Searching across multiple UR files

[MikeH]

I wonder if there's a way to have one UR file as a dashboard, which could link items from other UR files.

It would also be significantly helpful if searches could span multiple files, as well.

Are these possible?

Thanks for a great product!

[lazlo24]

Hi

I have come to the same conclusion that a dashboard could be extremely useful.

I would want to have a number of searches just returning quantity of matched records with configurable heading and maybe a selectable quantity of the returned search results, say top 5.

I use UR as to do and project tracking database, based on the GTD model. It is THE BEST tool bar none I have found for keeping all of that loose digital data one accumulates in this world.

A dashboard view would be very helpful to identify areas getting out of control rather than having to manually run 6-10 searches

Lazlo24

[janrif]

Originally posted by MikeH
I wonder if there's a way to have one UR file as a dashboard, which could link items from other UR files.

It would also be significantly helpful if searches could span multiple files, as well.

Are these possible?

Thanks for a great product! User cannot search over multiple DBs at this time. It has been requested a # of times & may be on the roadmap.

[lazlo24]

Hi

I do not want to search over multiple databases. I want to have multiple searches over one database.

Such as
Phone calls to make: 2
Bill smith
Tony Robbins

Critical Project: 3
Install software
Goto France
Check the forums

I do not care if it is within UR of if a HTML page could query the UR data base and return values to construct a dashboard view of the data within.

Thinking about it, this would be the best way to do it.
Is there a way to externally query a UR database and return values?

[quant]

Originally posted by lazlo24
Hi

I do not want to search over multiple databases. I want to have multiple searches over one database.

Such as
Phone calls to make: 2
Bill smith
Tony Robbins

Critical Project: 3
Install software
Goto France
Check the forums

I do not care if it is within UR of if a HTML page could query the UR data base and return values to construct a dashboard view of the data within.

Thinking about it, this would be the best way to do it.
Is there a way to externally query a UR database and return values?
This is interesting, this is how I would propose to do it in a general way:

we need sth like "active folders". Searches are exactly that, but they show the results in the related items pane, but we'd like it directly in the data explorer tree.

So there could be a new command "populate search items for current item (+recursively for all subitems as an option)" (and the command "remove populated search items ..."). This would simply run the searches, and show the items directly in the tree (with some distinction from the regular child items). It would then be on user when he wants to "refresh" these active folders by running again "populate" ...

So in the example, I'd run "populate search items" on "Things to do" recursively ... and the results would be as shown ...

[lazlo24]

Hi there.

That is an interesting idea but it only goes half way towards a dashboard.

I believe the best way would be to construct the interface through a HTML page and connect it through a backend connector to populate via existing searches.

I know that there is a SQL type database user but how to pass data and queries through that I do not know.

As a dashboard is something that is extremely personal to the user I do not believe anything constructed within UR would allow the level of flexibility to customize whilst HTML would.

Do any one know how to pass queries and data into UR from a HTML code base?

[quant]

I'm no expert in this area, but I believe it would have to be done through some scripting language like perl or php, http://www.wdvl.com/Authoring/Languages/PHP/Database/query_interface.html

[quant]

Originally posted by lazlo24
As a dashboard is something that is extremely personal to the user I do not believe anything constructed within UR would allow the level of flexibility to customize whilst HTML would.
surely, but I can't think of any practical advantage of doing it in HTML. Maybe one, that one could query from more than one db. OK, two, UR doesn't do any arithmetic (I hope it will sooner or later)

The disadvantage of doing it in HTML are clear, a lot of work, coding, ... a small change in db and code would have to be changed, etc.

You could play with fonts, tables, bla, bla, but at the end you wouldn't get more than what you could get in UR as well (provided that populating feature would work as I suggested, or in a similar way). I worked in a company where the whole backoffice was done in this way, all the tables, results, links, ... it was nice cause a lot of people could work on it at once. But, hell, it was a lot of (very error-prone) coding. If UR was able to handle multiple users, no way I'd waste time playing with html tables and aligning text, and changing fonts ...

So my question is, what would be the strong arguments for doing it in HTML? Cause at the end, UR is the frontend to sql database, and a very good one ;-)

[janrif]

Originally posted by lazlo24
Hi

I do not want to search over multiple databases. I want to have multiple searches over one database.[snip] You might want to look @ SQLNotes currently in Beta. It's based on the EccoPro model. http://www.sqlnotes.net/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx