Federated Search - Vanilla Success
<main> <article class="userContent"> <p>Federated Search is an addon that enhances your <strong>Higher Logic Vanilla</strong> (<strong>Vanilla</strong>) community search by <em>automatically including content from external platforms</em>, such as Zendesk Guide. This broader search provides a real benefit to your users: they get more results, from multiple sources, returned to them in a central location -- but, presented on separate tabs to help keep them distinct (refer to <em>Search Connector In Action</em>, below).</p><p>To include external content in your Vanilla community searches, configure one of our Search Connectors.</p><p>📝 <strong>NOTE</strong>: Currently, Zendesk Guide is the only available Search Connector. The instructions in this article will apply to other Search Connectors that become available.</p><h2 data-id="zendesk-guide-search-connector">Zendesk Guide Search Connector</h2><p>📝 <strong>NOTE</strong>: This information pertains to the Zendesk Guide <strong>Search Connector</strong>. For information on integrating your Zendesk support center, see <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/25-integrate-with-zendesk" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc">Integrate with Zendesk</a>.</p><p>This "connector" surfaces knowledge base articles from your Zendesk Guide Help Center. When a user does a search in your Vanilla community, the Zendesk Guide knowledge base articles are also queried and any matches are included in the search results.</p><h3 data-id="language-filtering">Language filtering</h3><p>If you have a multi-lingual community set up with subcommunities, search results will automatically be filtered by language. For example, in a German subcommunity, search results will be pulled from your German Help Center.</p><h2 data-id="enable-configure-federated-search-for-zendesk-guide">Enable & configure Federated Search for Zendesk Guide</h2><p>1. Navigate to <strong>Settings > Addons > Federated Search</strong> in your Dashboard.</p><p>2. On the Search Connectors page, slide the toggle to the right to enable the <strong>Zendesk Guide</strong> addon.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/3YGYR37V4Q1M/zendeskguide-enable.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/3YGYR37V4Q1M/zendeskguide-enable.png" alt="ZendeskGuide-enable.png" height="350" width="1189" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>3. Click the <strong>pencil</strong> icon to edit the Search Connector and in the dialog:</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/6WIMSBWY447D/screen-shot-2022-03-21-at-2-43-22-pm.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/6WIMSBWY447D/screen-shot-2022-03-21-at-2-43-22-pm.png" alt="Zendesk Guide Connector Settings" height="606" width="1126" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <ul><li>Specify the URL of your Help Center (e.g., <strong>https://support.higherlogic.com</strong>).</li></ul><p>📝 <strong>NOTE</strong>: The URL must have the "secure" protocol (<strong>https</strong>) in order to enable the <strong>Save</strong> option.</p><ul><li>(Optional, but <em>recommended</em>) Specify a label for your Help Center repository.</li></ul><p>📝 <strong>NOTE</strong>: This label displays in your <em>search suggestions</em> and as the <em>tab label</em> for your search results. Examples of these are included in the next section.</p><p>4. Click <strong>Save</strong>.</p><h2 data-id="search-connector-in-action">Search Connector in action</h2><p>After you have configured and saved your Search Connector (e.g., Zendesk Guide), searches in your Vanilla community immediately include content from that now-connected external repository.</p><p>📝 <strong>NOTE</strong>: If you specified a <em>label</em> (such as, <strong>Higher Logic Documentation</strong>) while configuring the Search Connector, that label distinguishes the external content from your Vanilla community content, as shown in the two examples that follow.</p><h3 data-id="in-search-suggestions">In search suggestions</h3><p>When a search term is entered in the Search field, "matches" from <em>within the community</em> and from the <em>external repository</em> display in the suggestions list. Community content always displays above the external content.</p><p>⭐️ <strong>EXAMPLE</strong>: The Search Connector was labeled <strong>Higher Logic Documentation</strong> during configuration; external matches are grouped under that label.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/ZATUNKPA6ZJA/search-suggestions.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/ZATUNKPA6ZJA/search-suggestions.png" alt="Search Suggestions.png" height="588" width="894" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <h3 data-id="in-search-results">In search results</h3><p>When the search results display, "matches" from <em>within the community</em> and from the <em>external repository</em> display in dedicated, tabbed lists.</p><p>⭐️ <strong>EXAMPLE</strong>: The Search Connector was labeled <strong>Higher Logic Documentation</strong> during configuration. External matches are grouped under that tab; they do <strong>not</strong> display with the community content on the <strong>Community</strong> tab.</p><div class="embedExternal embedImage display-large float-none"> <div class="embedExternal-content"> <a class="embedImage-link" href="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/83M4HHZ5MY2R/search-results.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener ugc" target="_blank"> <img class="embedImage-img" src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6030677/uploads/83M4HHZ5MY2R/search-results.png" alt="Search Results.png" height="429" width="813" loading="lazy" data-display-size="large" data-float="none"></img></a> </div> </div> <p>✔️ <strong>TIP</strong>: The "sort" and "filter" options for external-content results lists are the same as those for the Vanilla community results list.</p> </article> </main>