Filtering to show part of long description?

[guccij]

I use filtering everywhere as many products fall into more than one category.

How can I get some kind of description into the filtered results? The long description is too long. I'm wondering what settings I've missed along the way.

Here is an example of a filtered page, followed by our filter settings.

[NormanRouxel]

You've not missed anything. The only thing you are able to do out of the box is to display the entire Full Description. Note that if you select this, you will get a warning that this will make the Perl files huge and it may have performance implications.

There are possible tweaks but they require significant work.

1) Use a Variable to hold a concise short description - you'll have to type them all in. However it takes a LOT of code to get user variables working in the Search and Filtering in SD V14. I have an add-on that allows this but it's very complex, needs tweaking per site, and not cheap.

2) Same as above but upgrade to SD 2016 which makes user variables more accessible to the Search and Filtering.

3) Custom code that writes an AJAX like helper file containing Product ID's and the first 10 or 20 words of the existing Product Description. More code extracts that description from the helper file and adds it to the displayed results.

[NormanRouxel]

Another way is possible if you don't use the Extended Information capability.

Move your Product Descriptions to the Extended Information / Text field (you don't need to enable an Extended Info page). An Export, swap the ProductDescription / ExtendedInfoText names in the Headers / Re-import should automate this.

Then put concise descriptions into your normal Product Description (or use some more Export / Edit / Import magic) to strip them to first 10/20 words).

Enable Product Description (it will now be concise) for use on the search results.

Finally, (to make your Product Pages contain the full description) edit your Product Page Layout(s) and replace variable ProductDescription with ExtendedInfoText.

[guccij]

Thanks Norman, I appreciate your input.

Of the three examples you give of possible solutions, which would you go for?

[NormanRouxel]

Use my 4th (the one in post #3).

[NormanRouxel]

P.S. to post #3.

Back-up Database before tinkering!

Just tried opening ActinicCatalog.mdb in Access.

Then open Product table.

Select entire Full Description column. Hit Copy.

Select entire sExtendedInfoText column. Hit Paste.

And that the Extended Info now containing a copy of the Product Description.

[guccij]

I shall have a play with a copy of the database first, then try to apply your suggestion to the real thing

[NormanRouxel]

If you google you should be able to find a bit of SQL that would replace the Database's existing Full Description with only its first ten or so words. And you'd have a backup copy of the full text in the sExtendedInfoText column.

You can also copy / paste the Full Description column into Excel and tinker with the text there.