Configuring the SiteStacker Search Module

Video Resources:
- Search Module Setup


Walkthrough:


Where is the SiteStacker Search Module? 

Different from the Google Search Module, the SiteStacker Search Module is related to everything within your installation and it is extremely simple to set up! We will go over how you can use this Search Module along with some other neat tips and tricks to help you get the most out of searching for Missionaries, Projects, Children, or anything else you may have people searching for on your organization's website! First, make sure you are logged into your SiteStacker installation and click on the 'Site Planner' component. This is where you will set up everything for this tutorial!

Configuring the Search Module 

To find where our base Search Modules currently live, we will need to look in the 'Modules' folder within the Content Explorer (left side) of Site Planner. Click the dropdown arrow to show the various folders that contain modules. Find the one labeled 'Search' and click the arrow next to that folder. You should now see a couple, possibly more Search Modules that currently exist within your SiteStacker installation! Let's follow these steps to set up a new Search Module:

• Right-click on the 'Search' folder and choose 'Add Item'
• Choose Search Results as the Module
• Choose Responsive as the View

• Name your Search Module related to the content visitors will be searching for
  • Example: Search Results - Missionaries

• Click 'Save' to show the other settings for this new Search Module

• Note: There are MANY ways to configure this with each field that is available to us - let's go over those!

• • Query Placeholder - This will replace the blank space next to the magnifying glass by default. Example:"Search by Keyword..."

• • Initially Show - This will either show all results or not if selected

• • Exact Match- This will only show as the user types for something and it has the exact same characters being input.
    • Example:  John would show any  John in the system as a Missionary

• • Default Limit - The maximum number of items that will be displayed when searching

• • Paging Type - You can set your search results to be displayed as Infinite Paging, which is where scrolling loads more items, or with a Paging Toolbar, where you can select the page number, Next, or Prev. Note: these will only work if over 10 items are found during the search)
    • If you select Paging Toolbar, you can determine if you want to:
      • Show All - A button to show all items will be rendered
      • Limit Change - You can change the predefined limit size
      • Limit Values - If you choose to change the limit size, you can then decide how many items you would like to display. Example: 10, 25, 100, etc. 

• • Random - You can randomize the results that are displayed to a user when they land on your search page (only if the results are selected to show on load)

• • Sort by- This will sort by the variable.
    • Example: publish_date will sort them by the date they were published

• • Sort direction - Ascending or Descending based on the variable you chose to sort results by.
    • Example: Last Name + Descending = Z to A

• • Search Reset - This will reload the page after any queries are removed

• • No Search - Search fields above the results will not be loaded

• • No Results - If checked, then this will only show the Search field, never results

• • No Search Field - This will only hide the Search text field and Search button

• • Autocomplete - If a content type has a display field, then as a user types for something, SiteStacker will show related content for those words.

• • Autoscroll - Autoscrolls the page to the search fields if a query is submitted

• • Site Page - This is the page that a user is redirected to after searching. If a page isn't selected, then the page that this search module lives on will be used.

• • Content Type Configuration(s) - This is where you can choose which content types you would like SiteStacker to search for and display when users are searching. Note: If you have a unique content type that you would like to have your results to display, simply click the 'Manage Configurations' button and 'Add' it. Note: You can choose multiple content types if necessary!

• • Filters Title - This will be the text for the Filters (rendered below the Search Field)

• • Sort by, Sort direction and Sort label are the same as described above.

• • Note: The Predefined Filter section is where you can set default filters to narrow down the content a user sees when they visit this Search Module's page

• • Tag Category - Depending on the tag categories that you have set up in your SiteStacker installation, you can narrow down the content to the tag category that they belong in

• • Tag - Select any tag that will narrow down your search results to the content that has been tagged accordingly

• • Query Clear - If a different query is input, then the predefined filters are cleared

• • Note: The Responsive View Settings section relates to filters and how they are displayed on the page

• • Hide Labels - Hides the custom filters labels

• • Hide Label Prefix - Hides the custom filters "Select" text

• • Apply Button - Renders an 'Apply Filters' button

• • Reset Button - Renders a 'Reset Filters' button

• • Page Load - This will load the page automatically when a filter is changed. Example: A checkbox is checked or dropdown item is selected, then the page reloads with that filter selected.

• • Clear All Multiselect - When there is a multiselect field and multiple items are selected, then a 'Clear All' button will be displayed.

• • Additional Text - This displays extra information under your search results

• • No Results Text - This displays text where the results would be, if no content was found.

Setting Up Filters for Your Search Module

You may have noticed that scrolling throughout the Search Results module, there were options related to custom filters and a 'Custom Filters' section. Let's add a filter for a Missionary that will filter the Country they live in:

• Scroll down to the 'Custom Filters' section and click the 'Add' button

• Name the filter with the Label of Country

• Choose Tags as the Datasource

• You can make this a Multiselect or Combobox, but we will choose Combobox

• The Inner Condition applies to the items in the filter, so we will choose this as AND

• The Outer Condition applies to this filter and all filters, so we will choose AND for this too

• If you wanted this filter to be hidden, then you could check off the Hidden checkbox

• Click 'Save & Close' and your first filter has been created!

Note: Before going further, we need to make sure we can only choose Countries in this filter, so we need to select the Tags to be used. Also make sure that you have setup a Country tag category and some test items for that category within the 'Tags' component of your SiteStacker Installation!

• Right-click on your new filter and choose 'Manage Assignments' and a 'Manage Fields' window will appear

• You will need to choose the Tag Categories first, so we will select the Country tag category. This will narrow down the tags we can choose from in the Tags area

• In the Tags area, you can choose which options you would like to show, so say you didn't want an item, then you wouldn't select it

• Example: Say you don't want India to appear in the dropdown, so you would just select all other Countries excluding India

• Click 'Save & Close' and now your custom filter is ready to be used!

Making Items Unsearchable

Sometimes you may have an article on your site that you don't want to be searched, but still have it published to your site. This is where making an item unsearchable comes into play. To do this, while you are in the Site Planner component:

• Find the article on the Content Explorer side that you want to make unsearchable

• Right-click on the content item and to the right-hand side you will see the 'Publishing' section

• Click the plus icon and more settings will appear

• There will be a 'Searchable' checkbox that is checked automatically. This is what makes it searchable within the SiteStacker Search Module

• Uncheck this and you have now made that content item unsearchable, but kept it published to your site

Setting Up Predefined Filters

Earlier we went over the 'Predefined Filters' section, but now we will go more in-depth as to how this functionality works! Just like the Custom Filter we set up earlier, we will need to choose the Tag Category and Tags. In this case, let's choose the Country tag category and the USA, Brazil & Haiti  tags. What this will do is effectively show us only the Missionaries that are related to the Countries of the USA, Brazil and Haiti! This is great if you have specific content to show as soon as a user lands on this Search Module page.

Selecting the Right Content to Display

To make sure you have the right content showing for when a user is searching for something on the designated page you will want to make sure you have the correct Content Type selected! There are quite a few different Content Types, including: Missionaries, Articles, Projects, Gifts, Children, Opportunities, Ministries, etc. Content Types differ from organization to organization, but in most cases our clients have Missionaries. Let's go ahead and set that up! On your Search Module configuration window, you will want to:

• Scroll down to the 'Content Type Configuration(s)' field

• From the dropdown, you should already see some pre-populated options

• Click the 'Manage Configurations' button

• Click on the 'Add' button and the 'Add New Content Type Configuration' window will appear

• Fill this out with the correct information regarding the:
  • Name of the content type
  • Content Type (which will be Missionary in this case)
  • Site Channel (your actual website, not the Dashboard)
  • The View that you would like it to be displayed like (we will choose Summary [Base])

• Click 'Save & Close' to save your newly configured content type and it should now show up in your 'Manage Configurations' window

• Close the 'Manage Configurations' window and now select your Content Type that you would like your Search Module to search for related content