mysql query in php search (first part of postcode only)

Question

I use the following query to show results from my search bar

$query = 
"SELECT * FROM $usertable WHERE 
    ($postcodelist LIKE '%$search%' 
      OR $city LIKE '%$search%') 
    AND $office <> ''  
    GROUP BY $office";

If I enter LS19 or Leeds, it shows me the leeds office's details as the postcode list i have is 4 digits max

However if I search LS19 6BR (my full postcode) it shows me nothing as this does not match the post code list at all.

I need to somehow search part of the user's input when then enter a postcode, but not when they enter a city for example.

Is this possible?

Thanks

Answer 1

Since you have 1 search term for 2 fields, this is tricky. I would consider splitting it into 2 search fields. However, barring that I would just go with:

$postcodesearch = substr($search,0,4);
$query = 
"SELECT * FROM $usertable WHERE 
   ($postcodelist LIKE '%$postcodesearch%' 
     OR $city LIKE '%$search%') 
   AND $office <> ''  
   GROUP BY $office";