How do you organise search, filters, and results?
Show current conditions, results, and reset options, distinguishing no matches from request failure.
Search finds content using words; filters narrow it using conditions. Both should show the current choices and results so users understand what they see and how to search again.
Keep these basics in mind
- A filter limits the range, for example by status or date. Sorting changes order, not necessarily the number of results.
- Show active conditions and offer ways to change or clear them.
- Pagination splits results into portions. Agree on how changing conditions affects page position and selection.
- No matches, no existing data, and a failed request are different states needing different messages.
See Cloudscape’s filter patterns for choosing filters and its table-view pattern for result organisation.
Find results
Illustrative search states
This is a hypothetical member list; counts are examples.
| Stage | Conditions | Results and next step |
|---|---|---|
| Initial | No filters | 12 members |
| Filtered | Invitation pending | 3 members |
| Added search | A name not present | 0 matches; offer clearing conditions |
Walk through an example
An administrator filters pending invitations, then searches a name. No matches preserves the conditions and explains the result. Clearing the name restores the three pending members. A failed request offers a retry rather than saying there are no members.
Limits and common misunderstandings
Search need not send a request for every keystroke; choose timing for the task and feedback. More filters are not automatically better. Provide relevant conditions first. A count should represent its actual scope rather than presenting the current page’s count as the total.