TYPO3’s Indexed Search is a powerful built-in feature that makes it easy for users to find relevant content on your website. With just a few lines of TypoScript, you can customize and extend the search experience, from designing the form to delivering optimized results. In this post, we’ll explore a sample TypoScript configuration, examine best practices for customizing Indexed Search, and touch on valuable integration tips to ensure your TYPO3-powered website offers an effective search experience.
1. Overview of the Sample TypoScript
Here’s the TypoScript snippet you shared:
lib.searchBox = USER
lib.searchBox {
userFunc = TYPO3\CMS\Extbase\Core\Bootstrap->run
extensionName = IndexedSearch
pluginName = Pi2
vendorName = TYPO3\CMS
switchableControllerActions {
Search {
1 = form
2 = search
}
}
features {
requireCHashArgumentForActionArguments = 0
}
view =< plugin.tx_indexedsearch.view
view {
partialRootPaths.10 = EXT:site_package/Resources/Private/IndexedSearch/Partials/
templateRootPaths.10 = EXT:site_package/Resources/Private/IndexedSearch/Templates/
}
settings =< plugin.tx_indexedsearch.settings
settings {
isSearchBox = TEXT
isSearchBox.value = 1
layout = 1
targetPid = 62
}
}At a glance, this configuration overrides TYPO3’s default Indexed Search plugin settings to create a custom search box. Here’s a quick rundown of each section:
- USER: The object type that processes via Extbase.
- extensionName / pluginName: Specify you’re using the IndexedSearch extension, plugin Pi2.
- switchableControllerActions: Defines the Search controller actions (rendering the form and then performing the search).
- features: Disables requirement for cHash arguments for these actions (not always recommended, see below for best practices).
- view: Inherits the default Indexed Search view configuration but overrides partial and template root paths with your custom folder.
- settings: Inherits general settings but sets isSearchBox to 1 (telling the plugin it’s a search box), chooses a layout, and points the search results to targetPid = 62.
2. Best Practices When Customizing Indexed Search
- Keep Your TypoScript Organized
Store your TypoScript in a dedicated file (e.g., setup.typoscript). This keeps your configuration modular, making it easier to maintain and debug as your site grows. - Use Namespaced Overrides
If you’re overriding templates, partials, or layouts, follow a clear, well-structured namespacing convention. This helps you quickly identify your customizations and prevents conflicts with core or third-party code. - Avoid Disabling cHash Arguments
While setting requireCHashArgumentForActionArguments = 0 might simplify certain aspects, remember that cHash is there to ensure proper caching and prevent unintended URL manipulations. Evaluate whether you truly need to disable cHash or if you can handle your scenario within standard TYPO3 caching mechanisms. - Test in Multiple Environments
Because Indexed Search relies on the system indexing pages, configurations might behave differently on staging vs. production environments. Make sure you fully test results in a near-production environment to avoid last-minute surprises. - Cache and Performance
- Index Maintenance: Regularly clean and re-index your site, especially after large content updates or changes to the site structure.
- Exclude Irrelevant Pages: Use Page TSconfig or TypoScript to exclude certain pages (like privacy policies or terms) from indexing if that content doesn’t need to be searched.
3. Adding Search Box to Fluid Templates
After you’ve included the above TypoScript configuration, you can embed the search box directly into your Fluid templates. For example, if you have a Fluid template for your site’s main layout, you could add:
<f:section name="searchBox">
<f:cObject typoscriptObjectPath="lib.searchBox" />
</f:section>Then, in your Layout, you might do:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title><f:render section="title" /></title>
</head>
<body>
<!-- Header -->
<f:render partial="Header" />
<!-- Search Box -->
<f:render section="searchBox" />
<!-- Main Content -->
<f:render section="main" />
</body>
</html>This approach keeps the search box reusable and centralized while maintaining a clean code structure.
4. Styling and Template Customizations
The lines:
partialRootPaths.10 = EXT:site_package/Resources/Private/IndexedSearch/Partials/
templateRootPaths.10 = EXT:site_package/Resources/Private/IndexedSearch/Templates/… ensure that you can override the default Indexed Search templates. It’s a good practice to clone or reference the original Indexed Search templates, then modify them to fit your design. This gives you total control over the front-end markup and style, while keeping updates separate from the core extension.
5. Additional Considerations
- Multilingual Sites: Ensure you’ve configured language overlays properly. Indexed Search can index multiple languages, so verify that your L10N (localization) and sys_language_uid settings align with your TypoScript.
- Accessibility: Provide descriptive labels and ARIA attributes. A well-labeled search form is beneficial for keyboard navigation and screen readers.
- Breadcrumbs and Search Results: You can customize the search results template to include breadcrumbs or other metadata that help users quickly find relevant content.
Conclusion
With the above TypoScript snippet, you already have a flexible, Extbase-based search box that leverages the power of TYPO3’s Indexed Search. By following best practices around maintenance, caching, partials, and template overrides, you can provide a rich and efficient search experience.
If you have further questions or want to dive deeper into advanced topics like pagination customization, extended search filters, or additional indexing strategies, feel free to explore more options within Indexed Search and share your findings with the TYPO3 community. Experimentation and a solid testing routine are key to ensuring your search feature remains functional, fast, and user-friendly.
Happy TYPO3 coding! If you’re eager to go beyond the basics, continue exploring advanced search filtering, search suggestions, or even connecting external data sources into TYPO3’s Indexed Search. The possibilities are endless!
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