Apex SOSL Paging Implementations

Question

How might one implement SOSL paging, i.e. get the next 200 results, in Apex?

Answer 1

These probably aren't the answers your looking for, but unless someone else has some clever ideas...

The current answer in the Force.com Discussion Boards : Pagination for SOSL query is:

"No, it's not possible to query more than 200 records in a SOSL query."

From SOSL Syntax

Syntax: LIMIT n

Description: Optional. Specifies the maximum number of rows returned in the text query, up to 200. If unspecified, the default is 200, the largest number of rows that can be returned.

IdeaExchange: Lift 200 record limit in SOSL

Answer 2

Use a WHERE (range) with an ORDER BY on the same column, and increase the WHERE on each page. General idea:

FIND {test}
RETURNING Account (id WHERE CreatedDate >= [last page's max createddate])
ORDER BY CreatedDate

Then you get the next 200 records, and the next paging click increments your search range criteria. It's not perfect but is a general pattern for getting around querying limits.

I somewhat agree with Lacey's reference to Atwood when it comes to building easy-to-use web software esp for B2C, but IMO there are plenty of valid use cases in business software for paging through 200+ records based on search/filter criteria.