Bound Search gadget
- Jon Finn
- xJon Finn (Unlicensed)
Information valid from AMI version 8.0 initial release
Summary
The Bound Search gadget lets you create more sophisticated searches, using the Agility Query Language (AQL), than you can with the basic Search gadget. Although a workspace can only contain a single Search gadget, it can include multiple Bound Search gadgets.
The search is set up in each Bound Search gadget's definition in the workspace editor. It is broken up into a main part and one or more sub-clauses. The main part represents the general form of the query; for example, FIND ANY WHERE (%1). The clauses are fragments of AQL that will be concatenated and then substituted into the main part, replacing the placeholders.
Each clause should also contain a placeholder, of the form %d where d is a positive integer. Each placeholder needs to be unique inside the Bound Search gadget.
Examples of clauses could be:
- NAME = "%2"
- "Description" = "%3"
- #22 = "%4"
- "Size" = "Large" AND "Description" = "%5"
As seen in the example, a clause can contain more than one AQL condition, but it can only contain one placeholder.
The Bound Search gadget will display a label and an input field for every clause. The values that the user inputs are used to replace the placeholders in the final AQL.
You can use the Search Editor in the Search gadget to generate the initial AQL. See Search Editor screen for more details.
Basic Options
Search Values
The main body of the Bound Search gadget interface is customisable and will vary from gadget to gadget, so this document cannot explain the specifics of how any particular Bound Search gadget will work.
There may be several fields available for you to use to create your search. Note that if any of the fields are labelled with an asterisk (*) you must enter a value in that field.
Within
The Within area limits the search to objects underneath a specific structure point. To use it, select the structure point in another gadget (e.g. Browser, History) and click the Set button in the Bound Search gadget. Use the Clear button when you no longer wish to limit the search.
Results Area
The results of the search are listed below the search criteria.
You can select one or more object instances using the checkboxes.
Working with Lists
If the gadget has been configured to work with lists, results in the Bound Search gadget can be added to, removed from, replace or intersected with objects in the list structure.
Apply to list
Select a structure point in the list structure, or create a new object.
Copy descendants?
Allows you to copy the objects under those selected in the results.
Show results
Choose when to see a summary of what happens when you click the Apply button.
Select list after applying changes
If checked, the chosen list object will become the current object when the operation completes.
Add / Remove / Replace / Intersect
Choose what action to perform on your selected results:
- Add: Link your objects as children to the selected list object.
- Remove: If present, remove your objects from the children of the selected list object.
- Replace: Remove all of the existing children of the selected list object, and replace them with your objects.
- Intersect: Any children of the selected list object which are also present in your list of IDs or names will be preserved, but all other children will be removed.
View as thumbnails
Asset Relation
Preview will show the preview associated with the result object. Other results can display the previews of assets related via the selected asset relation.
View as a list
You can choose to view the results as a list. If there is more than one instance of an object, you can the 
icon next to a result to see those instances, and select one of them.
Gadget Action Menu Items
Copy
Copies the currently selected object instance(s) to the AMI clipboard.
Move
Opens the 'Move dialog' which allows the selected object instance(s) to be moved to another structure point.
Add to List...
This item is only enabled when you have selected one or more objects in the search results. It opens a dialog with two dropdown controls. The first shows all the top level List structures; the second shows all the child objects of the List selected in the first control. Select the OK button to add copies of the selected search results into that List child object.
Add to Previous List
Like Add to List... but it automatically uses the same List object as before.
Reset
Clears the search parameters.
Gadget Options
Show results in the Bin
Controls whether instances in the bin are returned by the search.
Show results in the Document Structure
Controls whether instances in the document structure are returned by the search.
Show results in completed events
Controls whether instances in completed events are returned by the search.
Maximum Result Count
Limits the number of results returned by the search.