Create and edit thesaurus entries

You create synonyms for shoppers’ search terms by adding them to the thesaurus, which you access from the Search page in the administration interface.

You must be assigned the Admin or Search role to create or edit thesaurus entries. Changes to the thesaurus do not affect your store until after you publish. See Publish Changes.

You can see how your thesaurus entries behave when shoppers search for items by previewing your store. Click Preview and then search for items that you expect to trigger the thesaurus entries that you want to test. For more information about previewing your store, see Preview your changes.

View the list of thesaurus entries

The thesaurus page displays a list of all the thesaurus entries that have been added to your store. Each entry displays the following information:

• Search terms for one-way entries with an arrow that point to a list of synonyms. Equivalent entries show synonyms only.
• The type of entry: one-way or equivalent.
• The last modified date, and the user that modified the entry.

The list can be sorted by clicking Sort By and selecting the type of entry, modified by user, or date modified. Sorting always resets your view of the list to the first page. You can filter the list by starting to type a search term, synonym, or user name in the Filter list box.

Create one-way thesaurus entries

One-way thesaurus entries apply in a single direction only. When a shopper enters the specified search term, the search results include the results for all of the synonyms for the entry.

1. On the Search page, click Thesaurus.
2. Click New Entry.

   The New Entry dialog displays with the default One-way option selected.

3. In the Search Term field, enter the word or phrase that a shopper might enter as a query.
4. In the Synonyms field, enter all the words or phrases to which a shopper’s search term might map. The search results for the search term include the results for all the synonyms. Press Enter or Tab between entries.

   Note that the entries in this field do not map to one another or back to the term in the Search Term field. If a shopper enters a term in the synonym list, the search results only include the results for that term.

5. Click Create.

Create equivalent thesaurus entries

Equivalent thesaurus entries are mutually related words or phrases. When a shopper enters any of the terms in a query, the search results include the results for all of the other synonym terms.

1. On the Search page, click Thesaurus.
2. Click New Entry.
3. Click Equivalent.
4. In the Synonyms field, enter all the mutually related words or phrases that a shopper might enter into a Search box. Press Enter or Tab between entries.

   Note that the entries in this field are equivalent. This means that each of the entries in this field produce the same search results when entered by a shopper. The entries are interchangeable.

5. Click Create.

Edit an entry

You can edit an existing thesaurus entry as follows:

1. On the Search page, click Thesaurus.
2. Click the entry in the list.
3. If necessary, change the entry type.

   If you change the entry from one-way to equivalent, the existing search term automatically moves to the beginning of the synonyms list.

   If you change the entry from equivalent to one-way, the existing synonyms remain intact, and a blank Search Terms field appears.

4. Update a synonym by deleting it and re-entering it.
5. Click Save.

Delete an entry

To delete an entry from the thesaurus:

1. On the Search page, click Thesaurus.
2. Type a synonym or a search term for the entry that you want to delete into the Filter By field.
3. Click the trash can icon next to the entry.
4. When the confirmation appears, click Delete.