Template Tags

Searching is currently limited to a single index for either provider. Algolia supports searching multiple indexes out of the box, but Meilisearch does not, and requires additional steps to support multi-index searching. Thus, for the time being, searching is limited to 1 index if using the EE template tag.

BoldMinded can not offer support on how to construct queries. Filtering can be very complex and as you can see in the example below each provider has a unique syntax. We have added support for both, so long as you construct the query correctly and have properly set the fields in the respective providers to be filterable or faceted fields (the most common mistake is querying a field that is not set to be filterable). If you are experiencing an issue, check your ExpressionEngine developer logs.

The search template tags are intended for simple queries and results display. If you need users to be able to select multiple facets to filter the result set dynamically, like you're used to seeing on ecommerce sites such as Zappos, we highly recommend using a JavaScript based search component.

Aliased Parameters

For the sake of consistency, and flexibility, the 2 most commonly used parameter names have aliases. In the Meilisearch or Algolia docs you may see references to query or q. You can use whichever you want, or even use term. They all map to the correct value depending on the chosen search provider.

Similarly, the index, indexName, and indexUid act the same way. Choose whichever you prefer.

Searching

For more information on how to use the search params refer to the Meilisearch docs or Algolia search docs. searchParams is used for any additional query parameters. E.g. facets, aroundLatLng, etc when used in the single index search.

{% set results = craft.dexter.search({
    index: 'demo_collections',
    searchParams: {},
    perPage: 50,
}) %}

{% if results %}
    <ul>
        {% for result in results %}
            <li>{{ result.title }}</li>
        {% endfor %}
    </ul>
{% else %}
    <p>No results found.</p>
{% endif %}

Searching Multiple Indices

When performing a multiSearch you will need to refer to the documentation of your chosen search provider for exact parameter names and values to properly construct the queries array. The federation parameter is specific to Meilisearch, but Dexter also recognizes it for Algolia, and applies all the parmeter options from the federation object to each query. In the example below instead of repeating q: 'van gogh' you an add it to the federation object once.

{% set results = craft.dexter.multiSearch({
    federation: {
        limit: 10,
    },
    queries: [
        {
            index: 'demo_collections',
            q: 'van gogh'
        },
        {
            index: 'demo_images',
            q: 'van gogh'
        }
    ]
})
%}

There are differences in how each provider handles search parameters and faceting. We can't provide all examples or support querying. For example, the perPage parameter is unique to Algolia. Use the limit parameter as noted above for Meilisearch. Also note in the Meilisearch example you can sort the results at run time by adding the sort filter. Algolia does not support similar functionality. You would need to add dateCreated as a sortableAttribute , then add to the ranking setting asc(dateCreated). If you export the Algolia index settings with Dexter you should see the sortableAttributes and ranking attributes in the json file.

"sortableAttributes": [
    "dateCreated"
]
"ranking": [
    "desc(entry_date)",
    "typo",
    "geo",
    "words",
    "filters",
    "proximity",
    "attribute",
    "exactness"
 ],

Using craft.entries to display results

If the craft.dexter.search tag is not rendering as you expect, perhaps because of how the data is structured in the index, you can use the idsOnly parameter to set an ids variable to filter the craft.entries tag with, then you have access to anything and everything related to the entry. This is a perfectly viable approach - let a powerful search engine do the hard work and return a small set of IDs, which you can then use to display the result.

If you are not using the idsOnly parameter, remember that the variables in the result are the properties you have indexed in Algolia or Meilisearch, so it may not align exactly with what you normally expect to see in a craft.entries result.

{% set ids = craft.dexter.search({
    index: 'demo_collections',
    q: 'empire',
    searchParams: {},
    perPage: 50,
    idsOnly: true,
}) %}

{% set entries = craft.entries.section('collection').uid(ids).all() %}

{% if entries %}
    <ul>
        {% for result in entries %}
            <li>{{ result.title }}</li>
        {% endfor %}
    </ul>
{% else %}
    <p>No results found.</p>
{% endif %}