1568 persist values in the react encounter search filter form

[jbmort]

I updated the filter, table, and "Applied Filters" sidebar to manage state across page refreshes and reloads.

Values for the applied filters are now stored in session storage to preserve them after the filters are applied, and refreshes the current mobX handling of filter values on reload. I also added a few unit tests to verify the functionality. If a user wants a clear set of filters, then the reset button still works as expected and clears values from storage, so they will not go back to the old values if the page reloads. Filter values will still be lost if the page is closed though.

PR fixes #1568

[JasonWildMe]

Thank you @jbmort!

We're leveraging a pair of bot-overlords for code review right now to help us make sure we don't drop meaningful open source commits like this one. Together they flagged these issues. Would you be able to address them?

🔴 High — deep-link / URL-param searches now run unfiltered

getAllSearchParamsAndParse.js populates only formFilters (via addFilter) for ?username=, ?state=, ?individualIDExact=.
But this PR changed the query binding in EncounterSearch.jsx:72 from queries: store.formFilters → queries:
store.appliedFilters, and the URL path never sets appliedFilters. So a direct link like /search?state=... shows the
filter in the panel but returns all encounters unfiltered. This is a regression vs. main (where the query read
formFilters). (Codex caught this; I confirmed the binding change + that the URL path never applies.)
Fix: after parsing URL filters, call store.applyFilters() (or otherwise sync into appliedFilters) so they actually
run.

🔴 High — applying an empty filter set leaves stale storage

EncounterFormStore.js:266 setFiltersInSessionStorage() only writes when appliedFilters.length > 0. Repro: apply
filters → remove them all → Search (results correctly empty-filter) → refresh → the old filters come back because
storage was never cleared and getFiltersFromStorage() reloads them. Silently reverts user intent. (I rated this
Medium; Codex rated High — I agree it's High because it reverses an explicit user action.)
Fix: in applyFilters()/setFiltersInSessionStorage(), removeItem (or persist []) when appliedFilters is empty.

🟡 Medium — searchQueryId branch is inconsistent with the new split

getAllSearchParamsAndParse.js:32 raw-parses sessionStorage.getItem("formData") (duplicating the magic string instead
of store.FILTER_STORAGE_KEY) and sets only formFilters, and its JSON.parse is unguarded — malformed storage throws
here, outside the store's try/catch loader.
Fix: route through one validated store hydration method; explicitly clear or populate appliedFilters for the
saved-search case.

🟡 Medium — getFiltersFromStorage doesn't check Array.isArray

EncounterFormStore.js:280 guards parsed && parsed.length > 0 but not the type. Stored "abc" (length 3) passes, gets
assigned to the filter arrays, then useFilterEncounters can blow up on queries.filter. Low likelihood (only this code
writes the key) but cheap to harden.
Fix: require Array.isArray(parsed), else ignore + removeItem.

🟢 Low — SideBar.jsx:12 default queryID = [] is truthy

An empty array is truthy, so if the prop is ever omitted, num() returns 1 and the query-ID branch renders. Harmless
today (sole caller passes queryID={false}) but a latent footgun — looks like an accidental leftover from removing the
old tempFormFilters = [] default.
Fix: default to false/null.

🟢 Low — test gaps

Neither test covers the two High bugs. Missing: empty-apply clears storage; resetFilters removes the key;
non-array/malformed storage is ignored; and EncounterSearch.test.js only asserts getFiltersFromStorage is called, not
that restored/URL-parsed filters actually reach useFilterEncounters via appliedFilters.

[jbmort]

I believe I've now addressed all those fixes and included test coverage for the major holes the bot caught there.

[JasonWildMe]

Thank you @jbmort. I think all 6 were addressed. Awesome!

Two issues emerged in a next round review. Issue B might need a runtime test to confirm, but does it look like an issue to you? I can definitely test on one of our QA servers, but I might need instructions from you on how to reproduce it (if it's really an issue)

Thank you for helping us!

🔴 B (likely a crash — needs a runtime confirm) — SideBar renders filter objects as React children

SideBar.jsx:114 — {store.appliedFilters.map((filter, index) => {filter})}. appliedFilters
elements are objects ({filterId, clause, query, filterKey, path} — confirmed by the store and its tests). Rendering an
object as a JSX child throws "Objects are not valid as a React child" (or at best renders [object Object]).

Why it's new: the base rendered tempFormFilters here, and per your own finding #5 that prop was being retired
(effectively always [], so the list never rendered chips). This PR repoints the list at store.appliedFilters, which is
now actually populated — so the latent bug becomes reachable exactly when the feature works (filters applied +
Applied-Filters list shown). It should render a label, e.g. {filter.query} / {filter.filterKey}. I couldn't run the
frontend here to confirm the throw, but statically it's very likely.

🟠 A — loading a non-filter URL param can wipe persisted filters

Mount effect order (verified): the helperFunction effect (EncounterSearch.jsx:47) runs before the
getFiltersFromStorage effect (:51). helperFunction runs its loop + store.applyFilters() for any non-empty URL params —
including non-filter ones like ?regularQuery=…. At that point formFilters is still [] (storage not yet restored), so
applyFilters() sets appliedFilters = [] → setFiltersInSessionStorage() removes formData. Then getFiltersFromStorage
runs against now-empty storage. Net: navigating to a URL with a non-filter param silently clears the user's persisted
filters. Fix options: guard applyFilters() to only run when the loop actually added a filter, or restore from storage
before parsing URL params.

[jbmort]

I dug into those issues that popped up and I added some protection on A so that applyFilters() only runs if there are changes.

B doesn't seem to be an actual issue on my end. The sidebar component passes the objects to the chip component, which utilizes the object properties. It all seems to be running smoothly for me. I also noticed the sidebar is not acknowledging when there is a search query applied. So i made some changes there to bring that back.

• QueryId is now passed to the sidebar so it will show that it has been applied to the table
• Filtering the table while a query ID is applied does not work, so I changed the options on the sidebar to only show copy or reset. This prevents someone from attempting to apply filters over the queryId filter that would be fruitless. The edit button only shows when the table has been populated by applying traditional filters.
• I added error messaging for when an improper searchQueryId has been included in the URL. An alert now fires, and directs the user back to the filter form with a cleaned-up URL.

The QueryId changes are a little out of the scope of this issue, but will hopefully create a better user experience for those who utilize the sharing of search results through copying the search query ID. Let me know if this should be in a separate issue, and I can undo those last changes to keep this PR more focused on the issue at hand.