The SearchPanes extension for DataTables provides improved Searching functionality allowing users to select options from a "Pane" which will then in turn search the DataTable and return the relevant results. There are multiple configuration options available to enhance SearchPanes.
To use SearchPanes the best way to obtain the software is to use the DataTables download builder. You can also include the individual files from the DataTables CDN. See the documentation for full details.
If you prefer to use a package manager such as NPM, distribution repositories are available with software built from this repository under the name datatables.net-searchpanes. Styling packages for Bootstrap, Foundation and other styling libraries are also available by adding a suffix to the package name. Again, use the DataTables download builder to obtain the packages to install.
SearchPanes is used in DataTables by placing it in the layout object where you wish the search panels to appear:
new DataTable('#example', {
layout: {
top: 'searchPanes'
}
});