Test

Overview

If you're using Taxonomy to organize your articles, you can create a search page that allows visitors to filter articles using the Taxonomy terms you've assigned.

For example, you might allow visitors to filter a collection of publications by Publication Type and Topic, making it easier to find content relevant to their interests.

This article explains how to create the menu item that displays your Taxonomy search and configure how the search results appear.

Before You Begin

Before creating your Taxonomy search page, you'll need to create a Filter containing the Taxonomy terms you want visitors to use. See: Creating a Filter for articles in the Taxonomy Manager

Navigate to:

Components → Taxonomy → Filters

Create and configure your Filter before continuing with the steps below.

Create the Taxonomy Search Menu Item

Navigate to:

Menus → Main Menu

If you'd like the search page to appear in another menu, select that menu instead.

Then:

1. Click New.
2. Under Select Menu Item Type, select Taxonomy.
3. Under Search, select either the List or Summary layout.
   1. See: Overview of Taxonomy Layouts
4. Enter the Title you want displayed for the menu item.
5. Leave Alias blank to have Soapbox automatically create the URL based on the Title. Enter an Alias only if you'd like to customize the URL.
6. Under Parent Item, select the menu item this page should appear beneath. Leave this blank if it should be a top-level menu item.
7. Set Access Level to Public. If the page should only be available to logged-in users within a password-protected area, select Registered.

Configure Your Search

Many of the basic search settings are available for both the List and Summary layouts.

Section and Category

Use Section or Category if you'd like to limit the search results to articles within a particular Section or Category.

Otherwise, leave these options unselected.

Filter

Select the Filter you created for this search.

The Filter determines which Taxonomy options visitors can select when searching your articles.

Filters Connector

The Filters Connector determines how selections within your Filter are combined when finding matching articles.

There are three options:

• OR — Displays articles matching any selected term.
• AND — Displays only articles matching every selected term.
• GROUP — Allows multiple selections within a group while requiring matches between different groups.

In most cases, GROUP is the recommended option when your Filter contains multiple groups of Taxonomy terms.

Filters Connector Example

Suppose your Filter contains:

Publication Type

• Newsletter
• Press Release
• Media Coverage

Topic

• Health
• Economy
• Environment

A visitor selects Press Release and Media Coverage for Publication Type and Economy and Environment for Topic.

The results would behave as follows:

OR
Displays articles matching Press Release, Media Coverage, Economy, or Environment.

AND
Displays only articles containing all four selected terms.

GROUP
Displays articles matching either Press Release or Media Coverage and either Economy or Environment.

For this example, GROUP provides the behavior most visitors would expect.

Description

Use Description to show or hide introductory text above the search form.

If enabled, enter the content you'd like displayed in Description Text. Basic HTML can be used in this field.

Search Labels and Messages

You can customize the text visitors see when interacting with the search, including:

• No Results Message
• Taxonomy Search Title
• Search Button
• Cancel Button
• Results Found text

Show All Results

Use Show All Results to determine whether visitors see articles before performing a search.

In most cases, we recommend selecting Show so visitors can browse all available articles before applying filters.

List Layout Settings

If you're using the List Layout, you can configure several additional options.

Display

Select the number of articles you want displayed per page when the results initially load.

Table Headings

Choose whether to show or hide column titles in the results table.

Date Column

Choose whether the article's Created Date should appear in the results.

Date Format

If needed, enter a custom date format to override your site's default format.

Additional Results Filter

You can optionally display a text field that allows visitors to further search the results by:

• Title
• Date
• Hits

If enabled, select the value visitors should be able to search under Filter Field. In most cases, Title is the most useful option.

Summary Layout Settings

If you're using the Summary Layout, configure how articles should appear within the search results.

A common configuration is:

• # Leading: 0
• # Intro: 10
• # Columns: 1
• # Links: 0

Use Article Info to choose whether information such as the article author, date, and Section/Category should appear.

Advanced Settings

Open Parameters Advanced to configure additional display options.

The exact options available depend on whether you're using the List or Summary layout.

Primary Order

Choose the order in which articles should appear in the search results.

Pagination

Choose whether pagination should appear when there are more results than can be displayed on one page.

In most cases, we recommend enabling Pagination.

Feed Link

Choose whether to provide an RSS feed for the article results.

Additional List Layout Options

The List Layout also allows you to configure:

• Display Select — Allows visitors to choose how many articles appear per page.
• Hits — Displays the number of times each article has been viewed.

Additional Summary Layout Options

The Summary Layout also allows you to configure:

• Category Order — Determines whether results are ordered by Category.
• Multi Column Order — Determines how results flow when using multiple columns.
• Pagination Results — Controls whether "Page X of Y" appears.
• Show Intro Text — Controls whether article introductory text is displayed.
• Read More Link — Controls whether a Read More link appears for articles that use one.
• Linked Titles — Controls whether article titles link to the full article.

Save Your Taxonomy Search

Once you've finished configuring your search and display settings, click Save.

We recommend viewing the search page on the front end after saving to confirm that:

• The expected Taxonomy filters appear.
• Selecting terms returns the expected articles.
• The search results display correctly.
• Pagination and other display options behave as expected.

Edit an Existing Taxonomy Search

To update an existing Taxonomy search:

1. Navigate to Menus → Main Menu, or the menu containing your search page.
2. Open the Taxonomy search menu item you want to update.
3. Make your changes.
4. Click Save.

Review the search on the front end after saving to confirm your changes.