FACT-Finder Search parameters

Search parameters are used to tell FACT-Finder what product data to return. In general there are two different ways of sending these parameters. The XML and JSON interfaces each respond to a query URL with the appropriate parameters. In the web service interface, program objects and associated attributes are passed through the interface.

Whenever data is passed to FACT-Finder via a URL, it is important that the encoding is set correctly. If this is not the case, special symbols and accented characters will be processed incorrectly. The default URL encoding scheme for FACT-Finder is UTF-8. The available search parameters are listed below.

Authentication parameters

	Description	URL-Parameter	Webservice/SOAP
Username	As FACT-Finder calls must be authorised, you need to pass a user.	The username is passed using the parameter `username`.	`AuthenticationToken.username`
Password	A password for the specified user must be sent. It must be encrypted using the formula described above.	`password=HASH`	`AuthenticationToken.password`
Timestamp	If you want to use the advanced encryption method, the timestamp used for the hash must also be sent.	`timestamp=ZEITSTEMPEL`	`AuthenticationToken.timestamp`

Basis Parameters

This list corresponds to the Params class when using the web service.

	Description	URL-Parameter	Webservice/SOAP
Search term	The search term indicates the term or phrase that is to be used to search in the FACT-Finder database. This and the channel parameter are the only mandatory parameters.	The parameter name is `query`	Set using the `Params` object and the `setQuery` method.
Channel	If your search environment consists of multiple channels, you can define which channel to search here. If no channel is specified, the first channel in the channel list is used.	`channel=NAME`	`Params.channel`
Page	If a search result contains many results these will be divided into pages. This limits the amount of data that has to be sent in one go. You can indicate which page should be returned. Page numbering starts at 1.	`page=NUMMER`	`Params.page`
Results per page	In the FACT-Finder Management Interface you can define how many results will be returned on a page by default. If you prefer another number, you can set it with this parameter.	`productsPerPage= ANZAHL`	`Params.resultsPerPage`
Sorting	By default the result that is returned has been sorted for relevance. However, you can specify a different sort order here. It is also possible to sort by more than one criterion. Each sort criterion is applied sequentially.	The parameter is made up of the prefix sort and the name of the field by which the data should sorted(`sortFIELDNAME`). The sort direction is indicated by the value `asc` for ascending order and `desc` for descending order. If you want to sort by similarity as well in the event that multiple sortings are specified the parameter is `sortRelevancy=desc`.	Each sort criterion is described using a `SortItem` object. A list of these objects can be set in `Params`.
Filter	When a filter parameter is sent to FACT-Finder, the Search engine only returns results that correspond to the filter indicated. The filter value will not register a hit if only a partial match is detected. It is also possible to combine field filters using AND or OR. Moreover you can send a filter that excludes the given criteria. For example, return all products that are NOT red.	As with the sort criteria, the name of the parameter is composed of a prefix and a fieldname. Here, however, the prefix is `filter`. The filter value is provided as the value of the parameter. If you want to apply multiple filters, you need to insert a separator string between each of the filter values. To combine the filters using a logical AND operator the separator is normally 3 underscores (___). If you want to use a logical OR operator, the separator is 3 tildes (~~~). Example: Red~~~Blue These separator strings can be configured inconfig.xml. If you want the filter to exclude specific values, you need to add a prefix before the filter value. By default this is an exclamation mark (!). Example: `!Red` This string is also configured in config.xml.	Each Filter object represents one filter for each field. This object can contain several `FilterValue` objects. As well as a filter value, it contains information about how multiple `FilterValues` are combined (type). The object attribute exclude indicates whether or not the filter should be applied to exclude the value. In turn, multiple Filter objects can be added to the `Params` object.
Search field	Normally FACT-Finder searches all fields defined as searchable. However it is possible to search only one specific field as well.	`searchField=FELDNAME`	`Params.searchField`
Article number search	Normally an article number search is carried out if the search term matches one or more set formats. You can also use parameters to prevent an article number search from being carried out.	If you pass the parameter `noArticleNumberSearch` with the value `true`, the article number search will not be carried out.	The `Params` object has an attribute `noArticleNumberSearch` through which searching by article number can be prevented. Using the attribute `isArticleNumber` you can also stipulate explicitly that an article number search should be carried out.
Session-ID		The parameter name for the session ID is `sid`.	`TrackingInformation.sessionID`

Parameters used to control the search process

	Description	URL-Parameter	Webservice/SOAP
Create ASN	Controls whether or not the ASN (after-search navigation block) is created. `true` = create ASN, `false` = do not create ASN. The default value is `true`.	`useAsn=true`	`SearchControlParams.useAsn`
Return found words	FACT-Finder is able to return the words that were used to find the data record for the located records. Determining these words takes up CPU time. For this reason, the function is disabled by default. Set the parameter to `true` to generate the search words or `false` if you do not want to generate search words. The default value is `false`.	`useFoundWords=true`	`SearchControlParams.useFoundWords`
Suppress campaigns	If you want to prevent the Campaign Manager from checking whether the search query matches a campaign, use this parameter. `true` = campaigns are evaluated and returned as appropriate, `false` = campaigns are ignored. More detailed information about the Campaign Manager can be found in the specific documentation	`useCampaigns=true`	`SearchControlParams.useCampaigns`
Shop navigation	FACT-Finder can also replicate your entire shop navigation. No search term is necessary if you want to use this function. You simply pass the corresponding request.	The `query` parameter is superfluous here. You just need the parameter `navigation=true.`	`CustomParameter` "`navigation`" set om tje `Params o`bject.
Do not transmit data records	The result normally contains all field information about the products that have been found. If you only need the IDs, you can request for the field contents not to be returned, thus saving bandwidth. `True` = do not pass field content. The default value is `false`.	`idsOnly=true`	`SearchControlParams.idsOnly`
Generate SEO keywords	FACT-Finder is able to generate product keywords that can be used for SEO1. `true` = SEO keywords are evaluated and added to the product records, `false` = SEO keywords are not returned. The default value is `false`.	`useKeywords=false`	`SearchControlParams.useKeywords`
Return complete question/answer tree for advisor campaigns	Please note, that this parameter has no effect and only exists for compatibility reasons. The advisor tree originally generated through the parameter is now always created and delivered with the search result (provided an advisor campaign is active).	`generateAdvisorTree=false`	`SearchControlParams.generateAdvisorTree`
Disable cache	This parameter controls whether or not the search result cache is used. `true` = cache is ignored, `false` = cache is used. The default value is `false`.	`disableCache=false`	`SearchControlParams.disableCache`
Limitation of follow-up requests	The parameter `followSearch` is automatically attached to all follow-up parameter sets of a search result. The parameter must not be passed on initial requests. For internal reasons it must be passed for all follow-up requests (sorting, filtering, etc.).	Please pass the parameter as received: for example, `followSearch=9680`	`Params.followSearch`
Usage of personalization	Allows the activation/deactivation of the personalization of queries. `true` = the search result will be personalized if the personalization module is activated and all other requirements are met; `false` = the search result will not be personalized. The default value is `true`.	`usePersonalization=false`	`SearchControlParams.usePersonalization`
Usage of semantic enhancer	Allows the activation/deactivation of the semantic enhancement of queries. `true` = the search result will be semantically enhanced if the enhancer module is activated and all other requirements are met. `false` = the search result will not be enhanced. The default value is `true`.	`useSemanticEnhancer=false`	`SearchControlParams.useSemanticEnhancer`
Usage of Automatic Search Optimization	Allows the activation/deactivation of the automatic search optimization. `true` = the search result will be optimized. `false` = the search result will not be optimized. The default value is `true`.	`useAso=false`	`SearchControlParams.useAso`

Additional parameters

	Description	URL-Parameter	Webservice / SOAP
Return format	Since the XML and JSON interfaces are invoked via URL, a parameter is required to indicate the format in which the result should be delivered.	The parameter has the name `format`. If it is not assigned a value, the result will be returned in HTML. Possible values are `xml, json` and `jsonp`.	-
Return version	To ease the migration to newer versions, FACT-Finder contains versioned APIs. Due that, an update to a newer FACT-Finder version can be done without touching the integration code. If necessary the integration code can be adjusted afterwards to use new functions.	The wanted return version is defined by the parameter `version`. In FACT-Finder 7.2 you can use the values `6.11, 7.0, 7.1` and `7.2`. Please note that a default version is defined as application settings, so using this parameter isn’t necessary by default.	The version of the web service response is defined by the selected endpoint.
Hide application name	The returned search parameter URLs normally start with the name of the FACT-Finder server application. However, this can be disabled. This function may be useful in load-balanced installations in which the different FACT-Finder applications have different names, for example. It can also be used in “normal” deployment scenarios in order to reduce the volume of data being	If you pass `omitContextName = true` the URLs start with the action name rather than the application name.	-
Logfile description	Sometimes it is useful to add a description to a log file, for example if only certain search request should be evaluated. The description will then be seen in the log file analysis. The value may only contain letters and numbers.	The needed parameter has the name `log` and has to be passed in addition to the search query. The value of the parameter is the description of the log file.	`Custom-Parameter` "`log`”, set in the `Params`-Object.