How do I customize my Advanced Search?

  • Updated

Applies to: PastPerfect Online add-on for Version 5.0

Note: Setting up Advanced Search can be complex, so please do not hesitate to call us at 1-800-562-6080 or email pposupport@museumsoftware.com if you have questions or would like to work on this together.

Introduction

Visitors to your site have access to a general Keyword Search function as well as an Advanced Search function to help them narrow their search. The PastPerfect Online Web Publishing Wizard includes default settings for your Advanced Search Categories and field mapping to help you get started, but customizing these settings is a helpful way to tailor your web visitors’ experience to best fit your online collections. For example, a well-established Advanced Search can help visitors use a "People" category to easily locate items related to anyone with the surname of Bell, without needing to sift through bells in the collection or archival documents for a company named Bell.

The Advanced Search settings are found in the Web Publishing Wizard in PastPerfect. This is accessed by clicking the “PastPerfect Online” button from the Main Menu, located in the “Optional Features” section. From there, you will navigate to the “Advanced Search Categories” step.

The Advanced Search Categories step is divided into two sections:

  1. Advanced Search Categories, which control the category boxes that appear on your PastPerfect Online site’s Advanced Search page
  2. Field Mapping, where you specify which fields are searched for each category

AdvancedSearch.png

Advanced Search Categories

You have full control over the categories available on your site for visitors to narrow their Advanced Searches. Making changes to these categories is done by modifying the table on the left side of the Advanced Search Categories step in the Web Publishing Wizard, shown in the screenshot below. This section is made up of three columns:

  1. The left column, titled “No” and which cannot be edited, assigns a number to each category. This number is used to map your fields, which determines the fields that are searched within each category.
  2. The “Advanced Search Category” column in the middle is where you enter the display name for each category on your PastPerfect Online site.
  3. The “Order” column found on the right controls the sequence in which your categories are listed on the site.

AdvancedSearchCategories.png

Here are a few tips to ensure your searches will work correctly and to help your web visitors have the best experience.

  • The categories are shared across all searchable records (Objects, Photos, Archives, Library, Creators, People, and Container List).
  • You can have a maximum of 15 categories, but you do not need to use all 15.
  • One category can search multiple fields.
  • Consider removing any categories that are unused or do not fit the data you are sharing online. For example, having a “Call Number/ISBN/ISSN” category can be confusing if you are only sharing Object records or if you are not sharing those fields.
  • All empty categories must be at the bottom of the list. For example, if you are using 10 categories, you should only use the numbers 1-10 in the No column; the middle column for 11-15 should be blank.
  • Any categories not in use must have the number 0 in the Order column.
  • Do not skip or duplicate any numbers in the Order column. For example, if you are using 10 categories, your Order column for those categories should include each number from 1 through 10 exactly once. We recommend making the Order column match the No column for ease of use, as shown in the previous screenshot.

Field Mapping

After selecting which categories are available for your web visitors to narrow their searches, you can customize which fields are searched for each category. This mapping is set up using the right-hand side of the Advanced Search Categories step of the Web Publishing Wizard, shown in the screenshot below. This section consists of three parts:

  1. The tabs along the top correspond to the different types of record you can share online. Field mapping is assigned separately for each record type.
  2. The “Field Name” column, which is not editable on this screen, reflects the fields you have chosen to share online, using the order and display names assigned in the first two steps of the Web Publishing Wizard.
  3. The “Category No” column is used to connect your fields with an Advanced Search Category, found on the left side of the screen. Enter the desired Category’s number from the “No” column into the field’s “Category No” column.

AdvancedSearchFieldMapping.png

Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you are mapping your fields.

  • When a field’s “Category No” column contains a zero (0), its contents will be displayed online but the text will not be searched when a Keyword or Advanced Search is performed. This is helpful for fields that are informative, but may not be helpful to search, such as the numeric dimension fields.
  • Each field can only be mapped to a single category, i.e., it can only contain one number in the “Category No” column.
  • Multiple fields may be mapped to the same category. For example, you might have the Artist, Photographer, Creator, and Author fields all mapped to a category labeled “Creator (Artist/Photographer/Author)” since they are similar.
  • Only Objects, Photos, Archives, Library, Creators, People, and Container List records can be searched. You do not need to set up field mapping in the Images, Search Terms, or Sites tabs.

 

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