Configuring search settings

  1. On the Business Center home page, select Searchendizing > Relevancy Rules.
  2. On the Distance factors section, specify this information:
    Character Variation

    Character variation is defined as an insertion, deletion, substitution, or transposition of characters. Also known as Fuzzy Searches, this field controls the tolerance of the search engine for character edits in search keywords.

    If the keyword is administrator, for example, then a strict setting would require that a user spell the word correctly.

    A balanced setting allows for spelling variations of up to one edit distance. Using the same example, administrator might be spelled this way:

    • adminstrator: Has a missing letter “i” in the sixth position
    • sadministrator: Has the letter “s” at the beginning
    • administratro: The last two letters, r and o, have been transposed or switched positions.

    These keyword matches are one edit distance away.

    A lenient setting allows for spelling variations of up to two distances.

    Using the same keyword, administrator might be spelled this way: administratior, administratier, and similar variations.

    The character variation setting allows for flexibility in handling spelling errors or character variations when searching for keywords. Setting the control to a more lenient setting would allow the search engine to return the correct entries even for misspelled keyword searches.

    To specify the character variation, drag the slider towards Strict, the middle (for Balanced), or Lenient. The character variation that you select determines strict, balanced, or lenient spell-checking.
    Note: Lenient is the default if no edit distance is provided, should be used as recommended.
    Word Sequence
    Word Sequence is the number of positions by which two terms can be apart in order to match the specified phrase. This field controls the tolerance of the search engine for variations in sequence of words within a search phrase that results to a match.

    If the keyword is "Jamaican singer", for example, then the query would work this way:

    • Example 1: Singer Bob Marley was a legendary Jamaican reggae artist.

      In this sentence, there are three words between "singer" and "Jamaican" (excluding was, a) to match the search. The two keywords can also be transposed.

    • Example 2: While Jamaican Bob took the initial lead in the race, Marley, who is also a singer, finally won it.

      In this sentence, there are six words between “Jamaican” and “singer” (excluding the, in, who) to match the search.

    • Example 3: Bob Marley, who is an international and cultural icon, influenced singers across the world.

      This does not match the search because the keyword “Jamaican” is missing.

    • Example 4: Jamaican Bob Marley signed with CBS records in London and embarked on a UK tour with soul artist Johnny Nash.

      This does not match the search because the keyword “singer” is missing.

    To adjust the Slop Value, drag the slider left or right. You can set it from 1 to 10. Use higher values to have more flexibility in how search phrases are matched.

  3. On the Search Operator section, select AND or OR.
    Use the AND operator when all specified keywords must be found across the supported items fields. This gives fewer but more precise search results especially as more keywords are added. If at least one of the terms in a keyword is not found, the multiple words query does not return the item even if the other terms match. AND is selected by default.
    For example, we have these items set up as:
    • Item number: TS01
    • Item name: Vintage t-shirt
    • Item description: Made from cotton
    • Category: Casual Wear

    • Item number: DR24
    • Item name: Floral print dress
    • Item description: Cotton v-neck dress
    • Category: Casual Wear
    When the user searches for "cotton t-shirt" with the AND operator,
    • TS01 is returned because "cotton" AND "t-shirt" are found in supported item fields, in this case, the item description and item name.
    • DR24 is not returned because only "cotton" is found but "t-shirt" is not.
    On the other hand, when the user searches for “casual wear cotton t-shirt” with the AND operator,
    • TS01 is not returned because even though “casual wear” is the item’s category, it is not a supported field. Therefore, the query only found “cotton” AND “t-shirt”, but NOT “casual wear”.
    • DR24 is not returned because the query found “cotton” only. The query didn’t find matches for “t-shirt” and “casual wear”.

    Using the AND operator, the multiple words query returns results only when all keywords are found in the supported item fields.

    Use the OR operator when at least one of the terms in a specified keyword must be found in any of the supported item fields. This gives a broader set of search results the more keywords are added.

    Using the same item setup in the previous example, when the user searches for "casual wear cotton t-shirt" with the OR operator,
    • TS01 is returned because "cotton" OR "t-shirt" are found in the supported item fields. Although “casual wear” is in an unsupported item field, the OR operator requires only one matching term.
    • DR24 is returned because "cotton" is found even though it does not find “t-shirt” and “casual wear” is in an unsupported item field.

    Using the OR operator, if one term is found in a supported item field, the item shows in the search results.

  4. On the Handling Special Characters section, switch the Enable Feature setting on to exclude special characters in the Item Number and Item Name fields as part of the search criteria. By default, this setting is switched off.
  5. On the Did You Mean - Suggestion Settings section, switch the Enable Feature setting on to enable Did You Mean suggestions in the Item list. You can use this setting to return spelling suggestions when misspelled words yield little to no results.

    This function is useful when there are minimal results returned in cases where the search query is misspelled.

    For example, if a user searches for "striped sweeter," then the product listing includes a "Did you mean striped sweater?" link that, when clicked, generates results for striped sweater.

  6. On the Weighted Search Fields section, configure the ranking of searchable fields to match, which influences search results.

    In the Relevancy Fields for Dynamic Search section, select a relevancy setting parameter to configure the ranking of searchable fields. Fields that you place higher in the list have greater influence in the score of the item.

    For example, if Item Name is placed higher than Item Description, then an item with a search hit on the item name has a higher score compared to an item with a hit on the item description field.

    In the Relevancy Fields for Quick Order Entry section, rearrange the order of the predefined attributes, which include Item Number, Alias Item Number, Item UPC, and Item EAN. These attributes are then used as reference in displaying the sequence of search suggestions in the quick order entry form.

    Note: The Alias Item Number attribute is displayed if the application property Items.Customer Item Alias is set to true.

    Replicated aliases such as EAN and UPC should have keys ItemEAN or ProductEAN, and ItemUPC or ProductUPC respectively and are mapped in Application Setup > Application Details > Ordering > International Code. Use this parameter to include the replicated aliases successfully in the search. Keys with substrings EAN and UPC are grouped accordingly. The rest of the keys are still included in the search but their weight are disregarded and are displayed last on the list.

    For example, if Item Number is placed higher than Item UPC, then the display of suggestions is based on the Item Number. Tags and existing rules do not affect search suggestions.

  7. Click Save.