Using Smart Search -May 2025

Introduction

The smart-search in Joomla 4 & 5 has been much improved compared to its Joomla 3 predecessor. In particular after the initial 'indexing' of items after setup then the 'indexing' is automatic as more items are added.

The items searched depends on 'finder' type plugins. The standard finder plugins include Articles and Article Categories, Contacts, Tags and News Feeds. jDownloads adds two finder plugins, one for jD Categories and the other for Downloads.

For reference the old Search method, which is no longer available for Download and Installation, uses 'search' type plugins.

The two images opposite are the result of using Smart Search on jD categories and Downloads respectively.

The search term in the first image on the right was 'files' and in the second image it was 'service'.

This is much more powerful than using the ordinary Search

Upgradng from Joomla 3

When upgrading from Joomla 3 to Joomla 4 or 5 using the procedure as decribed in Upgrading from jD3.9 to jD4 (opens in a new window/tab) the existing Joomla 3 Search and its plugins will be retained. That is if you had a site under Joomla 3 using 'Search', it will have been moved over to your migrated V4 site. If you intend to use the Smart Search then it is strongly recommended that the old Joomla 3 Search component and its plugins are removed as decribed in the Appendix.

Configure smart-search

When jDowloads is installed, it automatically adds in two 'finder' type Plugins. To locate the Plugins go to the main Joomla Side panel, click on the

and then on the

button.

This will give a list such as shown opposite. Ensure that all three of the plugins indiated opposite are enabled. Just click on the

to activate the plugin. Note there are numerous 'finder' plugins so the corresponding items will also be indexed.

If you only wish to search for jDownloads items then disable all of the plugins except for 'Content Smart Search' and the two jDownload plugins.

The 'Content -smart-search' plugin monitors content, which includes jD Categories and Downloads, as they are added. It places a link to the content item into the 'index' so that smart-search will find it.

This is a significant improvement of smart-search as previously one had to periodically re-run the indexing process manually.
Note however if you are adding the smart-search to an existing site with many jDownloads categories and Downloads you may need to run the 'indexer' more than once.
You can use the

button on the smart-search Index page to see how many of each type have been indexed.

Initial Indexing

To find Smart Seach on the main Joomla backed Click on

and then on

The next step is to carry out the initial indexing.

Click on

as indicated as indicated in the first image opposite. This shows the Indexer start page.

So at top left click on the

button.
This will give a message such as 'Indexer Running'

Subsequent Indexing

Generally there is no need to do a further index as the smart-search Component indexes as content is added.

Whilst Indexing

In both cases, whilst working the indexer shows a progress bar like the one opposite.

On completion the indexer will show the entries in the index table.

We are now nearly ready to use

Create Menu Item

This done on the usual way so go to

Then click on the

by Main Menu

Select 'smart-search' as the menu type and fill in the details as shown above. Finally click on

. For more details on setting up a menu item click on Menus Overview (opens in a new window/tab).

Advanced Search

To use Advanced Search click on the

button

There are numerous options as illustrated opposite.

For example if you click on 'Search by Category' it will show both Content and jDownloads Categories so you may limit your seach to a specific Category. You may select a sub category as the Category to search. As would be expected, this will also include all the sub categories of the selected category.

As it is a Smart Search note you are able to enter a logic criterion into the search box as indicated at the top left of the search Form..

Entering this and that into the search form will return results containing both "this" and "that".

Entering this not that into the search form will return results containing "this" and not "that".

Entering this or that into the search form will return results containing either "this" or "that".

Examples

The first example is a very simple seach as it only has one search term.

The second search used an OR in the search criterion, namely 'test or public' as illustrated opposite.

Appendix - Disabling/Removing Search (Joomla 3 & 4 only)

Note In Joomla 5 the old style Search is no longer included. Also it is removed as part of the upgrade from earlier versions - so no action is required.

When using the smart-search it is unlikely that the old style Search will be used.

Go to System - Manage and select Plugins as shown in the first image opposite.

Then in the Select Type pull down click on 'search' as shown in the second image. It is near the bottom of the pull down,

Select all the 'search' type plugins as shown in the image below,marked as 4. Then set the Status to 'disabled' as shown in the image marked as 5

The original simple Search is now fully disabled.

Delete Search Component

To delete the Search Component go to

. Then in the

section select

. Select the one with 'pkg-search' and click on the

button.

The Components Menu in the BackEnd will still have the 'Search' item listed but it will have no effect if you should click on it. The update to Joomla 5 will remove the old Seach component

To remove it completely at tis time requires accessing the database and searching in the XXXXX_menu table, finding the entry with 'Basic Search' and then deleting that entry. Before doing this it is perhaps wise to make a copy of the database table, just in case....

Updated ColinM April 2023, June 2023, August 2023, January 2024, November 2024, May 2025, July 2025

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