914World.com > website/tool to search craigslist

drewvw

Aug 23 2006, 08:07 PM

http://zimkiv.com

I'll keep this short and sweet. Basically I 've built a meta search tool that allows you to search more than one CL location at once.

I came up with the idea because many of my local car pals end up going to 5 CL sites everyday to search for cars and parts. so I figured why not make it easier.

I've begun with support for the New Engand, NYC, LA and Bay Area CLs to start.

Feedback and ideas for more sites to be added is welcome. Its still pretty basic and basically I built to use for my own purposes.

thanks for reading.

McMark

Aug 23 2006, 10:13 PM

Awesome!

I've been searching for a nice BMW 2002, so this is a great help for me too!

Ideas:
1. Don't center the links.
2. Plain colors (B&W).
3. Make the results page in a frame and have the postings load in the bottom frame.

Good stuff! Thanks!

Mr.C

Aug 23 2006, 10:32 PM

Thanks!! I've been looking through just about every c-list site in California for a 928. Now it won't take me 15 min. to do it.

Rand

Aug 23 2006, 10:41 PM

I've been doing this with RSS/XML for a while. But you are making it much easier for the non-technical person.

Very nice work! I always love seeing custom web coding projects.

computers4kids

Aug 23 2006, 10:56 PM

QUOTE(drewvw @ Aug 23 2006, 07:07 PM)

http://zimkiv.com

I'll keep this short and sweet. Basically I 've built a meta search tool that allows you to search more than one CL location at once.

I came up with the idea because many of my local car pals end up going to 5 CL sites everyday to search for cars and parts. so I figured why not make it easier.

I've begun with support for the New Engand, NYC, LA and Bay Area CLs to start.

Feedback and ideas for more sites to be added is welcome. Its still pretty basic and basically I built to use for my own purposes.

thanks for reading.

Well done...thanks for your work. Would you have any objection if I use your code to create my own personal craigs list search engine.
I love it when people think outside the box.
Mark

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 07:07 AM

fell asleep early last night, just reading this now...

thanks for the feedback. McMark I implemented two of your ideas this morning as they were quick. I'd been going back and forth about the scrolling frame for awhile.

As you can see...I'm more of a software engineer than a designer so the look and feel is very ummm....simple. I will keep innovating on it.

if theres other sites or areas of the country that people think it would be helpful to add, please let me know! I built this primarily for us car hunting fiends...

blitZ

Aug 24 2006, 09:02 AM

Nice job. Can you include the southeast CL locations?

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 09:14 AM

definitely....PM sent. what locations should I add?

Randal

Aug 24 2006, 09:32 AM

QUOTE(drewvw @ Aug 23 2006, 07:07 PM)

http://zimkiv.com

I'll keep this short and sweet. Basically I 've built a meta search tool that allows you to search more than one CL location at once.

I came up with the idea because many of my local car pals end up going to 5 CL sites everyday to search for cars and parts. so I figured why not make it easier.

I've begun with support for the New Engand, NYC, LA and Bay Area CLs to start.

Feedback and ideas for more sites to be added is welcome. Its still pretty basic and basically I built to use for my own purposes.

thanks for reading.

As a user I must say it is a fantastic search engine, because it is simple to use and it WORKS!

Nice Job.

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 10:07 AM

this is great guys...thanks so much for all the feedback. By popular demand I have added a southeast region that includes the sites in georgia (thanks blitz).

Another good idea I've heard is adding a "one-click" button for an entire area (each grouping i call an area).

No doubt, I am going to have to revamp the nav soon, i need to think about it first, suggestion noted.

blitZ

Aug 24 2006, 10:42 AM

That was quick, thanks

The new locations disappear when the results are displayed. Couple of things. I think it's easier to read with the results left justified. Also, would be nice dropdown retained its value.

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 11:23 AM

blitz, what resolution is your monitor and what browser? It was doing that before but i thought i fixed it. Maybe its cached...

your nav suggestions are great blitz. I am going to do something about it soon, just want to think it out for a bit. I may go to an ajax design pattern as well if i decide to get crazy...

i will do the dropdown caching right now...

Part Pricer

Aug 24 2006, 11:29 AM

Drew,

I have one suggestion that may appeal to a few people. How about adding a check box for "Search All"? It would save time having to click each one.

Also, I've attached a list of all of the location subdomains for craigslist.org. I thought that you may find it useful. However, it does include all of the international locations as well. But, I found some of the things on tijuana.craigslist.org to be interesting.

CODE

adelaide.craigslist.org
albany.craigslist.org
albuquerque.craigslist.org
allentown.craigslist.org
amsterdam.craigslist.org
anchorage.craigslist.org
annarbor.craigslist.org
asheville.craigslist.org
athens.craigslist.org
auckland.craigslist.org
bakersfield.craigslist.org
baltimore.craigslist.org
bangalore.craigslist.org
bangkok.craigslist.org
barcelona.craigslist.org
batonrouge.craigslist.org
beijing.craigslist.org
belfast.craigslist.org
bellingham.craigslist.org
berlin.craigslist.org
bham.craigslist.org
birmingham.craigslist.org
boise.craigslist.org
brisbane.craigslist.org
bristol.craigslist.org
buenosaires.craigslist.org
buffalo.craigslist.org
cairo.craigslist.org
calgary.craigslist.org
capetown.craigslist.org
caracas.craigslist.org
cardiff.craigslist.org
chambana.craigslist.org
charleston.craigslist.org
charlotte.craigslist.org
chattanooga.craigslist.org
chennai.craigslist.org
chico.craigslist.org
cincinnati.craigslist.org
cleveland.craigslist.org
columbia.craigslist.org
columbus.craigslist.org
copenhagen.craigslist.org
cosprings.craigslist.org
costarica.craigslist.org
dallas.craigslist.org
dayton.craigslist.org
dc.craigslist.org
delaware.craigslist.org
delhi.craigslist.org
desmoines.craigslist.org
detroit.craigslist.org
dublin.craigslist.org
edinburgh.craigslist.org
edmonton.craigslist.org
elpaso.craigslist.org
email.craigslist.org
eugene.craigslist.org
flag.craigslist.org
florence.craigslist.org
fortmyers.craigslist.org
frankfurt.craigslist.org
fresno.craigslist.org
gainesville.craigslist.org
geneva.craigslist.org
glasgow.craigslist.org
grandrapids.craigslist.org
greensboro.craigslist.org
halifax.craigslist.org
hamilton.craigslist.org
harrisburg.craigslist.org
hartford.craigslist.org
hongkong.craigslist.org
honolulu.craigslist.org
houston.craigslist.org
humboldt.craigslist.org
hyderabad.craigslist.org
indianapolis.craigslist.org
inlandempire.craigslist.org
istanbul.craigslist.org
ithaca.craigslist.org
jackson.craigslist.org
jacksonville.craigslist.org
jerusalem.craigslist.org
johannesburg.craigslist.org
kansascity.craigslist.org
kitchener.craigslist.org
knoxville.craigslist.org
lansing.craigslist.org
lasvegas.craigslist.org
leeds.craigslist.org
lexington.craigslist.org
lima.craigslist.org
littlerock.craigslist.org
liverpool.craigslist.org
london.craigslist.org
louisville.craigslist.org
madison.craigslist.org
madrid.craigslist.org
maine.craigslist.org
manchester.craigslist.org
manila.craigslist.org
medford.craigslist.org
melbourne.craigslist.org
memphis.craigslist.org
mexicocity.craigslist.org
miami.craigslist.org
milan.craigslist.org
milwaukee.craigslist.org
minneapolis.craigslist.org
mobile.craigslist.org
modesto.craigslist.org
montana.craigslist.org
monterey.craigslist.org
montgomery.craigslist.org
montreal.craigslist.org
moscow.craigslist.org
mumbai.craigslist.org
munich.craigslist.org
nd.craigslist.org
newcastle.craigslist.org
newhaven.craigslist.org
newjersey.craigslist.org
neworleans.craigslist.org
nh.craigslist.org
norfolk.craigslist.org
oklahomacity.craigslist.org
omaha.craigslist.org
orangecounty.craigslist.org
orlando.craigslist.org
osaka.craigslist.org
ottawa.craigslist.org
oxford.craigslist.org
palmsprings.craigslist.org
paris.craigslist.org
pensacola.craigslist.org
perth.craigslist.org
philadelphia.craigslist.org
pittsburgh.craigslist.org
post.craigslist.org
prague.craigslist.org
providence.craigslist.org
puertorico.craigslist.org
quebec.craigslist.org
raleigh.craigslist.org
redding.craigslist.org
reno.craigslist.org
rio.craigslist.org
rochester.craigslist.org
rome.craigslist.org
saltlakecity.craigslist.org
sanantonio.craigslist.org
sanfrancisco.craigslist.org
santabarbara.craigslist.org
santafe.craigslist.org
santiago.craigslist.org
saopaulo.craigslist.org
saskatoon.craigslist.org
savannah.craigslist.org
sd.craigslist.org
seoul.craigslist.org
sf.craigslist.org
sfbayarea.craigslist.org
shanghai.craigslist.org
shreveport.craigslist.org
singapore.craigslist.org
slo.craigslist.org
spokane.craigslist.org
stockholm.craigslist.org
stockton.craigslist.org
sydney.craigslist.org
syracuse.craigslist.org
taipei.craigslist.org
tallahassee.craigslist.org
tampa.craigslist.org
telaviv.craigslist.org
tijuana.craigslist.org
tokyo.craigslist.org
toledo.craigslist.org
tucson.craigslist.org
tulsa.craigslist.org
ventura.craigslist.org
victoria.craigslist.org
vienna.craigslist.org
washingtondc.craigslist.org
westernmass.craigslist.org
westpalmbeach.craigslist.org
wichita.craigslist.org
winnipeg.craigslist.org
wv.craigslist.org
wyoming.craigslist.org
zurich.craigslist.org

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 11:42 AM

thanks for that part pricer, that will come in useful. I will add a select all button too, to go along with Blitzs ideas about being able to check off an entire area.

like i said before...i suck at look and feel, its the nuts and bolts I can do.

which brings up a point as to why i haven't just put all the CLs in there: The way CL is setup its a little bit of a PIA to register all there sites.

Alot of grunt work there...but i have designed the system so its easy to register individual sites and new areas. So i gotta chip away.

thanks so much guys...i am all into this. I'm glad I finally found a way to give back to the community.

Air_Cooled_Nut

Aug 24 2006, 11:47 AM

Awesome work!

I'd recommend removing the mailto and substituting an image with the email addy in it. Helps reduce the email gathering bots from flooding you w/spam. yeah, the person doesn't have the convienence of simply clicking the link, they'll deal with it

Air_Cooled_Nut

Aug 24 2006, 11:49 AM

QUOTE(drewvw @ Aug 24 2006, 10:42 AM)

...
like i said before...i suck at look and feel, its the nuts and bolts I can do.

...

thanks so much guys...i am all into this. I'm glad I finally found a way to give back to the community.

I like the simplicity. Keep it as is.

What about publicizing your site to others? Do you mind or would you rather just "keep it between you & me"?

blitZ

Aug 24 2006, 11:55 AM

QUOTE(drewvw @ Aug 24 2006, 01:42 PM)

thanks for that part pricer, that will come in useful. I will add a select all button too, to go along with Blitzs ideas about being able to check off an entire area.

I use FF but it looks the same in IE. Resolution is 1024 x 768 here at work.

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 11:56 AM

good idea toby I will do that....

as for spreading the word, i've been thinking about that a lot. I think its okay to pass it on so long as its in a grassroots type of format.

I've read the legal verbiage for CL and as long as its not viewed as a commerical entity and is intended for individual use (some grey area here) it should be permissible.

so feel free to pass onto friends....

RickS

Aug 24 2006, 12:03 PM

Positively awesome tool! What a time saver. THANKS

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 12:12 PM

blitz, i think i know why...its because you probably dont have the browser window maximized, and the relative positioning is moving around on you.

hmmm.....I'm really not a fan of fixed dimensions for layers, I may wait until i change the nav up a bit. See if maximizing your browser fixes the problem.

chilli

Aug 24 2006, 12:32 PM

Thanks very nice tool

How much trouble to add Sacramento, ca

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 12:35 PM

not much trouble at all...where should it go, with bay area or should i start a northern CA type area with some other sites?

so much for work today

chilli

Aug 24 2006, 12:40 PM

QUOTE(drewvw @ Aug 24 2006, 10:35 AM)

not much trouble at all...where should it go, with bay area or should i start a northern CA type area with some other sites?

so much for work today

Drew

Keep it simple for you. It would be nice to group by "area" or keep alpha

mike

McMark

Aug 24 2006, 12:41 PM

Put each 'region' in a table cell and have the header for that cell have a select all button.

McMark

Aug 24 2006, 12:45 PM

Oh, and a more complicated feature, sort the results by post date, not by region.

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 12:45 PM

good call, i'm working on that right now, something similar. I am going to use a left nav because the real estate for areas is getting a little cumbersome.

stay tuned...

Randal

Aug 24 2006, 03:13 PM

QUOTE(McMark @ Aug 24 2006, 11:41 AM)

Put each 'region' in a table cell and have the header for that cell have a select all button.

<FORM>
<table border=2>
<tr>
<td><b><INPUT TYPE=checkbox>SELECT ALL</B></TD>
</TR>

<TR>
<TD><INPUT TYPE=checkbox>San Francisco<BR>
<INPUT TYPE=checkbox>San Diego<BR>
<INPUT TYPE=checkbox>Sacramento<BR>
<INPUT TYPE=checkbox>Monterey<BR>
etc</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</FORM>

From the viewpoint of a user I want to be able to see an entire region, i.e., like Northern or Southern California as these (regions) are close enough to have things shipped. But having a drop down, like Mark is suggesting is the next best thing.

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 04:52 PM

I just updated the site with the next release. It includes many of the changes suggested but not all of them. Chipping away.

the point has been recieved that I still need to look at how my areas are defined. I thought about a southern cali, northern cali breakdown but my original aim was to keep the areas relatively compact.

sounds like I need to at least do a north cali, south cali, and bay area

thoughts? Isn't software development fun??

chilli

Aug 24 2006, 05:08 PM

QUOTE(drewvw @ Aug 24 2006, 02:52 PM)

I just updated the site with the next release. It includes many of the changes suggested but not all of them. Chipping away.

the point has been recieved that I still need to look at how my areas are defined. I thought about a southern cali, northern cali breakdown but my original aim was to keep the areas relatively compact.

sounds like I need to at least do a north cali, south cali, and bay area

thoughts? Isn't software development fun??

Drew
took a look at the new version. Looking good.

redding and sacramento can be in N. Calif. "box" Took me second to realize to press return to get the search to work. Also using firerfox do not get a cursor in the search input box.

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

mike

Dr. Roger

Aug 24 2006, 05:11 PM

this straight-up ROCKS!

we've needed this for a long time.

Randal

Aug 24 2006, 05:19 PM

QUOTE(drewvw @ Aug 24 2006, 03:52 PM)

I just updated the site with the next release. It includes many of the changes suggested but not all of them. Chipping away.

the point has been recieved that I still need to look at how my areas are defined. I thought about a southern cali, northern cali breakdown but my original aim was to keep the areas relatively compact.

sounds like I need to at least do a north cali, south cali, and bay area

thoughts? Isn't software development fun??

norcal, socal, bayarea breakdowns would be cool.

Maybe places like Oregon or other smaller states would be a good breakdown.

This software development is going much better than anything I've ever seen. :

I LOVE THIS TOOL!

jhadler

Aug 24 2006, 05:39 PM

Nice. Simple, and to the point. But I'd try to keep this under the radar...

The global search systems for Craigslist have been done before. Some of them (many or most) have been shutout by craigslist. They (craigslist) deliberately structured the system to try and prevent global searches. And they don't like it when people have done an end around on their system.

Keep your search engine quiet (e.g. not public), and you should be okay.

-Josh2

KaptKaos

Aug 24 2006, 05:49 PM

Nice engine. Cool concept. Been doing the same with RSS, but this is great.

2 things:

1) I did a seach on 914 in all things for sale and got a bunch of responses, looked at them and then changed it to cars and seemed to get more responses that were different from the ones in the first search. Is the a limit on the output from the meta search that only shows so many listings?

2) Centering the search results seems to make them harder to get through IMO.

For fun you should rename the search areas to

RUSTY CARS
NY
NJ
etc..

RUST FREE
LA
OC
etc..

Nice work!!

drewvw

Aug 24 2006, 06:21 PM

wow jhadler thanks for the heads up, I figured that somebody had done this before. So I guess lets just keep it quiet so we can all use it.

also...if worse comes to worse and they shut me out, I have a plan B for us guys. My buddy at work came up with it actually...

back to the development:

1) ok so you don't like the centered results, how do you want them, aligned left?

2) being from the east coast, I need help with breaking up cali sites as north, south, and bay area. Can somebody PM or post me how they think it should be done?

3) as for the number of results being limited. Not by anything in my code. whatever they give me is what i put on the page....the combo box for cats is adapted from there site as well, works the same way.

EDIT: I think I got it figured out...cali will be reconfigured in the morning.

p914

Aug 24 2006, 06:34 PM

That is one bitchin tool.
I have a set of 72 CL sites I check a couple times daily. I usually open em all at once in tabs. This is easier to do.

boxstr

Aug 24 2006, 10:37 PM

WOWOWOWOW this is awesome. I have been searching for a Mini Moke. I go to every CL site and type in MOKE. This helps .
What about all of the west coast states and then the rocky mountain states and then the midwest then the mid atlantic then the east coast.
That way you would be able to search the west coast, all of oregon, washington and calif.
This is great.
Thank you
Craig C. Laughlin

JimSar

Aug 25 2006, 12:44 AM

Thank you very much for this tool. It is a big timesaver.
Jim

racerx7

Aug 25 2006, 03:22 AM

book marked!

Thanks. Very cool tool.

crash914

Aug 25 2006, 05:30 AM

How about a mid atlantic?

philly, baltimore, washington, richmond...etc...

crash914

Aug 25 2006, 05:31 AM

oh, I forgot...very cool and nice job...

drewvw

Aug 25 2006, 06:51 AM

new release is up.....with some major site changes:

1) Cali is completely covered now, broken up into north and south. Ya happy?

2) Mid altlantic region started but i need more input

3) I aligned search results left, not sure what else to do right now

4) I would like to start a wash st/oregon region and a rocky region. Or maybe just a western region?

good morning all....

mikelsr

Aug 25 2006, 07:32 AM

QUOTE(drewvw @ Aug 24 2006, 10:14 AM)

definitely....PM sent. what locations should I add?

Thanks a lot!

How about adding some mid-west sites? Chicago, St. Louis, Indy, or Minneapolis.

Mike

drewvw

Aug 25 2006, 07:51 AM

definitely, any other sites besides these for mid west?

Chicago,
St. Louis
Indy
Minneapolis

pittsburgh?
cleveland?
any little guys?

mikelsr

Aug 25 2006, 08:31 AM

QUOTE(drewvw @ Aug 25 2006, 08:51 AM)

definitely, any other sites besides these for mid west?

Chicago,
St. Louis
Indy
Minneapolis

pittsburgh?
cleveland?
any little guys?

champaign/urbana
springfield
peoria

drewvw

Aug 25 2006, 09:04 AM

you got it....next version will have that in there

Part Pricer

Aug 25 2006, 09:16 AM

Drew,

I love the tool. But, I think that you may want to slow down and review what you are doing and what you want to accomplish.

Craigslist has shut down everyone that has attempted to do this before. Oodle.com had to discontinue their feature that scraped craiglist sites for info. And, on a much smaller, less-visible scale, clsearch.org was "requested" to discontinue offering the same capability.

As someone that has experience in building a web site that aggregates information, I can say that you will not remain unnoticed for long. The server logs will start to show unusual activity and you will eventually be discovered.

However, you may want to take a look at doing something on the client-side, not server based. There is not much they could do to shut that down.

drewvw

Aug 25 2006, 09:41 AM

thats my plan b actually...to build an agent that sits on everyones desktop.

adding sites is pretty easy the way i have it setup, so i will probably do that until they take notice.

The way its built should do a decent job of camoflaging source ip for a little while, we'll have to see.

EDIT: Mid west has been added.

T/R racer

Aug 26 2006, 02:10 AM

Great tool!

Can you add Detroit and Ann Arbor to the Midwest site.

Adding Seattle in a NW site would be good too. A lot of 914's show up there. The other area I see a lot of 914's is Denver.

boxstr

Aug 26 2006, 09:40 AM

Make Wash.Ore and Idaho the PNW(pacific northwest region) and Montana,Colo.Utah and I'm forgetting one, theRocky Mountain region.

Or what about one selection of ALL, that would mean every state and city that is availble for Craigslist.

One thing, maybe it has been mentioned is that the scroll button on th efar right, goes back tot eh top after each time you look at a listing. Kind annoying. Any fix.
Craig

Brian Mifsud

Aug 26 2006, 12:05 PM

nice work Drew...I've been wanting to find something like this for a long time!

One request if feasible... after I click a link, view ad and return, the list always scrolls back up to the top, rather than saving the spot I clicked... is it possible to have it remember the spot you had scrolled to before clicking an ad?

thanks a million!!!