Archive:ServiceCenter

ServiceCenter - Create you own search portals!

Summary

The extension package ServiceCenter for BlueSpice enables you to create your own configurable search fields, so you can easily search through specified areas of your wiki.

At a glance: Advantages

• Simple creation of search portals, e.g. for your employees in customer support
• Faster and more accurate search results, thanks to pre-configuration and limited search areas
• Use search operators for complex queries

Where do I find the ServiceCenter?

The functionalities of ServiceCenter are not found on a specific page in your wiki, but can be integrated into any page at any time.

Which extensions are part of ServiceCenter?

ServiceCenter consists of the following extensions:

• TagSearch: this extensions provides the wiki-tag <bs<code><bs:tagsearch>tagsearch></code>, which is used to integrate the configurable search field into a page.
• CategoryCheck: this extensions checks during the creation of search fields, whether a specified category exists in your wiki or not.

Furthermore, ServiceCenter needs the extension SmartList to work properly, which is already part of every current BlueSpice distribution. SmartList provides the function TopList, which is a function ServiceCenter is based on. Last but not least, the pre-installed Template<code>Template:ServiceCenter ExampleExample</code> let's you create your own complete search portal in minutes.

How do I use ServiceCenter?

Create a search field

Use the WikiText editor to enter the tag <bs<code><bs:tagsearch>tagsearch></code> in your desired article. Alternatively you can insert the tag via InsertMagic in the visual editor.

Configure a search field

A search field can be configured according to this pattern: <bs<code><bs:tagsearch cat="Category" ns="Namespace" operator="Search operator">></code>

The following configuration possibilities are available:

Variable	Description	Konfiguration	Default
cat="Category"	Enter the category you want to search	Multiple categories are possible (Separated by comma)	If no category is chosen, all will be searched
ns="Namespace" alternatively:nmsp="Namespace"	Enter the namespace you want to search	Enter the name or ID of the namespace Multiple namespaces are possible (Separated by comma)	As default, the same configuration as for ExtendedSearch will be used.
operator="AND/OR"	Enter a search operator	Choose a search operator: OR, AND,...	"AND"

Examples for search fields

• Search field with ID namespace setting and category "help":

<bs<code><bs:tagsearch cat="help" nmsp="4">></code>

• Search field with "BlueSpice" namespace setting and category "help":

<bs<code><bs:tagsearch cat="help" nmsp="BlueSpice">></code>

• Search field for the whole wiki and the category "Installation". Multiple search terms will be linked by "AND":

<code><bs:tagsearch cat="Installation" operator="AND" /></code>

Effective use of Toplist

Toplist allows you to display a list of the most frequented articles in your wiki. With a special configuration, you can use this function to make your search fields even more comfortable. Configure a Toplist with the same pattern you used to create your search field, and place both tags in an article. The result will be a search field on a certain topic, with an additional list of articles most frequented of the same topic.

Example: <bs<code><bs:tagsearch cat="Installation" nmsp="BlueSpice">></code>

<bs:toplist cat="Installation" nmsp="BlueSpice" count="5"/>

Here, a search field for the category "Installation" and the namespace "BlueSpice" is created, as well as a Top-5-list of most popular articles for the category "Installation" in the same namespace.

Features

Category check for quality assurance

The category check is running in the background and does not need to be started directly. When you configure a search field and restrict the search to one or more categories, this function will check if these categories exist in your wiki or not. If they don't exist, the hint "Invalid operator" will be shown.

Use Template:ServiceCenter Example to create search portals

The Template:ServiceCenter Example provides you with a table of four search fields with integrated Toplist functionality, that you may use to configure your own search portal.

Working hints

• You can integrate the search function into every article of your wiki. So you have to think about where the function should be offered. Integrate it e.g. into
  • the main page, as a direct offer for users
  • a theme portal, to create an allocated search
  • a separate search portal, to offer several search areas on one page
• When creating a search portal, it is also useful to check your requirements: in which areas does information have to be found quickly? Which information is often requested? Etc.

The BlueSpice package ServiceCenter is part of BlueSpice pro. It can also be purchased as an extension package in the Shop.