Use of the semicolon in ndexing words

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Use of the semicolon in ndexing words

Postby FredW » Sat Dec 08, 2018 1:11 pm

I'm trying to solve a problem where words in our product description do not make it to the index word list and hence are not found when we search our site for these words.

We are running ShopSite® Pro 14.0 r2.1 with the familar theme. We have some custom modifications, but none of them should affect how indexing and searching work. Our website rul is keithspecialty.com

Here is what we know to date: In our product description field we have content like:
Allanson 2721-619 transformer for Wayne oil burner models M, MH, and MSR; replaces Dongan XD-WN202, France 5LAY-03, Sid Harvey T93, Thermolok TW-10, and Webster 313-28AB91; our old item 66-248


The part number "313-28AB91" is not found, but "313-28AB91;" is found. Part numbers with a comma or blank after them are indexed and searched successfully. It the trailing semicolon that give us trouble.

In looking at the Index word list, I see many words with an ";" after them which would explain why searching for them without a semicolon would not be found.

What is the significance of a semicolon?

Also in testing this using a dummy part assigned to a dummy page, I search for any word on the product text description and can't get find any of them, nor can I get results for the sku. This is a totally separate problem than the use of a semicolon. Is there a setting that I may have forgotten that I set that turns off indexing for a part or items on that page? The test page is at: https://keithspecialty.com/fw-index.htm the sku for the part I'm using to test is fw-303.

Thanks in advance for any help
FredW
FredW
 
Posts: 188
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:07 pm

Re: Use of the semicolon in ndexing words

Postby FredW » Tue Dec 11, 2018 8:55 am

Since nobody in ShopSite replied, I asked my ISP, Lexiconn, for help. (They are good!) Here is what they came up with:
The "Search Keywords" field on the Products > Edit Product Information screen of the ShopSite back office is a comma-separated list of additional keywords that can be used when searching for a product. Since this field is comma-separated the semicolon is considered part of the search term.

If the "Search Terms Are" setting on the Preferences > Search > Search Layout screen of the ShopSite back office is changed from "Whole Words" to "Stems" with the "*STEM*" checkbox checked you should be able to search for partial keywords which would result in the SKU without the semicolon returning the desired results.


Thanks JohnC at Lexiconn for the answer. I made the change, tested it and it works! I can't say enough about Lexiconn. They may cost more than other IPPs, but they are totally worth it.

Also, I went back to see if I could answer the question about my test page and test items. There is a setting on the page definition that I had change to not let the world find my test page and test products:
Index X Check here to have this page indexed for product search.

By clicking it off, the page and products assigned to it, are not indexed. By checking it, they are indexed.

Simple, once you know it (and remember).

Hope this may help others.
Fred
FredW
 
Posts: 188
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 2:07 pm


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