Server-Side Search/Filter Help

mrmarblezllc

So here's my scenario. I am using DataTables with server-side processing. I have a number of columns in the table and have filters set up for each column. Specifically, select multiple drop-downs. A user sets the various filters and then hits an "Apply" button. Once applied, a function is called and the following code is executed to perform the search and return the filtered results.

$('.dt-search').each(function(i, el){

        var colName = $(el).attr('dt-search-name');
        var searchValue = $(el).val();

        table.column(colName + ":name")
                .search( searchValue, false, false )
                .draw();
    });

Now, it works fine. However, the ajax call that fetches the data for the table gets called multiple times - once for each drop-down tied to a column filter. So if I have 8 columns and an input tied to each column as a filter. I would see 8 ajax calls where the first call includes the filter from the first input, the second call would include the filters from the first two inputs, etc.. I mean this makes sense because I am iterating through each input. However, this does not seem ideal. I would prefer to limit the number of server calls...especially when working with large numbers

Is it possible to aggregate all the search criteria first and then submit a single ajax call? Seems like as soon as I call the .search() function, the ajax call gets made.

Thanks,

gyrocode

Call draw() method after the each() function:

$('.dt-search').each(function(i, el){
 
        var colName = $(el).attr('dt-search-name');
        var searchValue = $(el).val();
 
        table.column(colName + ":name")
                .search( searchValue, false, false )
});

table.draw();

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