As player you need to know where on the map is something. Some google/bing maps or openstreetmap, where you type in for example iron (or click on iron ore) and it shows me where there is anything by marking it with some symbols.
This kind of search is in my opinion not a "nice to have". The mentioned thread shows clearly, that with multiplayer such search is an essential needed game element, cause with coop-play this will lead to unnecessary rebuilds of already existing stuffs and many more game-play-issues.
It could work for example like so (many other ways are of course thinkable, I think this needs some testing and rewrites, until it works good). Type in 'iron ore' or better click on that symbol and the map shows
- iron fields (e.g. Blue arrows of the known fields, later on it can show you also resources outside of the map, for example if you have built up a special radar (there are own threads about that))
- belts, which contain iron. The more color of the belt or the thickness of the line shows how dense the it lays on the belts. (A good example is the traffic jam view of google maps)
- inserters grasping iron ore. Triangle in the direction. Size shows number of items/minute.
- miners, which dig minimum one iron ore for the last 5 minutes (blue dots, where the size of the dots shows how much is earned and the "lightness" how many is left)
- furnaces, which use iron ore (another symbol, e.g. a rhomb, size is again the number of used iron ore, lightness is power supply?)
- iron ore storage, chests which includes iron ore. Dunno if that includes only logistic chests or all kinds of chests.
Other search reveals also assemblies and other things:
Search for science pack 1 shows assemblies, which produce red potion and labs, which use it.
Search for modules shows beacons, assemblies, etc, which use that type of module.
And so on, there could be some hundreds of features implemented - I mention here stuff like route planning (or route building), cause two players need of course a way to communicate, how the rail between their factories could be built from both sides. But that is better another suggestion topic.
