When you first create a search configuration, each rule tab includes one empty rule (that is, a rule for which neither the condition nor the action has been specified). You can create a new rule by editing this empty rule to specify the condition and action.
A search configuration can include multiples rules of each type. For example, a search configuration might have 2 redirection rules, 4 result exclusion rules, and 3 result positioning rules.
To create an additional rule for any of these rule types, display the tab associated with the type and click Add New Rule. An empty rule is added to the tab. For example:
Edit the new rule to specify the condition and action, as described in this chapter.
Specifying the Order of the Rules
Each rule has an Order value that you can modify. These values indicate the order of importance of the rules, not necessarily the actual order in which the rules are applied.
The order in which the rules are applied depends on the type of rule:
Redirection rules are applied in the order of importance. For example, if there are three redirection rules, ATG Search applies rule 1 first, then rule 2, and then rule 3. This is because only one redirection can be performed for an individual search text; if you have several redirection rules and the site visitor enters search text that matches the conditions of more than one rule, the first rule that it matches is the one that actually takes effect.
Result positioning rules are applied in the reverse order of importance. For example, if there are three result positioning rules, ATG Search applies rule 3 first, then rule 2, and then rule 1. Since these rules change the ordering of the search results by moving some items to the top of the list, the later a rule is applied, the stronger its effect.
For result exclusion rules, the order of the rules does not matter. Applying a certain set of exclusion rules produces the same effect, regardless of the order.
Rules inherited from a base search configuration are always treated as being of lower importance than the rules defined in a standard search configuration. So inherited redirection rules are applied after locally defined redirection rules, while inherited result positioning rules are applied before locally defined result positioning rules.
To change the order of the rules in a tab, enter a new number in the Order field of each rule in the tab, and click Save. The rules will be redisplayed on the tab in the order you specified. Note, however, that you cannot change the order of rules inherited from a base search configuration (except by changing them in the base search configuration itself).
