In place editing in search result and searching again

Question

I am looking for existing solutions to a user interface problem. My users have the ability to search in a list of items. The items can be either single or composite items. In the search result the users can edit the composite items in place. When they edit the composite items they may need to search again, this produces a problem since they are already in the searchresult.

My current thought is to pin the currently edited composite item on top of the search result.

Are there any existing solutions to this problem?

Illustration of the problem:

The users needs to change amount Amount1, Amount2 and so on. When the users change AmountS1 they will need to do another search. The problem is how to retain the Composite Item and still allow the search.

Answer 1

If I understand you right, the problem is:

1. User is editing a composite item inplace in the search results
2. She want to clarify something and need to start another search

How he or she could achieve this without loosing her current context (i.e. currently edited composite item)?

First option is to use tabs for search results.

I.e. let your users do several searches simultaneously.

It could be done differently (always open search result in the new tab or let your users pin a tab to force search results to be opened in the new one, or ask user whatever she want to open search result in a new tab if she have unsaved edits in the current results, etc).

Second option is to use a dedicated area for the edited items so they will always be "out of search" and will remain on screen even if new search will be started. But I think it's not so obvious as plain tabs and will require more explanation and clarification (where this area should be, how items will get there, how and when they should be removed, etc).

Answer 2

Have you considered a fixed-position search box/input? so that no matter how far down the results they get, after editing a composite the search box is always at the top of the screen (not the page).

Answer 3

The problem seems to be that there are two conflicting user behaviors. Search is very fluid, and the user is actively editing the search parameters. The search form should stay fixed, and the results should change. When editing the objects, the objects should stay in place and the search parameters no longer apply.

I would try a modal approach. In search mode the user is focused on editing the search parameters. Once she clicks on the edit link next to a result, the mode changes to editing and the search form becomes frozen and grayed out. To shift back to the search mode, she need to actively click "search again" to repeat the current search (which may no longer contain the results she has edited).

All the basic principles of modal interfaces apply: clearly distinguish between the modes visually (by graying out the search form), don't have the same operation/command sequence mean something in both modes and make the shift between modes explicit.