Windows 8 Contracts and Extensions: Search Part-3

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By adding both query suggestions and result suggestions to the search pane, you can get a customized search experience that looks like Figure 6.

[Click on image for larger view.]Figure 6. A customized search experience.

There's one additional search suggestion that can be added to the collection, and that's a separator. A separator is used to group different results together. Adding a separator to the collection counts as one of the five returnable results. A separator is added using the AppendSearchSeparator method. The method takes a string parameter that can be used as a label for the separator. The following is an example of adding a separator between the query and result suggestions (Figure 7 shows the results of the new separator):

args.Request.SearchSuggestionCollection.AppendSearchSeparator("Sessions");

[Click on image for larger view.]Figure 7. A separator between query and result suggestions.

Responding to Result Suggestions
For query suggestions, you can let the default search experience handle routing the user to the appropriate search page. However, result suggestions require custom handling of the search selection. This is because when a user selects a result suggestion he should be directed to the detail page of the result, and not the standard search page. If the user selects a results suggestion, the SearchPane ResultSuggestionChosen event is raised. The SearchPaneResultSuggestionChosenEventArgs parameter (which is passed to the event handler) has a Tag property. This is the same tag that's added to the result suggestion in the previous section.

By adding an event handler to the ResultSuggestionChosen event, you can direct the user to the correct detail page within the app. The following code shows an example of navigating to a detail page using the given tag:

void AppSearchPane_ResultSuggestionChosen(SearchPane sender, 
  SearchPaneResultSuggestionChosenEventArgs args)
{
  if (ViewModel != null)
  {
    var id = int.Parse(args.Tag);

    var session = ViewModel.Sessions.Where(s => s.Id == id).First();
    var frame = Window.Current.Content as Frame;

    frame.Navigate(typeof(SessionsPage), session);

  }
}

What's New in Windows 8.1
With the Windows 8.1 Preview released at Build 2013, the Search contract has seen a few new features. The most prominent new feature is the addition of the SearchBox control. Apps that are search-centric, like the Bing app, need to include a search box directly in the app. One of the downsides to this in Windows 8 was that it was difficult to try and keep the in-app search experience in sync with the Search contract experience. The SearchBox resolves this issue by keeping the two experiences in sync. All customizations and extensions available in the search contract are also available in the SearchBox. In addition, the SearchBox can be styled to fit into your app's branding and style.

The behavior of the search contract has also been extended. When the user first sets focus to the search box, the RequestSuggestions event is raised with a null query. This allows the app to override any search history available for the app. In addition, the SearchSuggestionCollection can now contain 25 entries, while the SearchBox implementation still only accepts five.

Search in Your App
Taking advantage of the Search contract provides your app with several benefits, the first being a consistent, intuitive and familiar search experience. At the same time, you also save yourself time and effort by taking advantage of an existing UI and search mechanism.

A more subtle benefit is the fact that your app is now always accessible to the user. The user can search your app without having to launch the app prior to searching. This gives you greater visibility to your user.

Regardless of whether you're taking advantage of the out-of-the-box solution or providing a more customized solution, the Search contract can be a great addition to your app.

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