if search results

From Textpattern CMS User Documentation

Tag reference quick links:

<txp:if_search_results>

The if_search_results tag is a conditional tag and always used as an opening and closing pair, like this...

<txp:if_search_results>
...conditional statement...
</txp:if_search_results>

The tag will execute the contained statements if the current article list contains a certain amount of entries matching the search term - mostly more than zero.

A typical application of this tag is the conditional output of a "Sorry, we found no items matching your search request." message, but the min and max attributes allow for a finer grained reaction to search queries.

IMPORTANT: you cannot use this tag directly inside an if_search tag without using an article tag first to actually perform the search! See Example 2 for clarification

Attributes

Tag will accept the following attributes (case-sensitive):

max="number": If the search results count is no higher than max, the tags enclosed by this conditional tag are rendered.; Default: unset, which results in no upper limit.
min="number": If the search results count is at least equal to min, the tags enclosed by this conditional tag are rendered.; Default: 1

Examples

Example 1: More informative search result output

<txp:if_search_results>
  <p>These articles match your search request: </p>
<txp:else />
  <p>Sorry, we were not able to find a page matching your search request <strong><txp:search_term /></strong>.</p>
</txp:if_search_results>

What this does...: Ensures the visitor does not see a blank page when no articles match the search request.

Other tags used: else, search_term

Example 2: In context within if_search

<txp:if_search>
  <txp:article pgonly="1" limit="10" />
  <txp:if_search_results>
    <p>These articles match your search request: </p>
    <txp:article limit="10" searchform="search_results" />
  <txp:else />
    <p>Sorry, we were not able to find a page matching your search request <strong><txp:search_term /></strong>.</p>
  </txp:if_search_results>
</txp:if_search>

What this does...: Detects if a search is in progress, calls the article tag to perform the search but inhibits display via the pgonly attribute. Once the search has been performed (internally) and Textpattern knows how many search results there are, you can then use if_search_results to detect whether there were any or not.
Why you have to do this...: Because it's the only way to use the tag! Trying to use it without first calling an article tag will give unexpected results and, more often than not, a "Page template ... does not contain a txp:article tag"

You must ensure that all attributes used in your two article tags are identical (except for any form attributes, which can safely be omitted when using pgonly). Failure to keep the tags in sync will result in strange article counts or odd behaviour.

Other tags used: if_search, article, else, search_term

Example 3: Take action when there are too many hits

<txp:if_search_results max="500">
  <p>These articles match your search request: </p>
<txp:else />
  <p>Seems like you are looking for a very common search term. Try using a more specific search phrase.</p>
</txp:if_search_results>

What this does...: Advises the visitor to search for something more specific in the case where their search term generated an excessive amount of hits.

Other tags used: else

Genealogy

Version 4.0.6

tag added

Main Topics

if search results

From Textpattern CMS User Documentation

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