Setting Up a Search Engine

For HTML5 targets, you can choose the type of search engine you want people to use—MadCap Search, Google Search, or Elasticsearch (for Side Navigation, Top Navigation, or skinless output). There are additional steps that you can follow and features you can select, depending on the search engine you choose. For MadCap Search and Elasticsearch, you can include micro content in the output, which can especially enhance your search results.

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Comparison of Search Engine Options

There are benefits to any of the search methods offered by Flare. Some users might prefer the search results returned by Google. However, others might prefer the results returned by MadCap. Or some users might want all of the configurable options provided by Elasticsearch.

Tip To determine the type of search that is best for you, we recommend that you generate different outputs using each method. Then perform several different searches and see which results you like best.

	MadCap Search	Elasticsearch	Google Search
Less Time and Effort to Set Up	Setting up MadCap Search in a Flare project takes only a few seconds.	Setting up Elasticsearch is done within the Target Editor and Destination Editor in Flare. Web servers also need to be configured to support Flare, along with the Elasticsearch service.	Setting up a Google custom search engine (CSE) and performing other necessary tasks requires a combination of steps in both Google and Flare. This can take a bit of time to complete. However, it is usually just a one-time setup.
Public vs. Local Output Flexibility	Output can be searched whether it is available publicly or locally.	Output must be published on a server in order to use the full capability of Elasticsearch.	Output must be available publicly so that you can use Google. Output cannot be behind a firewall.
Multiple Outputs	Searches will include results for only the Flare output that is open.	You can manage multiple HTML5 targets that use Elasticsearch through the Content Services Portal. See Content Services Portal.	You can add multiple folders/sites to be included in your Google custom search engine (CSE). Each of these sites can be a separately published Flare output. When users search from one of the published Flare outputs, results will display for all of the outputs.
Other File Types	In order to include file types such as PDF in your search results, you need to generate and publish server-based output. See Enabling HTML5 Server-Based Output.	Most file types are included in the search results.	If you have added other types of files (e.g., PDF) to the site(s) associated with your CSE, they may be included in search results.
Search Tailored to Flare Projects	MadCap Search rankings are specifically tailored for Flare users. They take into account not only H1-H6 headings, but also index keywords, glossary terms, etc. See Ranking Search Results.	Elasticsearch does not provide any direct mapping of search criteria to the structure of a Flare project.	Google does not recognize the unique characteristics of a Flare project (e.g., index keywords, glossaries). Therefore, those elements will have no effect on how Google ranks pages in the results.
Micro Content in Results	MadCap Search lets you include micro content in your search results, which can especially improve the experience for users. See Micro Content.	Elasticsearch lets you include micro content in your search results, which can especially improve the experience for users. See Micro Content.	Google does not include micro content (created in Flare) in your search results.
Glossary Definitions in Results	MadCap Search will fetch your project’s glossary terms and feature them at the top of search results.	Elasticsearch does not provide an option to include glossary terms in your search results.	Google will not fetch your project’s glossary terms and feature them at the top of search results.
Results for Incorrectly Typed Searches	Incorrectly typed search terms will not return results.	The partial-word search and fuzzy match settings allow for numerous searches to be returned when these settings are enabled. See Enabling Partial-Word Search and Enabling Elasticsearch in the Target Editor.	If an end user incorrectly enters a search term (e.g., types “Tble” instead of “Table”), Google will often guess the correct term and show results anyway.
Better Search and Indexing Speed	Search results might be faster because the output is immediately indexed once it is generated. You do not need to spend any extra time indexing your pages or waiting for search results to appear.	The administrator portal allows for the search indexes to be managed closely. This will assist in keeping search result times optimal.	Search results might lag at times, depending on the size of the output and whether Google is finished with the indexing (i.e., making your output available for searches). Google will index your pages automatically over time, but it can take awhile, sometimes weeks. You can use some of the steps below to help speed up this process. In addition, there are a number of different factors that can determine how fast your site is indexed, including: Whether your output has a sitemap The structure of your output How content is linked (regular links are best to make it easier for Googlebots to crawl) Popularity of the site (the number of other sites that link to your output)
Mobile Devices	Search results are “chunked” and then collapsed so that they can be displayed when a search is performed. This is usually okay on PCs, but if you try to perform a search on a mobile device, the results might be slow or even crash because the device cannot handle the number of search results.	Search results always come from a server, so you do not need to be concerned about the ability of the mobile device to handle the information.	Search results always come from a server, so you do not need to be concerned about the ability of the mobile device to handle the information.
No Advertisements	No advertisements are included in search results.	No advertisements are included in search results.	Users might see advertisements in search results.
Customize Auto-Complete Results	There are no options available for auto-complete results.	You can enable multiple options to include a mix of personal and global searches on your output. There is also an option to include project content information such as topic titles and the file path in your project.	While Google Search does provide auto-complete results, it does not provide the ability to customize these results.
Customize Predictive Search	MadCap Search does not offer any predictive methods in obtaining search results.	There are multiple options that allow you to obtain predictive results when searching, especially when using auto-complete options.	Google Search provides a measure of predictive results, although it is not customizable within Flare.

What’s Noteworthy?

Note Google Search is not supported for HTML5 Tripane output.

Note For MadCap Search, the look of the search bar and results can be customized through these skins and components: Top Navigation skin, Side Navigation skin, Search Bar skin component, and Search Results skin component. However, with Google Search, any changes in these skins are not supported. Instead, the look is controlled via Google.

Note Keep in mind that the exact steps in Google may change over time as the user interface is adjusted.