Create a faceted search like eRecruiter without solr?

Question

I am in need to create a search results page & filter like the eRecruiter demo page: http://drupaljobs.epiqo.com/search/job

The filter on the right hand side shows the amount of results for specific tags or taxonomy terms, clicking enables that filter, updates the number of results for each filter etc ..

I am using D7 and views3

I do not have apache solr on my server and I wonder if it is possible to create the filters (in my case by taxonomy terms attached to the nodes of a specific type) like they are in this example using mysql and search api?

So far I have used exposed filters in views, but I really need the amount of results for each term behind it.

I have tried something along these lines:

Add new view
Show -> taxonomy terms
Continue
Relationships -> Taxonomy term: Content with term
Use aggregation:Yes
Taxonomy term: Name -> Group results together
Add field -> Content: Nid
Aggregation -> Count DISTINCT
Make your own style for Content: Nid field (Set prefix to "(" and suffix to ")" to get 
the count between brackets)

but without getting the right results.

Is this possible at all?

Thank you all in advance!

Answer 1

You can also use the Facet API module. It allows site builders to easily create and manage faceted search interfaces. Facet API works with the core Search and Search API.

Answer 2

Check out these tutorials for faceted / "drill-down" / filtering searching and browsing navigation without the need for solr. They use the Database Search module: https://drupal.org/project/search_api_db but the settings can be modified later to use SOLR for when your site hits the big time and needs the sophistication and scalability that SOLR provides. But for now, database search gets you going without needing SOLR.

• http://envisioninteractive.com/drupal/drupal-7-views-with-faceted-filters-without-apachesolr/ (really good tutorial and this worked for me but for me the URLs need to be made more user friendly, not covered by this tutorial admittedly)

• http://webwash.net/tutorials/intro-search-api-part-1-how-create-search-pages and http://webwash.net/tutorials/intro-search-api-part-2-faceted-search (similar to the first tutorial)

Myself I'd like some guidance as to how to use: https://drupal.org/project/facetapi_pretty_paths - this module aims to make your URLs generated by the faceted filtering and search pretty. Currently mine are not, even though I have tried to use this module, the documentation appears to be very minimal - there is no step-by-step guide. I'd be sure to write one if I figure it out before anyone helps though :)

Update:

The drupal recruiter distribution is an example of using facetapi_pretty_paths : https://drupal.org/project/recruiter - on this page you'll find more information including how to run a demo via simplytest.me with just a few clicks!