a) Is there a custom profile field for "profile type"? This would at least help us to create "Global filters" for our members that allow them to browse particular groups of members within a particular profile type.

Unfortunately we do not have such custom profile field.

b) Is it possible to create a number of different search panel templates, and then to specify the fields that appear on each? These panels would be similar to your "Dating Search" module in that they would display all of the selected fields at once (rather than making the user add the search criteria one at a time like the Advanced Search panel does).

With the advanced search, you can create global filters.

1. http://take.ms/HSm2g
2. http://take.ms/tQPyX
3. http://take.ms/80lhG

Thanks, Mark -

Unfortunately, while the global filters will help me create a better browsing experience, they won't really suit my community's needs. The purpose of my community is to allow people to meet others who share highly-specific criteria (in my case, to find others who share their exact dietary constraints, with literally thousands of possible combinations). Thus, I have created 15 or so custom profile fields, each of which has up to 20 different options in it, allowing members to identify not just that they are "nut-free" but that they specifically cannot eat "pecans," owing to a "histamine intolerance" rather than a food allergy.

In JomSocial, I was then able to create a search panel using JoomlaXi's XiUS plugin, where I identified specific fields to appear on each panel, creating one module for each profile type wherein they would see only the relevant search fields. In principle, it's the same as your "Dating Search," which displays name + age + gender + location (only) rather than making the user recreate that form from the Advanced Search.

In my experience, the style of interface in the Advanced Search panel is significantly more complicated than my users will understand - especially with ALL of the profile fields for ALL of the profile types displaying in one long column. Hunting for the right fields frustrates them, and many of them are confused by the many boolean choices in the selector box ["is equal to" / "contains" / "is not equal to", etc.) and unsure which to choose. Thus, they simply give up. That means we miss the opportunity to offer the compelling value of connection with others of our members over a criteria that usually isolates them.

Thus, my question about whether I can use search templates to present only the relevant fields for each profile type?

Thanks for your help,
Cheryl

Hello Cheryl,

Unfortunately that is not possible currently. I guess in the future, we could probably try to include a settings for the field that says "Appear in advanced search"

Thanks, Mark -

Isn't that already covered by your "searchable?" button in the custom fields? Unfortunately, a switch to "appear in advanced search" wouldn't help me, because I still need all of those fields to appear in the advanced search, I just need to be able to limit down which fields we show to the user at a time (namely, only those fields that pertain to company profiles should be shown on a "companies" search panel, and only those related to "authors" should appear on the "author search" page).

Is this a custom component your team could create for me? It's really critical for my site to have a detailed yet user-friendly search function. I think it would be a big benefit to the EasySocial community!

Thanks,
Cheryl

Hey Cheryl,

Currently it will show all the searchable field on advanced search page, and those search result will respect with the user privacy.

I am really sorry but we are actually quite tied up with our own internal development Easyblog 5.1 and we wouldn't be able to assist you with these customizations right now

Thanks for understand.