How do I set default search conditions with Searchlogic? - ruby-on-rails

Question

I've got a search form on this page:
http://staging-checkpointtracker.aptanacloud.com/events
If you select a State from the dropdown you get zero results because you didn't select one or more Event Division (checkboxes).
What I want is to default the checkboxes to "checked" when the page first loads...to display Events in all Divisions...but I want changes made by the user to be reflected when they filter.
Here's the index method in my Events controller:
def index
#search = Event.search(params[:search])
respond_to do |format|
format.html # index.html.erb
format.xml { render :xml => #events }
end
end
Here's my search form:
<% form_for #search do |f| %>
<div>
<%= f.label :state_is, "State" %> <%= f.select :state_is, ['AK','AL','AR','AZ','CA','CO','CT','DC','DE','FL','GA','HI','IA','ID','IL','IN','KS','KY','LA','MA','MD','ME','MI','MN','MO','MS','MT','NC','ND','NE','NH','NJ','NM','NV','NY','OH','OK','OR','PA','RI','SC','SD','TN','TX','UT','VA','VT','WA','WI','WV','WY'], :include_blank => true %>
</div>
<div>
<%= f.check_box :division_like_any, {:name => "search[:division_like_any][]"}, "Sprint", :checked => true %> Sprint (2+ hours)<br/>
<%= f.check_box :division_like_any, {:name => "search[:division_like_any][]"}, "Sport" %> Sport (12+ hours)<br/>
<%= f.check_box :division_like_any, {:name => "search[:division_like_any][]"}, "Adventure" %> Adventure (18+ hours)<br/>
<%= f.check_box :division_like_any, {:name => "search[:division_like_any][]"}, "Expedition" %> Expedition (48+ hours)<br/>
</div>
<%= f.submit "Find Events" %>
<%= link_to 'Clear', '/events' %>
<% end %>

Answer 1

There are a few ways to do this, I think the easiest/quickest way is:
#search = Event.search(params[:search] || Event::DEFAULT_SEARCH_PARAMETERS)
In event.rb
class Event < A:RB
DEFAULT_SEARCH_PARAMETERS = {:state_is => 'NY', :foo => 'bar'} # set your defaults here
end
Having said that, I'm not sure how that's going to work with the checkboxes. You could also consider one of the following options:
Have a SearchSetting model which contains all the searchable parameters (you can also persist this for users if they can save searches, or just leave it disconnected). This will make your form much simpler.
Add an All Divisions checkbox which is checked by default. A little bit of javascript to manage the state of the checkboxes and a custom search method.