by SeismicGuy » Mon Jul 11, 2011 10:01 am
Hi Ken,
I have also been corresponding with one of the X1 folks on this issue. Here is the way I explained it to him:
I guess I have to admit that I probably used X1 in a way that may be unique to the mainstream. I write technical reports and they way I usually start a new one out is to find pertinent passages from old reports. For example, there are certain appearance and formatting elements associated with different clients. So if I am starting a new report for client XYZ, I will start an X1 search for XYZ to try and find a suitable template. Next a portion of the report is associated with geographical location, so I will search X1 for reports in same/nearby location and cut what I need from them. Part of what I write is associated with the type of building I am looking at (e.g., high-rise steel frame, low-rise concrete shear wall, mid-rise wood frame, etc.) so I used X1 to find all of the high-rise steel frame reports and then cut what I need, etc. etc.
If I am doing a high-rise steel frame building located in San Francisco for client XYZ--this is where I would find a cascading search useful. First I would enter client XYZ which would cull down the search list to a hundred or so reports. Then it would be nice to clear the search field WHILE LEAVING THE FIRST SEARCH INTACT and enter San Francisco which maybe would cull the list more. Then it would be nice again to clear the search field WHILE LEAVING THE CULLED LIST INTACT to look for high-rise.
It just seems to me that this type of cascading search (or subsequent searching on the previously culled list) would be useful and slick. I am not sure that I can explain it any better but, hopefully, you can understand what I am getting at.
Anyway, his response was the the method you described (just keep typing words in the search box) will probably accomplish what I am describing. What I was envisioning though was more like doing the initial screen (e.g., for a particular client) and then jumping down into the preview list and continuing searching through there (of course bringing up the Find dialogue within the preview pane will do that on a file-by-file basis).
I did have another feature request--drop down browse for the path box. I will post that request in another thread.
Doug
Doug