This is one of many ajax mods/additions that I have in the hopper. Since this was the easiest, I figured I would pump this one out first.
What this does is use the existing showmember functionality and bolt on an ajax based textbox. So regardless of how the searchmember might change in look/feel, this should just tag right along. (that is of course if there's ajax added in the future)
When you hit the 'User List', the standard stuff comes up, with an added text box:
as you start typing in the text box, a drop down list will be filled with those members who match the characters as typed.
it will refine itself as you type more characters:
you can mouse out and the pull-down will hide itself. you can mouseover the textbox again and (if there was text typed) the menu will re-appear.
Of course, you can scroll down to a specific user and click. This will take you to the members profile as the current search does for member name clicks.
There are new files added and only slight mods to the core code, so it should be easy to implement.
Read the readme, grab the .zip and have at it.
Enjoy!
SD