virtual cards
Virtual cards organize patterned content using patterned compound names. They're not actually stored in the database but act just like "real" cards whenever you link to or include them.
Example
The following is a virtual card:
There is not a card named John Abbe+*created in the database. There is, however, a structure rule that determines the content of cards ending in "+*created".
How To
A real card is a card that is formally stored in the database. A virtual card is a non-real card with a *structure rule.
Virtual cards are most useful when used in combination with contextual names
Discussion
Okay. So I make a real card called "+*something"? And then alter the structure for that. And that structure might be a search that uses virtual cards as part of the search parameters?
Eh, I don't know how block quote actual commands so they print instead of function. [_left]
You mean how to show link and inclusion syntax literally? Add a backslash like this: [[I look like a link]].
There are many useful built-in 'right rules' so often you just need to include the virtual card. So, if there is a structure rule like this: my_search+*right+*structure, then I can use {{Some_card+my_search}} which is a virtual card the references that search rule, and the 'Some_card' part can be referenced in the search so you can also do {{Some_other_card+my_search}} which is a similar search based on a different card. Hope that helps a little.
This sounds like making my_search a real card instead of making +*my_search real card. (I'm not sure if there's any actual different between those two things.) However, you seem to be suggesting that I wouldn't need to use [[left]] in the actual search because the method of inclusion would be doing that? But... then I'm not sure what the search itself would look like. Because the name of the card on which it is included is ultimately the string I want the search to be looking for. Would the search just be specifying a location to search in and display parameters?
Well, in order to make +my_search a virtual card,the my_search card will be created when you make the rule card (my_search+*right+*structure), but it probably is an empty card.
Note the *my_search is just another card, distinct from my_search, the difference being there are some conventions about star-cards (card beginning with * and 'rstar' cards whose right part begins with *. Because they have special Set associated with them, they can have rules for those sets, and conventionally some permissions are restricted.
I think you would probably be using left in the search WQL, but I'm a bit rusty on some of the details. Is it actually _left ? Not sure. Look at some built in examples of *right rules.
Looking at a few examples, it seems that you would use _self in the typical virtual card search for a *right rule. Presumably _self is the left part of the Set which is the left part of the Rule.