The Advanced Tools section of Search Tools in Composer adds three search enhancements for site visitors: Advanced Syntax (exact-phrase and exclusion search), Results Preview (live autocomplete suggestions), and Search Synonyms (custom word equivalents). Advanced Tools is an add-on; contact your Client Success Manager or email clientsuccess@finalsite.com to enable it.
💡Quick answers
- What are the three Advanced Tools features? Advanced Syntax (exact-phrase and term exclusion), Results Preview (autocomplete suggestions as visitors type), and Search Synonyms (custom word equivalents).
- How does Advanced Syntax work? Putting a phrase in quotation marks forces exact-match results; adding a minus sign before a term excludes pages containing that term from results.
- Does Results Preview require per-element configuration? Yes; it must be enabled in the settings of each individual Search element where autocomplete should appear.
- What is the difference between a Synonym and a One-way Synonym? A Synonym makes all terms equivalent in both directions; a One-way Synonym makes Word A return results for Word B, but not the reverse.
- Do Search Synonyms apply to all domains in Composer? Yes; adding a synonym enables it across all domains managed in Composer.
In the Search Tools feature in Composer, Advanced Tools are search features that provide an extra, added layer of searchability for visitors to your site. This article will focus on how Advanced Tools as a part of Search Tools can work for you.
Advanced Tools + Search Rules add-on
The Advanced Tools and Search Rules sections appear in the Search Tools menu, but the features will show as Disabled if they have not been activated. To add either to a website, contact your Client Success Manager or email clientsuccess@finalsite.com.
In this article
Advanced Tools overview
After Advanced Tools have been activated, they can be managed from the Search Tools menu in the Composer left navigation. Open the Advanced Tools tab in the Search Tools feature.
The Advanced Tools are:
- Advanced Syntax: Allow users to specify exact-match phrases and exclusion phrases in search results.
- Results Preview: Displays suggested results live on the page as the user enters search terms.
- Search Synonyms: Create custom words and phrases that automatically return selected pages when entered as search terms.
⚠️ Important note
- Only the Search Synonyms feature has controls for admins to edit.
- Advanced Syntax and Results Preview have no configurable options.
Use Advanced Syntax
In the context of a web search, "syntax" refers to extra characters that can be added to a search to refine how results appear. The syntax in Finalsite Search allows for exact-phrase matching and term exclusion.
- Exact phrases: Putting a search phrase in quotation marks forces the search engine to show only pages where the search terms exist in the exact order specified. Searching for varsity soccer might return "Boys Soccer Varsity Team," while searching for "varsity soccer" would not.
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Excluding results: Adding a minus (-) sign immediately before a search term forces the search engine to exclude any pages containing that term from results.
- Example: soccer -varsity returns all pages that include the word "soccer," except those that also include the term "varsity."
Use Results Preview
- When Results Preview is active, end users will see possible matches for their search terms appear as they type, autocomplete-style.
- As more characters are entered, the results refine further to match the input.
- Results Preview must be activated in the element settings for each Search element where autocomplete should appear. It is a per-element setting, not a global setting for all Search elements on the site.
⚠️ Important note
Even if a user clicks a page suggested by Results Preview without completing the search, the term or phrase is still tracked in the internal site search analytics.
Use Search Synonyms
Search Synonyms allow admins to define words that may be unique to their school and therefore difficult for a search engine to otherwise understand. For example, "kids" might be set as a synonym for "children."
- Click the green Add Synonym button to create a new Search Synonym.
- Select the synonym type: Synonym or One-way Synonym.
- Synonym: One or more words all considered equivalent ("athletics" = "sports" = "phys ed," for example). Enter all equivalent words in the Synonyms field.
- One-way Synonym: Word A can stand in for Word B, but Word B cannot stand in for Word A. Useful for generalizations (all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares) or terms that refer to the same concept but are not identical.
⚠️ Important note
Adding a Search Synonym enables it for all domains managed in Composer.
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