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FootyCollect provides powerful search and filtering capabilities to help you quickly find items in your collection, whether you have 10 items or 1,000.

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Browsing Your Collection

Your main collection view displays all items with smart caching and pagination.

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Collection List View

The primary collection interface shows:
1

Access Your Collection

Navigate to /collection/items/ to see your complete collection. Items are displayed in a grid with:
  • Main photo (first photo from each item)
  • Item name (auto-generated or custom)
  • Club and season
  • Key details (size, condition, player name)
2

View Options

The list view provides multiple viewing modes:
  • Grid view - Visual cards with photos
  • List view - Compact rows with details
  • Feed view - Social media-style feed of recent additions
Items are ordered by creation date (newest first) by default.
3

Pagination

Collections are paginated for performance:
  • Default page size varies by view
  • Navigate using page numbers or prev/next buttons
  • Current page is cached to improve load times

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Optimized Performance

The collection list uses advanced optimization: 
Jersey.objects.filter(base_item__user=request.user)
    .select_related(
        'base_item',
        'base_item__user',
        'base_item__club',
        'base_item__season',
        'base_item__brand',
        'base_item__main_color',
        'size',
        'kit',
        'kit__type',
    )
    .prefetch_related(
        'base_item__competitions',
        'base_item__photos',
        'base_item__secondary_colors',
        'base_item__tags',
    )
This query optimization:
  • Reduces database queries from hundreds to ~3-5 per page
  • Loads all related data in advance
  • Significantly improves page load times
Collection pages are cached for 15 minutes. If you add or edit items and don’t see changes, the cache is automatically invalidated and refreshed.

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Search Functionality

Search across all your items using multiple criteria.
1

Access Search

Use the search bar at the top of your collection view. The search box accepts text queries.
2

Enter Search Terms

Type keywords to search:
  • Club names - “Real Betis”, “Barcelona”
  • Seasons - “2020-21”, “2023”
  • Brands - “Adidas”, “Nike”, “Kappa”
  • Player names - “Joaquin”, “Messi”
  • Item names - Any part of the auto-generated or custom name
  • Descriptions - Text from item descriptions
3

View Results

Results appear as you type (if debounced search is enabled) or when you submit the search. Matching items are displayed using the same grid/list format.

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Search Scope

Searches query across multiple fields:
FieldSearchableExample
Item NameYes”Real Betis Home 2020-21”
Club NameYes”Real Betis”
Brand NameYes”Kappa”
SeasonYes”2020-21”
Player NameYes”Joaquin”
DescriptionYes”signed by player”
Kit TypeYes”Home”, “Away”, “Third”
CompetitionsPartialCompetition names
TagsYesCustom tags
Search is case-insensitive. “real betis”, “Real Betis”, and “REAL BETIS” all return the same results.

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Filtering Collections

Narrow down your collection using filters based on item attributes.

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Available Filters

1

Item Type Filter

Filter by item type:
  • Jersey
  • Shorts
  • Outerwear
  • Tracksuit
  • Pants
  • Other
Shows only items of the selected type. Useful for viewing only jerseys or only accessories.
2

Club Filter

Filter by club/team:
  • Shows a list of all clubs in your collection
  • Select one or multiple clubs
  • Displays only items from selected clubs
Perfect for viewing your collection for a specific team.
3

Season Filter

Filter by season:
  • Lists all seasons represented in your collection
  • Select single or multiple seasons
  • Useful for tracking items from specific eras
Example: View all items from “2020-21” season across all clubs.
4

Brand Filter

Filter by manufacturer:
  • Adidas, Nike, Puma, Kappa, Umbro, etc.
  • Shows all brands in your collection
  • View items by a specific manufacturer
Great for collectors focusing on specific brands.
5

Color Filter

Filter by color:
  • Main Color - Primary jersey color
  • Secondary Colors - Additional colors
Available colors include: White, Red, Blue, Black, Yellow, Green, Sky Blue, Navy, Orange, Gray, Claret, Purple, Pink, Brown, Gold, Silver, Off-WhiteDisplays items matching the selected color(s).
6

Condition Filter

Filter by condition:
  • Numeric range (1-10)
  • Detailed condition: BNWT, BNWOT, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor
Find items in specific condition ranges.
7

Special Attributes

Filter by specific features:
  • Is Replica - Show only replica items
  • Is Signed - Autographed items only
  • Has Nameset - Items with player names/numbers
  • Fan Version - Fan version items
  • Player Version - Player issue items
  • Is Private - Private/draft items

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Combining Filters

Filters can be combined for precise searches: Example 1: Real Betis + 2020-21 + Signed
  • Shows all signed Real Betis items from 2020-21 season
Example 2: Jersey + Adidas + Red + BNWT
  • Shows all brand new with tags red Adidas jerseys
Example 3: Player Version + Has Nameset + Excellent
  • Shows player version items with namesets in excellent condition
Filters are applied using AND logic. Selecting multiple filters narrows results. For example, “Club: Real Betis” AND “Season: 2020-21” shows only Real Betis items from that specific season.

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Database Indexes for Search Performance

FootyCollect uses optimized database indexes for fast searches: 
class Meta:
    indexes = [
        models.Index(fields=['user']),
        models.Index(fields=['item_type']),
        models.Index(fields=['club']),
        models.Index(fields=['brand']),
        models.Index(fields=['created_at']),
        # Composite indexes for common query patterns
        models.Index(fields=['user', 'item_type']),
        models.Index(fields=['user', 'is_private', 'is_draft']),
        models.Index(fields=['user', 'created_at']),
        models.Index(fields=['club', 'season']),
    ]
These indexes enable:
  • Fast filtering by user, club, brand, season
  • Quick item type filtering
  • Efficient sorting by creation date
  • Optimized privacy/draft queries

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Advanced Search Tips

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Using Item Type Queries

Query specific item types directly: 
# Jerseys only
Jersey.objects.filter(base_item__user=request.user)

# With specific kit type
Jersey.objects.filter(
    base_item__user=request.user,
    kit__type__name='Home'
)

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Searching by Competition

Find items associated with specific competitions: 
BaseItem.objects.filter(
    user=request.user,
    competitions__name__icontains='Champions League'
)
Competitions use many-to-many relationships, allowing items to be associated with multiple tournaments.

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Finding Items by Country

Search by country code: 
BaseItem.objects.filter(
    user=request.user,
    country='ES'  # Spain
)
Countries are stored using ISO country codes via django-countries.

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Color-Based Searches

Find items by color combinations: 
# Main color is Red
BaseItem.objects.filter(
    user=request.user,
    main_color__name='RED'
)

# Secondary colors include Blue
BaseItem.objects.filter(
    user=request.user,
    secondary_colors__name='BLUE'
)
Colors are stored as Color objects with names and hex values.

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Design Pattern Searches

Filter by jersey design: 
BaseItem.objects.filter(
    user=request.user,
    design='STRIPES'
)
Available designs: Plain, Stripes, Graphic, Chest Band, Contrasting Sleeves, Pinstripes, Hoops, Single Stripe, Half-and-Half, Sash, Chevron, Checkers, Gradient, Diagonal, Cross, Quarters
Design patterns are stored as choices in BaseItem.DESIGN_CHOICES. Custom designs can be added by extending this list.

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Feed View

The feed view provides a social media-style chronological display.

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Accessing the Feed

Navigate to /collection/feed/ to see:
  • Recent additions to collections (yours and public)
  • Items sorted by creation date
  • Full item details including photos, descriptions, and metadata
  • User profile information for each item

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Feed Privacy

The feed respects privacy settings:
  • Your items - Always visible to you
  • Public items - Visible to everyone
  • Private items - Only visible to the owner
See Privacy Settings for configuration options.

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Custom Managers and Querysets

FootyCollect provides custom managers for common queries:

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BaseItem Manager

# Public items only
BaseItem.objects.public()

# Private items only
BaseItem.objects.private()

# Draft items only
BaseItem.objects.drafts()

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MTI Model Manager

For item types (Jersey, Shorts, etc.): 
# Public jerseys
Jersey.objects.public()

# Private jerseys
Jersey.objects.private()

# Draft jerseys
Jersey.objects.drafts()
These managers filter based on base_item privacy and draft flags.

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Collection Statistics

View statistics about your collection:
  • Total items - Count of all items
  • By type - Breakdown of jerseys, shorts, etc.
  • By club - Items per club/team
  • By brand - Items per manufacturer
  • By season - Items per season
  • By condition - Distribution of conditions
Use filters to drill down into specific segments of your collection. For example, filter by club to see how many items you have for each team, or filter by season to track your collection’s historical range.

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Caching Strategy

Collection lists use intelligent caching: 
# Cache key per user and page
cache_key = f"item_list_{user.pk}_page_{page}"

# Cache timeout: 15 minutes
ITEM_LIST_CACHE_TIMEOUT = 60 * 15

# Fragment versioning
fragment_version = cache.get(f"item_list_fragment_v_{user.pk}") or 0

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Cache Invalidation

The cache is invalidated when:
  • Items are created, updated, or deleted
  • Photos are added, removed, or reordered
  • Privacy settings change
  • Draft status changes
Invalidation increments the fragment version, forcing a cache refresh.
If you have messages (notifications), caching is skipped to ensure messages display correctly. This prevents stale cache from hiding important notifications.

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Search Performance Optimization

For large collections, FootyCollect implements several optimizations:
  1. Database Indexes - Composite indexes on common query patterns
  2. Query Optimization - select_related and prefetch_related to minimize queries
  3. Caching - Page-level caching with intelligent invalidation
  4. Pagination - Limit results per page to reduce memory usage
  5. Lazy Loading - Load photos and related data only when needed
For the best search performance, use specific filters rather than broad searches. For example, filtering by club then season is faster than searching all items for a club name.

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Next Steps