Configuring search packages

There are a few things that must be considered when configuring search packages - this is due to the separation between the querying of the search packages and the fact that the indexes for included data sources are not directly part of the search package.

Results pages are used to configure the different searches provided by the search package and configuration for most query-time behaviour needs to be made on the results page. Because results pages part of a search package, they inherit configuration from the search package.

Items that should be configured on a search package include:

  • included data sources (meta components)

  • analytics

  • contextual navigation

  • quick links display

  • content auditor

  • extra searches

Items that should be configured on the results page include:

  • templates

  • synonyms, best bets and curator rules

  • faceted navigation (note: addition of facets based on new metadata fields or generalized scopes require the affected data sources to be updated before the facet will be visible)

  • display options

  • ranking options

  • most auto-completion options

  • search lifecycle plugins

However, because the indexes are still built when the data sources update any changes that affect the update or index build process must be made in the data source configuration. These changes include:

  • metadata field mappings and external metadata

  • gscope mappings

  • indexer options

  • quicklinks generation

  • filters and filter plugins

  • spelling options