Using Ektron’s Search APIs

This section presents an overview of Ektron's Search API. For a more detailed documentation of the Search API and all other APIs, install Ektron's OnTrek sample site and click Developer Reference.

The following webinar is another good resource: http://ektron.com/Resources-And-Tools/Webinars/Screencasts/Ektron-8-5-and-the-Search-Framework-API/

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This section also contains the following topics.

Elements of Search Framework API
Search Manager
Keyword Search
Advanced Search
Complex Query
Operators
Properties
Monitoring the Query Issued by the API
Framework API vs. Search API

Elements of Search Framework API

Element	Description	Example
Search manager See Also: Search Manager	Includes search method you use to execute search, based on specified criterion Use Criteria object to define query text	`using Ektron.Framework.Search;` `SearchManager manager =` `new SearchManager();`
Search See Also: Keyword Search , Advanced Search	Simple	`KeywordSearchCriteria criteria = new KeywordSearchCriteria(); criteria.QueryText = "ektron";`
Search See Also: Keyword Search , Advanced Search	Advanced - can create complex queries using expressive syntax	AdvancedSearchCriteria criteria = new AdvancedSearchCriteria(); criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Title.Contains("ektron");
SearchResponse Data Type See Also: To see the list of properties that can be returned, see Properties.	The type of structure returned when a developer executes a search via the`searchManager.Search (criteria)`method	`SearchResponseData response = manager.Search(criteria)`; s`earchResults.DataSource = from r in response.Results` s`elect new` { `Title = r[SearchContentProperty.Title],` `Summary = r[SearchContentProperty.HighlightedSummary],` `Id = r[SearchContentProperty.Id] * 10` `}`; s`earchResults.DataBind();`

Search Manager

Use to specify an access mode, which defines permissions of the user performing the search.

using Ektron.Cms.Framework.Search;

SearchManager manager=

new SearchManager

SearchManager manager=

new SearchManager(ApiAccessMode.Admin);

SearchManager manager=

new SearchManager(ApiAccessMode.LoggedInUser);

If the user is an admin (see line 5 above), all search results are returned.

If the user is a logged in user (see line 6 above), only search results available to the currently logged in user are returned.

Keyword Search

Use Keyword Search to run a simple search query.

KeywordSearchCriteria criteria = new KeywordSearchCriteria();

criteria.QueryText = "ektron";

Keyword Search Property: EnableStemming

When stemming is enabled, a search for "run" returns content that contains running, ran, and run, etc.

criteria.EnableStemming = true;

criteria.EnableStemming = false;

You cannot combine an exact phrase search with stemming. For example, the search term "run" does not return content that includes ran. However, with stemming enabled, the term run does return content that includes ran.

NOTE: To use stemming with an Advanced Search, use Inflection Search.

Advanced Search

Use Advanced Search to return specific results and run complex queries.

AdvancedSearchCriteria criteria = new AdvancedSearchCriteria();

criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Title.Contains("ektron");

Complex Query

Below is a complex query example that uses the advanced search class.

criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Title.Contains("Animal") & !(SearchContentProperty.Title.Contains("dog") | SearchContentProperty.Title.Contains("cat"));

A complex query can use several Operators and Properties.

Operators

You can use the following operators in a complex query.

NOTE: Ektron's Search API does not support NEAR searches.

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Type	Example
AND search words	criteria.ExpressionTree = new KeywordExpression("ektron") & new KeywordExpression("cms");
OR search words	criteria.ExpressionTree = new KeywordExpression("ektron") \| new KeywordExpression("cms");
ANDNOT search words	criteria.ExpressionTree = new KeywordExpression("ektron") &! new KeywordExpression("cms");
GreaterThan or >	criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id.GreaterThan(10); criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id > 10;
GreaterThanOrEqualTo or >=	criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id.GreaterThanOrEqualTo(10); criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id >= 10;
LessThan or <	criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id.LessThan(10); criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id < 10;
LessThanOrEqualTo or <=	criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id.LessThanOrEqualTo(10); criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id <= 10;
Equal or =	criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id.EqualTo(10); criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id == 10;
NotEqualTo or !=	criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id.NotEqualTo(10); criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Id != 10;

Properties

A complex query can use the following properties.

ImplicitAnd
IncludeSuggestedResults
OrderBy
PagingInfo
Permission
QueryText
ReturnProperties
Scope
Synonyms
Keyword Query
Advanced Query
Private Search
Date Search
Inflection Search

ImplicitAnd

If set to true, search terms have an AND relationship. If set to false, search terms have an OR relationship.

criteria.ImplicitAnd = true;

criteria.ImplicitAnd = false;

IncludeSuggestedResults

Set to true to include suggested results along with regular search results. See Also: Suggested Results

criteria.IncludeSuggestedResults = true;

criteria.IncludeSuggestedResults = false;

OrderBy

Sets a return property's order to ascending or descending.

criteria.OrderBy = new List<OrderData>()

{

new OrderData(SearchContentProperty.Id, OrderDirection.Descending)

};

NOTE: You cannot sort the Description and Highlighted Summary properties.

PagingInfo

Sets the number of search results that appear per page.

criteria.PagingInfo.RecordsPerPage = 10;

Permission

Allows you to search as a specific user or administrator.

criteria.Permission = Permission.CreateAdministratorPermission();

criteria.Permission = Permission.CreateCurrentUserPermission();

criteria.Permission = Permission.CreateManualUserPermission(1);

In the last example above, the search is executed using the permissions of the user whose ID is specified in parentheses.

QueryText

The text that is queried.

criteria.QueryText = "Ektron";

ReturnProperties

The properties for each Search Class you want returned with search results.

criteria.ReturnProperties = new HashSet<PropertyExpression>()

{

SearchContentProperty.Title,

SearchContentProperty.Id,

};

The following table lists the properties available in each class.

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Search Class	Available Properties
SearchContentProperty	AssetVersion Author ContentSubType ContentType DateCreated DateModified Description ExpiryDate ExpiryType FolderId FolderIdPath FolderName FolderPath GoLiveDate HighlightedSummary NOTE: You cannot use `HighlightedSummary` as a search criterion, but you can display it in search results. Id Language MapAddress MapDate MapLatitude Map Longitude Path Private QuickLink Rank Size Tags TaxonomyCategory Title XMLConfigId
Search eCommerce Property	Buyable CatalogNumber CurrencyId Description Height HighlightedSummary NOTE: You cannot use `HighlightedSummary` as a search criterion, but you can display it in search results. Id ImageUrl Language Length ListPrice PathCategory ProductType ProductTypeId Purchased QuickLink Rank SalePrice Size SkuNumber Title Weight Width
SearchUserProperty	Avatar DateModified DisplayName EmailAddress FirstName HighlightedSummary NOTE: You cannot use `HighlightedSummary` as a search criterion, but you can display it in search results. Id Language LastName MapAddress MapLatitude MapLongitude Membership Path PrivateProfile QuickLink Rank Size Tags TaxonomyCategory Type UserFriends UserName
SearchGroupProperty	Avatar CreatorId DateModified EmailAddress Enroll HighlightedSummary NOTE: You cannot use `HighlightedSummary` as a search criterion, but you can display it in search results. Id Location LongDescription Name Path QuickLink Rank ShortDescription Size Tags TaxonomyCategory Title Type
SearchMetadataProperty	GetBooleanProperty GetDateProperty GetDecimalProperty GetIntegerProperty GetStringProperty
SearchSmartFormProperty	GetBooleanProperty GetDateProperty GetDecimalProperty GetIntegerProperty GetStringProperty

Scope

Lets you search other scopes in Search Server. Used for Integrated Search. See Also: Using Integrated Search

criteria.Scope = new ScopeExpression("NewScope");

Synonyms

Returns content that contains any word in a synonym set. See Also: Synonym Sets

NOTE: Synonyms are always returned for keyword searches. You cannot turn them off.

Keyword Query

Always uses synonyms

criteria.QueryText = "hockey";

Advanced Query

criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Title.Contains("hockey", WordForms.Synonyms);

Private Search

Returns private content only. See Also: Making Content Private

criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Private == true;

criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Private == false;

Date Search

Search before, after, or between dates to get results.

Before Search

criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.DateCreated < new DateTime(2006, 2, 22);

After Search

criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.DateCreated > new DateTime(2010, 8, 22);

Between Search

criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.DateCreated < new DateTime(2010, 8, 22) & SearchContentProperty.DateCreated > new DateTime(2009, 2, 22);

Inflection Search

An inflection search on "run" returns contains various forms of the word, such as running, ran, and run, etc.

criteria.ExpressionTree = SearchContentProperty.Title.Contains("run", WordForms.Inflections);

Monitoring the Query Issued by the API

If you specify a siteroot/web.config LogLevel of 3 or higher, then open the Windows Event Viewer, Windows Logs > Application on the Ektron server, you can view the exact query issued by the API to the search server.

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Framework API vs. Search API

You can use either the Framework API or the Search API to retrieve and display search results. The following table contrasts criteria for using both APIs.

Criterion	Content manager of Framework API	Search API
Available properties of returned content	A list of strongly- typed content data objects. They provide access to every property of the ContentData object.	You specify properties of the SearchResult object to be returned.
Immediacy	Queries directly against the database, so is immediately available	Search indexes are not updated immediately. So, content added or changed since last crawl is not available.
Can query against	ContentData properties only	Properties that span types (taxonomy, metadata, content tags, etc.)
Criteria	Simple criteria using filters. Cannot nest conditions.	Complex criteria using expression trees See Also: Advanced Search