Search Index Overview

The Search Index powers item search by ensuring that the search times are reduced and requests are more targeted. For the items set up to be included in the Search Index, the Search Index retrieves the item attribute values of the defined search fields, sort fields, and facet fields and uses it for result ordering. The search index is first built when you click Save on the Web Site Setup page after selecting the item search settings for the first time. Whenever you make changes to your item record or item search settings, the search index is updated or rebuilt factoring in the changes that you made.

Note:

If you delete your Commerce website, the index for the site is also deleted.

To learn more about the Search Index, refer to the following sections:

• Events that Trigger Search Index Rebuild

• Events that Trigger Search Index Update

• Check the Search Index Job Status

• Rebuild the Search Index Manually

Events that Trigger Search Index Rebuild

Any of the following changes in your NetSuite account trigger a search index rebuild:

• Changing facets, search, and sort options (on the Search Index subtab of the Web Site Setup page).

  Note:

  When you remove a search field and save your changes, the search index is rebuilt only if you have removed all types of matches for that particular search field.

• Adding or removing languages.

• Adding or removing Subsidiary accounts.

• Changing site currencies when the site has currency-based fields defined as facets or sort options. For example, fields such as price or cost.

• Changing the preference, Include Out Of Stock Items in Web Store on the Web Site Setup Page.

• Reactivating an inactive website. See Making a Website Inactive for more information.

Note:

Saving an item record triggers an index update, not an index rebuild. For information on events that triggers a search index update, see Events that Trigger Search Index Update.

Events that Trigger Search Index Update

Any of the following changes in your NetSuite account trigger a search index update:

• Any Item record change

  Note:

  This includes changes on item records as a result of using a CSV import.

• Item Availability

• Item Pricing

• URL Components for Facets

• Web Site Tabs

• Site Builder Categories

• Commerce Categories

• Customer Segment Manager

• Personalization Rules tab on Customer Group record

• Customer Segments tab on Item Collections record

For information on events that trigger the search index to rebuild, see Events that Trigger Search Index Rebuild.

Check the Search Index Job Status

You can use the Job Status page to check the status of the search index process. Navigate to Setup > SuiteCommerce Advanced > Set Up Web Site, and click View in the Search Index Status column.

The Job Status page shows elapsed time as the item search index is processing. Click Refresh to update information on the page.

Note:

Changes to the item record trigger an index update. The Records Finished column on the Job Status page always indicates the total number of records being processed.

The job names on the Job Status page describe whether the search index is being built for the first time, rebuilt or updated. The job names also provide information about why the index is being updated. For every item update, an entry is made on the Job Status page unless the rate of item updates is high. If the rate of item updates is particularly high, item updates will be processed in batches resulting in fewer entries on the Job Status page in comparison with the number of item records updated.

The following table lists all possible job names; your NetSuite configuration determines which of these you will see.

Job Name	Description
Create	The full search index is being built for a newly created site.
Reindex for site config change	The full search index is being rebuilt because changes were made to the site configuration.
Index regeneration	The full search index is being rebuilt because an ad hoc rebuild has been triggered, or a feature has been enabled or disabled that requires a new search index to be built.
Index is live	The newly rebuilt search index is being made available for search queries.
Feature Change	The search index is being updated because a feature was toggled, for example, Commerce Categories.
Item Type Feature Change	The search index is being updated because a feature related to item type was toggled, for example, the Download Items and Gift Certificates features.
Item Update	The search index is being updated because one or more items were added or updated.
Item Removal	The search index is being updated because one or more items were removed from the webstore.
Commerce Category Update	The search index is being updated because a Commerce Category was added, updated, or deleted.
Site Builder Category Update	The search index is being updated because a Site Builder Category was added, updated, or deleted.
Synonyms Updated	The full search index is being rebuilt due to the addition, modification, or removal of Synonyms.

Rebuild the Search Index Manually

Even though certain changes that you make in your NetSuite account automatically trigger the search index to rebuild, you can manually rebuild the search index for your site. For information on events that trigger the search index to rebuild, see Events that Trigger Search Index Rebuild.

Manual rebuild of the search index is typically done when you want to force a rebuild, and not wait for the changes that you made in your NetSuite account to automatically trigger the rebuild.

After you initiate the search index rebuild process, it may take up to 10 minutes to start rebuilding the search index. The time it takes to complete the process is relative to the number of items being indexed.

Note:

There is a limit to the number of times you can request a rebuild of the search index. In a 24-hour period, you are allowed only two requests.

To manually rebuild the search index for your site:

1. Go to Commerce > Websites > Website List.

2. Click Edit next to your website.

3. On the Web Site Setup page, choose Actions > Rebuild Search Index.

   A popup message appears stating that there is a limit to the number of times you can request a rebuild of the search index.

   Note:

   The Rebuild Search Index option is still available if the site is checked as Inactive. However, selecting the option does not initiate a rebuild of the search index.

4. In the popup message dialog box, click OK to rebuild the search index for this website.

5. (Optional) Open the Job Status page to check the status of the rebuild process. For more information, see Check the Search Index Job Status.

Related Topics

Search Settings Overview

Item Search API

General Notices