Search Settings dialog

You customize WebSearch search settings in this dialog. Search settings are components of your Help project that are used to improve search results. (Examples of Help components include the current topic title, project ALinks, the current window title, and even the name of the application calling the Help system.) You can select which components of your Help project should be included when WebSearch performs a search. When you set search settings in this dialog, they apply to all WebSearches performed from the Help system.

Note: WebSearch's default search settings produce targeted search results for your Help system. However, since each Help system is unique, you can change the default settings to meet your specific needs.

Selecting search settings

When selecting search settings, you need to specify if each Help component should always, sometimes, or never be included in searches. This also affects how (and if) the search option is displayed when users perform an advanced search (see below for more information).

Advanced WebSearches

Once users get their search results on the Internet, they can perform advanced searches from the same Web page. Advanced searches allow you to search on multiple keywords simultaneously. This is handy because WebSearch automatically displays the search settings you selected when you set up the project, which allows end users to choose whether to include them in searches. To start, all users have to do is click Advanced WebSearch at the top of the WebSearch Web page.

Always, Sometimes, or Never Relevant

Depending on the settings you select in this dialog, Help components are displayed on WebSearch's Advanced WebSearch page for users to select (include in the search) or unselect (not include). This allows users to choose which items from your Help system to search for.

Here's a brief explanation of how each setting affects searches and how it appears on the Advanced WebSearch page:

For example, if you select Topic Title as Always Relevant, users will always see the current topic title listed on the Advanced WebSearch page and it will always be selected for inclusion in the search. (Users can clear the check box for the option if they want.)

For example, you may not want to set the component, "Topic Title" as Always Relevant if not all topic titles would be meaningful to searches. Instead, set it as Sometimes Relevant, and users can select the topic title on the advanced search page if they want.

For example, if the names of books in your table of contents are unrelated to the content (such as "Chapter 1" or "Introduction"), you'll want to make sure the Help component, "Table of Contents Book Name" is set as Never Relevant.