Search Result Order

[GrahamL]

Hi,

Does anyone know a good way of getting search results to show in the order you want them to???

I've checked previous posts on the subject, and it seems the results come back based on the product reference (that Actinic automatically assigns?).

So is there a sensible and reliable way of altering this product reference to set the search result order better?

The only time I would need the order to suit, is when a customer does a brand search based on a 'custom property' we have set up. I then want that 'brand' to show in a sensible order, rather than the order Actinic throws up.

I don't want to start messing about changing product references in the database if this is then going to cause loads of knock-on problems!

Hope someone can help

[GrahamL]

so I take it this can't be done? could anyone at Actinic confirm this?

[NormanRouxel]

This has been covered before but I can't remember the page. Try searching for "search results order" or "search results sequence" , etc.

[NormanRouxel]

I had a look in SearchScript.pl - routine DisplayResults and results are presented in product reference order.

Ther's nothing to stop you from using your own references as you like. You're allowed up to 20 characters.

We're sorting strings here so it's much better to use fixed-length references and to break them up into meaningful bits.

Note that 99 is bigger than 1999 as it's sorting by character, not value.

However 0099 is smaller than 1999 because we've padded it with leading zeros.

Best make some test to see what happens before embarking on any large-scale renumbering.

E.g. digits 1-3 Product Type, 4-6 Manufacturer, 7-9 Model