Directory Search Pages

What is It?

Directory Search Pages give your members and other site visitors an easy way to search the member directory. As an Administrator, you can configure which Attributes appear on the search page. For example, if your organization offers a referral directory, you can create a search page where visitors have the option to search by region, specialty, or other demographic information. Searches can be limited to specific Member Types, profiles with a given Attribute value, or a combination of the two.

By allowing Administrators to define which attributes are included in the search criteria, the Directory Search provides a simple and customizable experience for your users.  

Note: If you set the User Search as a default, it will replace your system-generated Advanced Search on the front end only (it will not impact the back-end/admin side).  Directory Search Pages can also be added as menu items or within article content, fully integrating the feature within your website.

How to Access

Navigate to Community > Directory

Configuring the Directory Search

Click on the "Add a Directory Search" button

Enter a name for the Directory Search.

Set which members are eligible to be included in the search results. Note: these filters control which profiles can appear in the results, not who can access and use the results.

If you have a directory for specific Member Types, such as a Vendor or Supplier directory, you can limit which profiles appear in the results here. 

Similarly, you can also limit the profiles that appear in search results by an attribute selection. For example, if you offer members the ability to opt-in or opt-out of the directory, you can have a Yes/No selection set attribute dictate that only members with "Yes" selected in their profile can appear in the search results.

Next, select an attribute you would like to include in the search from the dropdown - doing so will automatically add the attribute to the search page.

• Add a Separator: Choosing this option will add a separator, displayed as a horizontal line/rule, between fields on the search page

• Add a Section Title: Choosing this option will create a new section on the search page that you can name. Sections can be used to break up the search page and make it more user friendly, especially if your search page has a lot of attributes that can be categorized
  
  
• Add Proximity Search: Choosing this option will add a field to the search page where users can enter their location (exact address, or any combination of city, state, zip, county, etc.). When users search by proximity, the search results will be ordered nearest to farthest. When configuring the proximity, administrators choose which address label should be used for the distance calculations. Note: Every proximity search page uses the same label for the distance calculations, so updating the label will affect all of the directory pages, if more than one is in use.

Making the Directory Search page available to site visitors and members

To make the search available to users on the front-end, either:

1) Add a menu item for the Directory Search. This option is recommended if a referral directory is a main reason people visit your site.

2) In an article, create a link to the Directory Search using Site Links:

Front End View

Here's a look at the directory search from a member's perspective.

Quick Tips

Both the attributes on the search page and the profile's in the search results are controlled by Attribute Security. If you have configured your search page and not all of the Attributes you have added appear, double check your Attribute Security settings to make sure the appropriate Group(s) have permission to see each of the Attributes on the Directory Search page.