Plugin Conflict: This breaks Admin Columns filtering/search & possibly others

I’m left wondering if should_filter_query() should have $query->is_main_query() changed to !$query->is_main_query() since we just want the autocomplete suggestions (which shouldn’t involve the main query) & we don’t actually want to be interacting with the main query for the orders being returned (which causes conflicts with Admin Columns filtering & possibly other plugins).

I’d like to use this plugin moving forward, but it seems this plugin conflict is a dealbreaker until it’s fixed. I could test patched versions if you don’t have a copy of Admin Columns with WooCommerce filtering (or similar).

Thanks!
Kurt

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to report the compatibility issue.

The conflict you are mentioning is related to the fact that my plugin is actually altering the query in the backend so that Algolia can power the search.

Unfortunately, whenever multiple plugins start trying to alter the query, it gets messy quickly and breaks.

In your case it seems like you’d like to leverage the other plugin for the backend search and use Algolia only for the frontend autocomplete.

You can disable the Algolia backend search capabilities by adding the following to the functions.php file of your active theme: https://github.com/rayrutjes/wc-order-search-admin#backend-order-search

function should_enable_backend_search( $value, WP_Query $query ) {
    return false;
}

add_filter( 'wc_osa_enable_backend_search', 'should_enable_backend_search', 10, 2 );

Let me know if that is the solution you were looking for.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by rayrutjes.

This resolved the issue perfectly. Thank you!

I suppose I had missed this on the plugin’s description page so thanks again for pointing that out.

Well I’m a fervent believer that the problem is never the user, but how well the plugin is designed and documented, so maybe there is an opportunity here to improve something.

Some users reported that being able to toggle the backend search directly from the admin settings page of the plugin would make this more discoverable.

What is your opinion on that?

Is there anything else you think I could do better with this plugin?

Thank you again,

I was actually on the edge of suggesting that myself so I think that would be a fantastic idea! You’d just want to make sure the filter still operates as expected for those already using it if they happen to not realize the site admin setting was added in an update.

I mean, https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/wp-search-with-algolia/ (a continuation of the official Algolia WordPress plugin which has since transitioned to new maintainers) has a setting similar to this (see the radio options for the Search Page settings) so it wouldn’t be unprecedented. I could see it being checkboxes for enabling AutoComplete or not as well as using Algolia in the backend or not (possibly with the backend toggle stating that it may affect searching & filtering provided by external plugins, etc. when enabled).

When it comes to other suggestions, I’d recommend adding Algolia to the name of the plugin (a non-technical suggestion, I know). I figure Algolia is a key aspect of this plugin, and there’s people looking for Algolia enhancements to their site using WooCommerce which might currently be missing out on this nice plugin by not mentioning it more prominently.

That’s all I have for now.

Thanks for the great plugin and quick response!
Kurt

Thanks again for the answer.
This all makes a lot of sense.

I went ahead and created an issue here: https://github.com/rayrutjes/wc-order-search-admin/issues/96

Thanks for the feedback regarding mentioning Algolia.
This plugin actually ranks first on the Algolia term for now. I’d be interested in knowing what you think we could/should improve here.

Best,

Great, thanks!

I suppose that was just a passing suggestion (adding Algolia as part of the plugin name). I’d certainly defer to you for making that kind of decision when it might not be necessary.

Thanks again,
Kurt