DEF-044 — Stories: Search does not filter results — jQuery undefined at runtime
DEF-044 — Stories: Search does not filter results — jQuery undefined at runtime
Summary
The search box on the Stories Management page (/admin/stories) does not filter the story list. Typing a title or author name and pressing Enter has no effect — all rows remain visible. The browser console shows ReferenceError: $ is not defined at stories:1323, indicating jQuery is not available when the search script executes. This JavaScript error also explains why the Grid/List view toggle buttons are non-functional (DEF-012).
Environment
- URL:
https://project6.dxtserver.com/drivelink_new/public/admin/stories - Module: Admin Panel — Stories → Search box
- Date Reported: 2026-06-17
- Browser: Chromium (Playwright)
- Testing Phase: Admin Panel — Section 5: Stories (test cases STR-07, STR-08, STR-10)
Screenshots
Stories page with “Tommy” typed in search — all 12 rows still visible, no filtering applied:

Console Error
ReferenceError: $ is not defined
at https://project6.dxtserver.com/drivelink_new/public/admin/stories:1323:1
$ is the jQuery global. This error fires on page load, meaning jQuery is either not included in the page or is loaded after the inline script that references it.
Steps to Reproduce
- Log in to the Admin Panel.
- Navigate to Stories (
/admin/stories). - Open browser DevTools → Console — observe
ReferenceError: $ is not defined. - Type “Weather” in the search box and press Enter.
- Observe: all 12 rows remain. No filtering applied.
- Type “Tommy” in the search box and press Enter.
- Observe: all 12 rows remain (Tommy has 2 stories but all others are also shown).
Expected Behaviour
- Typing a story title in the search box should filter the list to matching stories.
- Typing an author name should filter to that author’s stories only.
- The
$ is not definedconsole error should not appear.
Actual Behaviour
- The search box accepts input but the table never updates.
- “Showing 1 to 12 of 15 results” remains unchanged regardless of search query.
- Console shows
ReferenceError: $ is not definedat page load, preventing all jQuery-dependent features from working.
Impact
- Admins cannot search for specific stories by title or author
- The Grid/List toggle is also broken (DEF-012)
- Any other jQuery-dependent interaction on the Stories page is silently broken
Severity
High — Core search and navigation functionality on the Stories page is completely non-functional due to a JavaScript load-order or missing-dependency error.
Priority
High
Status
New
Reported By
QA / Testing Team