Section 2: The Where Window

Esri International User Conference 2001
Paper # 397

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
LandView -- Map Objects Application Development -- July, 2001

Section 2: The Where Window
Search/Find in List

This is a tool for finding locations on a map. Select the option by clicking on the "Search/Find in List" button. It is also possible to use this tool from within the Display Window by clicking on the button.

The Search/Find tool allows the user to search lists for a city, lake, state park, etc.

Select which list by selecting the appropriate radio button.
Next, the user can either scroll through all the available choices in the Scroll List or type a search string in the search box.

When using the Scroll List, double click the choice you want to make and the red dot will move to that location.
When typing in a search string, click the "Search" button to make the red dot move to the best location the program can find. Not all search strings will have an exact match and some will have more than one match.

The Where Window lists the five best matches as follows. To do this it uses three methods of passing through the selected list of data. On the first pass it looks for any words starting with the search string (the string the user types in the search box). On the second pass it looks for any words containing the search string. And on the third pass it trims a character from the search string and tries to find additional matches containing the same characters.

There is also the option to simply scroll through the list of all available items from the list on the right side of the search box. Notice that when you select an item it sticks it in the search field as if you had typed it. After doing this you can click on the "Search" button to select it or simply double click the item in the list. Also notice that as you begin typing your own search string, the list on the right will continually jump around to help you locate the item you're looking for.

Note: You can simply scroll through the list of all available items in the search box. Notice that when you select an item it sticks it in the search field as if you had typed it. After doing this you can click on the "Search" button to search for the closest match to the name using the method described above, or simply double click the item in the list which moves the location to that point. Also notice that as you begin typing your own search string, the list on the right will continually jump around to help you locate the item you're looking for.