Zip Code searches utilizing the Google API

[novacreative]

I have some experience with using the Google API and Fabrik. For example, I used it to determine who receives an email inquiry based upon the distance between the submitter of the enquiry and the potential recipients. That works fine.

Now I need to filter a list using a customer's postcode submittal. The Radius Plugin won't really work for me. It's a little cumbersome and would require customization anyway to allow submission of the zip code.

I'm thinking a form with a redirect to the list with the search option on, but I cannot figure out how and where to code this. Obviously, a simple search for the same zip code won't work. I want records that have zips within a certain distance, like 20 miles. I know how to formulate the Google API request and process the result. I just can't figure out how to use the Fabrik form redirect to do it.

Maybe there's a better way?

 

[cheesegrits]

You'd probably have to do it by building a your list filter query dynamically in JavaScript. Have a form with a field element for ZIP input, and a JS event on that.

In the JS, get your list of geolocated ZIP's from Google, then construct a URL to the list with that list of ZIP's on the query string - see the wiki on how to build query string filters for lists, but the basic approach would be ...

index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=list&listid=123&yourtable___zip[value][]=12345&yourtable___zip[value][]=54321&yourtable___zip[join]=OR

In other words, as many &yourtable___zip[value][]=xxxxx as you need, and a [join]=OR.

Then do a location.assign(url).

-- hugh

 

[novacreative]

Appreciate the reply, but my JS skills are extremely limited, and I avoid it as much as possible.

I did come up with a PHP-based solution, however, similar to what I was thinking.

I use a form to collect the zip and distance, and form PHP to access the Google API and find which records meet the criteria. I collect the ids of those records in a comma separated list and store it in a Joomla session variable. The form then redirects to a list.

The list has an EVAL pre-filter that accesses the Joomla session variable and returns it. The pre-filter then looks for records that are IN that comma separated list.

Seems to work very well and quite quickly, even on large numbers of records.