We have been hard at work making the free search something that is useful for those not yet ready to make the
jump to full membership, yet enticing enough to make them realize the value of such a yearly membership.
Below is a summary of the recent changes. Following this description is a summary of upcoming enhancements that we hope to implement very soon.
Search Result Thumbnails
When you search in the free search section, one will see tiny thumbnails of the images. While some of the most recent images may not be available immediately, most are. However, the images are not the full size and large images one will see in the membership search. It's useful, but still not what most may want. The full membership search has much larger thumbnails and links to the full size images. The image below illustrates results for a
search of Unami flaps.
Permanent Free Search Links
One may now link specific searches in the public search section. For example, the following URL contains the search terms.
http://www.patchtrends.com/cgi-bin/index/trial/2013%20jamboree
Once loaded in the browser, the search is immediately triggered as if the user clicked the "find" button. It's very convenient for linking to searches one may submit frequently.
Permanent Link Generator
Once a set of search terms has been found, one may generate the permanent search link easily by clicking the "save search URL" link. A window will pop up with the encoded URL that may be copy and pasted anywhere. This feature has a lot of room to develop, but the core functionality is there.
Auction Links
Each item that shows in the limited listing has a link that points back to the eBay auction with full information on the item. This convenience was added so that users could find out the details and find an item like it for their own if so desired.
The free search is being improved for casual use, but those interested in more detailed information and a more efficient user interface will definitely want to join Patchtrends.com as a member. More on the benefits of membership
may be seen at Patchtrends.com.
Please stay tuned for more posts about using Patchtrends.com and how we're constantly striving to improve this resource for the hobby.
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