Customizing your store
FREE CGI Search Engine
Note: This is a CGI Script that must run on a UNIX server.
Do not let the price of this search engine script fool you into thinking that it isn’t very good. It’s fantastic! RealCart.com used this script for several months and then graduated to APBSystem’s Premium Script for just a few bucks. We highly recommend the APBSearch due to it’s tremendous performance. You can choose case sensitivity, boolean and keyword search. This section will attempt to explain the easiest and best way to implement APB’s FREE cgi search engine. The instructions below are for the FREE search engine but also apply to both of APB’s search engines.
Get the Script
The first thing you will want to do is Get the Script. For now you can just select the FREE one. (You can always buy the shareware version which includes a few more search options and install it later.) Download the FREE one and unzip the download file into a temporary directory.
Install the Script
Upload the script to your web site’s cgi folder and CHMOD the permissions to 755. (Setting permissions to 755 is discussed in detail on this page at our support site.)
Instead of using the default SearchTop.html and SearchBottom.html use the ones in this zip file.
Extract the zip file called: cgisearch.zip to the same folder that you extracted the search engine zip file to. If you are asked about overwriting or replacing files then answer Yes or OK. After editing the search.html page to enter the correct form URL (path to your search.cgi script) take the search.html file and place it in your cart folder on the server.
Running the Archive script
Follow the instructions from APB’s site. Run the archive script to build your search index. You will need to enter the path to your shopping cart. (This is the same value you have defined in the Publishing Wizard for FTP Initial Directory with the word “/cart” added at the end without the quotes.) After you build the index you will be able to search your store. If you need help with the search engine just send an email to APBSystems Tech Support. (RealCart does not support this script.)
The Search Form
Copy and paste this HTML code into your cartbanner.html or catalog.html template to produce the Search Form you see at the bottom of this page. You will need to replace the red text you see below with the correct path to your cgi-bin folder.
<!-- Search Engine BEGIN -->
<form name="search" action="http:// path to your cgi folder /search.cgi" method="get" target="item">
<table bgcolor="#eeeeee">
<tr>
<td align=right><font face="Verdana,arial bold, arial black" size=2 color=black><b>Keyword(s): </b></font></td>
<td colspan=2><input type="text" name="search" size=27>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align=right><font face="Verdana,arial bold, arial black" size=2 color=black>Look for: </font></td>
<td colspan=2><select name=boolean>
<option value=or>any word
<option value=and selected>all words
<option value=exact>exact phrase
</select>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align=right><font face="Verdana,arial bold, arial black" size=2 color=black>Results per page: </font></td>
<td><select name=max>
<option value="10">10
<option value="20" selected>20
<option value="30">30
<option value="40">40
</select>
</td>
<td align=right>
<input type="submit" value="Find >>">
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</form>
<!-- Search Engine END -->
Your search form will look like this:
Some things to watch out for
When you insert the above search form into the template(s) make sure you do not place it between any existing <form ...> and </form> tags. This is called nesting. Nested form tags will cause your search form not to work correctly. Make sure you relocate existing <form ...> and </form> tags to where they do not encompass your search form. Also make sure you do not leave unused form tags behind. Beginning and closing form tags should always be found in pairs. You should never have 2 opening form tags and three closing form tags within the same page.
Also, make certain that you define your site URL to match the site URL you entered in the Shop wizard on the Site tab. If all of the Site URLs do not match, e.g. some site URLs with “www” some without “www”, then you will get “Access is Denied” errors. Remember, customization is at your own risk. RealCart tech support does not apply to your modified templates. Make frequent backups in the event something stops working.
|
Copyright © 1995-2006, RealCart.com®
Made possible by the Grace of God.
Do yourself a favor, LoveYourWife.com.
This page last modified on
|
|
