Search settings

[Owen Drumm]

I want search to show only results that contain the search string in the product name. Is there any way of doing this. At present if an item is searched for it brings up a whole load of irrelevant products.

[cdicken]

I'm afraid not - I will add this to the wish list for you.

[Simon TL]

Searching by CD Artist and/or Title

Chris

As this thread seems to be close to my question...

At the moment I feed Artist and Title (from another database) into the Short Description. Is there any way to improve search so the visitor can search just the artist, just the title, or more widely (ie in long description - so if CD 123 refers to an artist, this may be found)?

I suspect the answer may be no

Thanks...

[cdicken]

Hi Simon

The way to do this is to look at the 'Searchable Properties' feature of Actinic, which allows you to create 'User-Definable Variables' (as described in the Advanced User Guide, and the Getting Started Guide) and then search on the values within them.

You can import values for user-definable variables via a 'Flat File Import' and if you have got 8.0.4 then there is a section on the help on 'Converting Flat Files To Hierarchical Files' which will tell you how to convert your data into a format where Actinic can import values for these variables.

[Simon TL]

Thanks

Chris

Thanks..

I created the new variables in Design/Library/Variables/Product and then ...

As I am driving the product and section data in from another Access database; it was quite easy to do the same for the UserDefinedProperties table.

And for the Search, the vital AUG topic is "Using a Text Field for Searchable Properties", p62 in my version.

Thanks again.

[Simon TL]

Back on this...

I still haven't got this working!

I want to end up with three searchable fields:
- default text box - that searches everywhere
- by artist
- by cd title

If I use the AUG instructions that surely means crippling the 'Standard Searchable Property' - as it involves hard-coding the user attribute name?

Can I add two new SSPs - one for artist and one for title?

Thanks...

[cdicken]

OK - I've found a neat solution to this one. God bless v8 - you could never have done this in a previous version.

1. Set up your searchable properties as described in the help
2. When adding them to the 'Searchable Properties' grid, use a 'HTML Representation' of something like 'List with Multiple Selection' i.e. one you won't use for anything else.
3. Where it says 'Combining Results' at the bottom select 'OR'
4. Now go to 'Design | Library' and go to the 'Searchable Property Value Lists' group.
5. Edit the 'List with Multiple Selection' layout
6. Replace the layout selector that's in there with ' ' (Actinic seems to need to have something in there)
7. Click the orange 'Click here to edit list layout settings text'
8. Delete everything in the 'End of List' field
9. Replace the content of the 'Start of List' field with

   <input type name="<Actinic:Variable Name="SearchPropControlName"/>" value="" />

10. Click 'OK'

You should now have two custom search fields next to your keyword search field, and they will all be independent from each other.

I will add this to the Advanced User Guide.

[Simon TL]

Clarification

After some help from Chris D... it is clear that it is not possible to do wild card searches other than via the standard search field.

So you cannot have a property 'Title' and find "The Best of The Osmonds" by searching for 'Osmonds'.

If the data is in the product detail, then it *will* be found from the standard search field.

In some cases a drop-down is fine - but not with 400 possible values!

[Jane]

Hi there,
I have followed your instructions to add another search box which works, but it forces the page width by repeating   endlessly in the code. I replaced the space with a . and it did the same - please can you tell me how you got around this.
Thank you, Jane

[Simon TL]

One for Chris...

(Hope you can help Jane)

In the end I resorted to mixing some PHP into Actinic; as the product data comes from a database it is easy enough to get this into a MySQL table and then build a form and PHP code to handle the query. This leaves the Actinic search as a search everything function.

[Jane]

OK - I've found a neat solution to this one. God bless v8 - you could never have done this in a previous version.

1. Set up your searchable properties as described in the help
   .......

   <input type name="<Actinic:Variable Name="SearchPropControlName"/>" value="" />

2. Click 'OK'

You should now have two custom search fields next to your keyword search field, and they will all be independent from each other.

I will add this to the Advanced User Guide.

FAO CDICKEN,
Hi there,
I have followed your instructions to add another search box which works, but it forces the page width by repeating   endlessly in the code. I replaced the space with a . and it did the same - please can you tell me how you got around this.
Thank you, Jane

[gabrielcrowe]

(Hope you can help Jane)

In the end I resorted to mixing some PHP into Actinic; as the product data comes from a database it is easy enough to get this into a MySQL table and then build a form and PHP code to handle the query. This leaves the Actinic search as a search everything function.

this was my approach for the dealfinder on the product pages

http://www.skateasylum.co.uk/acatalo...d-skates-.html

that and ajax. but i'm also working on some pretty advanced sql, to get a better, tag based, search heuristics.

i'll post a link when i get something cool running. but i'm a little busy atm, so it'll have to wat a little while.

[TraceyHand]

OK - I've found a neat solution to this one. God bless v8 - you could never have done this in a previous version.

1. Set up your searchable properties as described in the help
2. When adding them to the 'Searchable Properties' grid, use a 'HTML Representation' of something like 'List with Multiple Selection' i.e. one you won't use for anything else.
3. Where it says 'Combining Results' at the bottom select 'OR'
4. Now go to 'Design | Library' and go to the 'Searchable Property Value Lists' group.
5. Edit the 'List with Multiple Selection' layout
6. Replace the layout selector that's in there with ' ' (Actinic seems to need to have something in there)
7. Click the orange 'Click here to edit list layout settings text'
8. Delete everything in the 'End of List' field
9. Replace the content of the 'Start of List' field with

   <input type name="<Actinic:Variable Name="SearchPropControlName"/>" value="" />

10. Click 'OK'

You should now have two custom search fields next to your keyword search field, and they will all be independent from each other.

I will add this to the Advanced User Guide.

Is it possible to use this method to combine the searches if more than one field is entered?

Say I have the keyword search and 2 customer search fields (one for size, one for brand)

Can a customer search by keyword alone... as well as by keyword AND size, keyword AND brand or even keyword, size and brand when each box is used.

Is there a way to get Actinic to ignore the box entry if it has a specific default "blank" value but include it in the search if has been changed (ie keywords entered or dropdown changed to a size/brand)?

I hope that made sense!

[Bruce]

Hi Tracey,

This work around would make them independent of each other. You will have to use the AUG to get them to work in combination.

Kind regards,

[TraceyHand]

that's what I started off doing, Bruce. The problem is I only want the field to be included in the search if it actually has something selected in it from the dropdown...but ignored if it hasn't.
All my tests showed that once the (variable) dropdown was in place in the search, it affected the results whether it was used or not as it always produced an "AND" result and wasn't dependant on having been changed by the searcher.

I'm not sure I'm making much sense today.. I'll have another go soon.