At http://trirand.com/blog/jqgrid/jqgrid.html, under New in Version 3.7 > Column Search, there is a method explained to search, and it hasn't worked yet for me. I've added:

jQuery(#toolbar).jqGrid('filterToolbar',{stringResult: true,searchOnEnter : false});

and less essential code from the example. My server saw slightly different JSON requests, but no _search=true and no search term, ever.

http://trirand.com/blog/jqgrid/jqgrid.html also gives an incomplete example of server-side code. The SQL statement is given in the example PHP:

$SQL = SELECT item_id, item, item_cd FROM items .$where. ORDER BY $sidx $sord LIMIT $start , $limit;

but, while $sidx, $sord, $start, and $limit all have code to define them, $where is not defined (or referenced) anywhere else on the page.

How can I get a column search like the page documents, where my server is being hit by the appropriate requests?