Low Search, Multiple Criteria, and Matrix Field

Question

This is my first time trying to use Low Search for anything other than a simple keyword search and something isn't clicking.

I have a search form within a directory of member firms. There is a keyword field, as well as a drop down for states (US) and countries.

A few things worth noting:

• The FIRMS channel has a matrix field ({cf_firm_location}) that has a VZ address column ("m_address").
• If I search for a country (Ecuador => "EC") in the keywords, it comes up with the correct results. So that tells me that the matrix field / VZ Address column are properly set for searching.
• If I try to search using the dropdown field for country, it returns ALL entries in the FIRMS channel (not sure why?)

Here is my SEARCH FORM:

{exp:low_search:form result_page="directory/search"}
<div><label for="keywords">Keywords</label> <input type="search" id="keywords" name="keywords" placeholder="Enter Search Phrase" size="18" maxlength="100" onblur="if (this.value=='') this.placeholder = 'Enter Search Phrase'" onfocus="if (this.placeholder=='Enter Search Phrase') this.value = ''" class="search-box rounded" /></div>
<div>
    <label for="search:cf_firm_location:m_address:region">State</label>
    <select name="search:cf_firm_location:m_address:region" id="search:cf_firm_location:m_address:region">
        <option value="">Please select....</option>
        <option value="AL">Alabama</option>
        <option value="AK">Alaska</option>
        <option value="AZ">Arizona</option>
        ......
    </select>
</div>
<div>
    <label for="search:cf_firm_location:m_address:country">Country</label>
    <select name="search:cf_firm_location:m_address:country" id="search:cf_firm_location:m_address:country">    
        <option value="">Please select....</option>
        <option value="AF">Afghanistan</option>
        <option value="AX">Aland Islands</option>
        <option value="AL">Albania</option>
        <option value="DZ">Algeria</option>
        ......  
    </select>
</div>
<div><button type="submit" class="tiny radius button search-button">Search</button></div>
{/exp:low_search:form}

Here is my SEARCH RESULTS:

{exp:low_search:results query="{segment_3}" require_query="yes" collection="firms" status="not closed" limit="10" paginate="bottom" orderby="title" sort="asc"}

<........ content here ............>

{/exp:low_search:results}

As always, any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

As the docs for the Field Search filter state, the syntax to target a Grid or Matrix column is as follows:

search:field_name:column_name

So, the prefix search:, followed by the Matrix field name (cf_firm_location), followed by the column name (m_address).

Since you've got a fourth segment in there, probably a label that the Address field type uses, LS will not match the given name (which LS thinks is m_address:country) to the correct column.

Targeting a specific value for the Address field with the Field Search filter is not possible. It looks like VZ Address stores its data as a JSON string, so you could use the Field Search filter, but you're probably better off using the contains_words parameter as well (see how that would work in the EE docs).

As always with any Low add-on, turn on template debugging and look up all lines that mention the add-on name to see what's happening.