We are currently using Avant Search plugin in Omeka Classic. We would like to hire a developer to modify or create a new plugin that would allow us to be more specific in our searching. For example, we would like to be able to limit the fields that can be searched, allow recognition of ca./circa, accommodate start/end dates, and probably a few other things.
Our administration requires us to put in a budget request and I have no idea what it would cost to hire an Omeka developer to do what we seek. Does anyone out there do this sort of work?
Hello, Heather.
Since you’re already using AvantSearch, why not getting in touch with @gsoules, the developer of that plugin? He might be the best choice to modify and customize it for you.
Heather, so you know, searching of all fields is part of the Omeka core logic which puts the text of all elements in the search_texts table for use when doing a simple search. AvantSearch uses the search_element_texts filter to override this logic for elements that you designate as private in AvantCommon so that their text does not go into the search_texts table. To further restrict search to a limited set of fields could be done with a plugin that uses a similar approach, or by extending AvantSearch.
If you plan to invest in enhancing AvantSearch, I would strongly recommend that you experiment with switching to the latest development version since it has many improvements over the released version. As one example, users no longer need to go back and forth to the Advanced Search page to change search presentation options – they can change them using the new selector bar on the Search Results page.