This page allows you to search the site using specific search terms as well as field specific terms.

You can remove the default search form from the search page by changing this setting in the admin tool:

SITE SETUP > BROWSING SETUP > Search Page Setup

The following configuration tool within the admin tool will determine what fields (base field types and site wide optional) are displayed within the default advanced search form. That is unless you create your own search form using the instructions mentioned above.

LISTING SETUP > FIELDS TO USE

If you link to the advanced search form without a category selected within the url link the configuration of fields will be taken from the site default set in the above admin tool.

Also note that you can create category specific field configurations managed within the following admin tool for each category:

CATEGORIES > CATEGORIES SETUP > "CATEGORY" [EDIT CATEGORY] > FIELDS

If you link to the advanced search form with a category specified within the URL, the category specific field settings in the above admin tool for that category will dictate which fields appear.

Also note that if the browsing clients changes the category to search in the default advanced search form that the search form should change to that category's category specific field configuration if there is one set within the admin tool.

The following page module can create category specific links to the advanced search form for you dynamically within the category browsing page. You can find out more about this module here in the admin tool:

See: Link to Search on the Link Modules page

The state field in the default search does not "populate" from the "states/provinces/sub-regions" section of the GEOGRAPHIC SETUP admin tool. This field auto-populates from the states field of live listings(classifieds & auctions) within the listings(classifieds & auctions) database. This means that the state field in the search form may be empty if there are no live listings(classifieds & auctions) in the database or no live listings(classifieds & auctions) with a state value set. So even though you may have 100 "states/provinces/sub-regions" inserted through the GEOGRAPHIC SETUP admin tool you may have much less than that display within the "states/provinces/sub-regions" dropdown of the search form as the system will only display "states/provinces/sub-regions" with a live listing within them.

This feature saves your clients lots of time in that they will not waste time searching states that do not have listings(classifieds & auctions) within them.

Also note that the code looks for unique state abbreviations within the currently live listings(classifieds & auctions) within the database. This could mean that if you have edited the abbreviations to "states/provinces/sub-regions" after listings(classifieds & auctions) have been placed in your system by your clients you may have "duplicate" states appearing in the state dropdown until the listings(classifieds & auctions) with the "older" abbreviations have expired or been edited to the "new" abbreviations. If you see duplicate states within the state dropdown in the search form those listings(classifieds & auctions) have different state abbreviations for the same state. As said before if there are listings(classifieds & auctions) currently in a specific state within the system, you then edit that state's abbreviation to a different value (even slightly) and then other listings(classifieds & auctions) are added to the system using the new abbreviation you will see duplicate states in the state search dropdown. You can fix this by editing the listings(classifieds & auctions) state values individually and choose the state again. This will save the "new abbreviation" in the listings(classifieds & auctions) data. Once you save all listings(classifieds & auctions) under the new state values the duplicate states in this dropdown will disappear from the dropdown.

The country field populates itself the same way the state field does. Only unique countries from currently live listings(classifieds & auctions) will be displayed in the country search dropdown once turned on.

Changing the category in the category dropdown of the default search form should change the search form after your selection. Below the base search and site wide configured fields any category category specific fields setup for the category you have chosen will automatically appear. If you link into the default advanced search form with a category id specified in the url the category specific questions for that category will automatically appear in this section of the search form by default. If the client browsing the advanced search form then changes the category to search in the search form this section will then change to display that category's category specific questions.