Site Search

Include a fast, index-based search engine on your site, which is preconfigured and simple to install.

A site search sample is available:

How to Add a Site Search

Follow these simple steps to add a site search to your web site:

Basic Method

Use this method if you are not familiar with HTML, and you wish to configure a simple site search using the default settings.

1. Visit the "Hosting" area of your account control panel, click "Free CGI Scripts" and select "Configure and reinstall ICE search script".
    
2. The search script was installed automatically when you added your hosting plan. If you deleted this, or made changes and wish to reinstall the original version, click "Install Search". Otherwise proceed to the next step.
    
3. This is an index-based search script, which means live searches are performed against an index of your site, as opposed to your web pages directly. This results in much faster search results. You therefore need to index your site before any searches can be performed. To keep the index current, you should also re-index following any changes.
   
   To index your site, simply click the link provided on the search configuration page. You can re-index your site in the future, either from the search configuration page, or from the following URL directly (replacing "yourname" with your actual domain name):
   
        http://www.yourname.com/cgi-bin/search_index.cgi
   
   The indexer searches through your web site collecting keywords, and saves these in a text-based database file named "index.idx". This file is stored together with the script files in the "cgi-bin" directory. The time required for indexing depends on the amount of content on your site; progress is displayed on the indexing page. The indexing process should not be interrupted, and is complete when the indexing page has finished loading.
    
4. Once your site has been indexed, your site search is ready to be used. You can access the search interface by visiting the following URL (replacing "yourname" with your actual domain name):
   
        http://www.yourname.com/cgi-bin/search_form.cgi
   
   Alternatively, you can add a custom search form to your own web pages as follows (remember to enter "KEYWORDS" is in upper case):
   
        <FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="/cgi-bin/search_form.cgi">
        Enter a search term: <INPUT NAME="KEYWORDS" SIZE="60">
        <INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="Search">
        </FORM>

Custom Method

Use this method if you wish to download and customize the search script. This method is intended for advanced users.

1. Download and extract the script files "search_index.cgi" and "search_form.cgi" to your computer from the appropriate link below.
    
2. Change the variable values in "search_form.cgi" to match your search preferences (i.e. maximum results, , etc.). Change headers, footers and HTML to match the appearance of your site. When doing this, make sure any variables specified in the HTML code remain in place.
    
3. Change the variable values in "search_index.cgi" to match your indexing requirements (i.e. directories or files that should be included/excluded, etc.).
    
4. Upload both files to your "cgi-bin" directory. Remember to upload these files in ASCII mode. Most FTP programs allow you to configure the transfer mode for extensions you specify, so simply add ".cgi" to your ASCII file types. Then you won't need to worry about future uploads. Check the file access permissions. Both files should be 755.
    
5. Index your site via the following URL (replacing "yourname" with your actual domain name):
   
        http://www.yourname.com/cgi-bin/search_index.cgi
    
6. Once your site has been indexed, your site search is ready to be used. You can access the search interface by visiting the following URL (replacing "yourname" with your actual domain name):
   
        http://www.yourname.com/cgi-bin/search_form.cgi
   
   Alternatively, you can add a custom search form to your own web pages as follows (remember to enter "KEYWORDS" is in upper case):
   
        <FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="/cgi-bin/search_form.cgi">
        Enter a search term: <INPUT NAME="KEYWORDS" SIZE="60">
        <INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="Search">
        </FORM>

Download the Search Script

The search script comprises of two files: "search_form.cgi" and search_index.cgi". These files have been archived and are available in both ".zip" and ".sit" formats. You will need a program such as WinZip or StuffIt to extract these files.

Disclaimer

FastVirtual does not provide technical support for modified versions of the search script. If the script no longer functions following your changes, you should either debug your code, or reinstall the original script from your account control panel.