An individual search configuration can include any number of rules and settings, and for some sites, the various search configurations may differ only in a few of the rules. For example, you might want to include rules in every search configuration to exclude items that are not in stock. To avoid having to create the same rules repeatedly, you can use a special type of search configuration called a base search configuration. A base search configuration is like a template of settings that can be associated with any number of standard search configurations. Unlike a standard search configuration, a base search configuration is never applied directly to a search query.
To use a base search configuration, you associate it with one or more standard search configurations and then select, in the standard search configuration, which settings to inherit and which to override.
A search configuration can use only those base search configurations that don’t have conflicting languages. The languages need not be identical: a search configuration that supports US English can have a base configuration supporting English or Any language. Likewise, a search configuration that supports any language that has All Others as its language value can use any base search configuration.
The order in which you create your search configurations and base configurations has no significance, assuming that any search configuration folders have been created already by your site administrator. (For instructions on creating search configuration folders, see Managing Search Configuration Folders.) You may, however, find it easier to create base search configurations first, especially if you define them immediately after creating them. That way, when you create the search configurations, you can associate a base configuration immediately and see the inherited settings.
Creating Base Search Configurations
A base search configuration acts as a template by providing settings that are inherited and may by overridden by the search configurations with which it is associated. Using one base search configuration for multiple search configurations saves you time when you’re defining settings. Be sure to assign a language to your base search configuration that coincides with the language held by one or more search configurations, which may specify a language directly or inherit it from a search configuration folder. You can assign “Any” as the language for a base search configuration to ensure that it’s available to all search configurations.
To create a base search configuration:
In Base Search Configurations view of the Browse tab, click the Create New button and choose Base Search Configuration. To learn how to access this view, see Base Search Configurations View.
The Details pane displays empty text boxes you will fill with information about the base search configuration.
In the Name textbox, provide a name for the base search configuration. Providing a name that identifies the language used by the base search configuration will help to distinguish it from others.
From the Language dropdown list, select a language or “Any.” The languages you see in the list are provided by your site administrator.
Click Create.
Once you have created a base search configuration, provide settings to it, as described in the Defining Search Configurations section.
Creating Search Configurations
Before you create search configurations, be familiar with factors you need consider concerning the tree structure, described in Structuring the Search Configuration Tree. When you create a search configuration, you specify a name and, optionally, a base configuration.
If you want to have multiple search configurations, you need to create them in a search configuration folder. Each search configuration folder specifies a dimension type for which the search configurations it contains must provide a value. For example, a search folder with a dimension type of segment holds search configurations that each apply to a unique segment.
To create a search configuration:
In Search Configuration Tree view of the Browse tab, click the Create New button and choose Search Configuration. To learn how to access this view, see Search Configuration Tree View.
The Details pane displays empty text boxes you will fill with information about the configuration.
In the Name text box, provide a name for the search configuration. Providing a name that identifies the dimension value used by this search configuration will help to distinguish it from others.
If you want the search configuration to exist in a folder, complete these tasks:
Check to see if there’s a search configuration folder name beside Select Parent. If you don’t see a name or you don’t see the name of the search configuration folder that should hold the search configuration you’re creating, click Select Parent and, once the Select an Item dialog box opens, click the radio button beside your preferred parent. Click OK.
You’ll see a dropdown list named for the type of dimension used by the parent folder – Language or Segment. Select the dimension value from this dropdown list. The options in this list represent the values for that dimension type that have not been assigned to other search configurations in the same tree branch.
If you want your search configuration to base its settings on those supplied by a base search configuration, click Select beside the Inherit From Base textbox to open the Select an Item dialog box. Click the radio button beside the base search configuration, then click OK.
A secondary dialog box prompts you to determine whether you also want to use settings for the Result Prioritization tab from the base search configuration. If you performed these tasks in a different order than recommended here and have already provided settings to the Result Prioritization tab, accepting settings from the base configuration will override the current settings.
Click Create.
Define the settings on the search configurations tabs as described in the Defining Search Configurations.
