Keeping track of refinements made to page using ASPX (Breadcrumb trail)?

Question

I have done stuff like this before, but I want to figure out the most efficient way of doing this. There is my scenario: A user can search our site. Depending on that search they have a number of refinements they can make to the data. There are categories for different refinements. Each refinement is represented by a checkbox. The refinements might look like this:

Appliances: Washer, Dryer, Dishwasher, Microwave

Rooms: Family, Dining, Bedroom, Game

Each refinement has its own ID. The checkboxes are not ASPX controls. The HTML for the boxes is being built server side. I may want to change that, but not sure if it is going to matter.
When the page is posted back to, I am building the breadcrumbs for it and preselecting (checking) the refinements that were checked. The breadcrumbs are not clickable. However, I need to keep track of what may have been previously checked. So the breadcrumbs should look like this:

Washer, Dryer > Bedroom > Microwave

Each ">" represents a new refinement search. The user can unselect a refinement a remove the item from the breadcrumb list. So let's say they uncheck Dryer and Bedroom:

Washer > Microwave

I need some suggestions on how I should keep track of the refinements and building / rebuilding of the crumbs. TIA!

Answer 1

I don't think breadcrumbs are the right metaphor for this application. Breadcrumbs are a navigational aid, to show the path someone took to get where they are, such as:

Home -> My Account -> Profile -> Edit Preferences -> Change Address

Meaning that the user entered the site via the home page, clicked the My Account link, etc. etc. etc.

This user should be able to get back to the Profile page by clicking "Profile" in the breadcrumb trail.

I think what you really want for this application is a Shopping Basket metaphor, where all refinements are added to a list, and then the list can be displayed at the top of the page in a "My Refinements" area. Bonus points for making the items in the list selectable via CheckBoxes for an add/remove functionality.

Generally, once there's an established metaphor, you shouldn't use it for something else, as users get used to a standard way of doing things. ( I recall coming across sliders being used for a list selector and it was very confusing. Dev. should have stuck with the tried and true Dropdownlist)

I'm making this Community Wiki as I haven't actually answered the question.

Answer 2

Well, i ended up using some hidden input controls to keep track of checkbox states.