Customizing Your Search Results Using Frontends

At its most basic level, a "frontend" is simply a lens for presenting the search results from a "collection" in the Google appliance. To accomplish this, frontends can be edited to control the results from a search, ranging from restricting content access to shaping the presentation of search results.

Frontends can be used to: 

• control search results based on domain names, directories, file-types, languages used, and even by matching meta tags ("Filters"). Specific URL patterns also can be restricted from the search results ("Remove URLs").
• pinpoint specific words or phrases for specific URLs or pages ("KeyMatch") 
• customize how Google handles certain synonyms ("Synonyms")
• control the presentation of search results, making it possible to blend your search results pages into your site ("Format")

The words in parentheses in the list above are the names of the tabs for frontends in the Google appliance's Web-based interface for frontends.

How do I use a frontend?

All of the functionality of frontends is available to frontend managers through a Web-based interface in the Google appliance. Once a frontend has been created for you (see below), you can log in to the appliance and navigate there. The Web-based interface has extensive documentation to walk you through the various options (filters, remove Urls, KeyMatch, synonyms, format).

NOTE: If you want to customize the search results pages through your frontend (using the "Format" option), the appliance provides two options for customizing the search results pages.

• A wizard can step you through some basic customizations (logo, colors, etc.).
• You can edit the underlying XSLT stylesheet that controls the search results pages.

Please be aware that all new frontends created by Internet Framework Services will be pre-populated with a custom stylesheet. There is also a file version of this custom stylesheet. If you would prefer to use the wizard, you will want to "revert" to the default stylesheet and then use the wizard.

NOTE: The XSLT stylsheet code is very clear on what areas are meant to be edited for customizing, and what areas are not intended to be edited. If you choose to edit the not-intended-to-be-edited areas of the stylesheet, the appliance may reject your submission. Neither OIT nor Google will provide support on editing these areas of the XSLT stylesheet.

To get your frontend working on your website, make sure to use the frontend name in the "proxystylesheet" and "client" parameters/options/inputs. (The "proxystylesheet" parameter dictates search results formatting, while the "client" parameter dictates content/URL filtering for the search results.)

A sample search from HTML source code is provided on the "Creating a search form" page.

How can I get a frontend created? 

The first step to working with frontends is requesting a frontend through the OIT Service Desk (see contact information at right). In requesting a new frontend, please provide the following information:

• The URLs for which you would like a frontend to restrict results. These URLs can be as general as oit.duke.edu (for all pages under all oit.duke.edu domains, such as www.oit.duke.edu, customdomain.oit.duke.edu, etc.), or as specific as a particular URL path like www.oit.duke.edu/web-multimedia.
• Contact information for the Web developer(s)/webmaster(s) associated with the frontend's sites, as well as any other faculty, staff or students who should be given access to the frontend. Please include each person's: name, email address and NetID.

NOTE: Each person who gains access to the appliance will also be signed up for a Sympa mailing list named "google-managers". This is a requirement for getting access to the appliance, so that everyone receives system information and notices.

Once a frontend has been created, it is usually available for search results within hours, since it is simply a filter against the main collection of the appliance.