of filtered records. On this basis I propose to do this page (apart from the CF search field entry form) in raw PHP/mySQL (a different learning curve) with the links then going to the CC table displays with the search field entries passed to them. Is there a better simpler approach, or one that uses CF/CC more integrally as part of it?
Finally I haven't yet purchased GreyHead's CF cook book - does this address these more CC related issues?