mSearch

Snippet for running search and outputting results.

Uses pdoTools for output, so it supports TV, &where conditions, etc.

Uncached call

Call the snippet uncached (with !), as it depends on the search query from $_REQUEST.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
query	$_REQUEST['mse_query']	Search query
tpl	mSearch.row	Chunk for each result
tplWrapper		Chunk wrapping all results
limit	10	Max results
offset	0	Offset for pagination
outputSeparator	\n	Separator between results
toPlaceholder		Save results to placeholder instead of output
return	chunks	Output format: chunks, ids, json, data

return parameter

Value	Description
chunks	Output via chunks (default)
ids	Comma-separated IDs only
json	JSON array of resource data
data	Data array (for other snippets)

Placeholders

Global placeholders

After run the snippet sets:

Placeholder	Description
[[+mse.total]]	Total results
[[+mse.query]]	Search query

Placeholders in tpl chunk

Placeholder	Description
[[+id]]	Resource ID
[[+pagetitle]]	Title
[[+longtitle]]	Long title
[[+introtext]]	Intro text
[[+content]]	Content
[[+weight]]	Result relevance (weight)
[[+intro]]	Text with highlighted matches
[[+idx]]	Index in list
other resource fields...

Placeholders in tplWrapper chunk

Placeholder	Description
[[+output]]	All results
[[+total]]	Result count
[[+query]]	Search query

Examples

Basic call

{'!mSearch' | snippet}

Custom chunk

{'!mSearch' | snippet: [
    'tpl' => 'mySearchResult',
    'limit' => 20
]}

With wrapper

{'!mSearch' | snippet: [
    'tpl' => 'mSearch.row',
    'tplWrapper' => 'mSearch.wrapper',
    'limit' => 10
]}

Chunk mSearch.wrapper:

{if $total > 0}
<div class="search-results">
    <p>Found: {$total} for "{$query}"</p>
    <div class="results-list">
        {$output}
    </div>
</div>
{else}
<p>No results</p>
{/if}

Pagination with pdoPage

{'!pdoPage' | snippet: [
    'element' => 'mSearch',
    'tpl' => 'mSearch.row',
    'limit' => 10
]}

{$_modx->getPlaceholder('page.nav')}

Get IDs only

Useful for passing to other snippets:

{set $ids = '!mSearch' | snippet: [
    'return' => 'ids',
    'limit' => 0
]}

{if $ids}
{'msProducts' | snippet: [
    'resources' => $ids,
    'sortby' => 'ids'
]}
{else}
<p>No products found</p>
{/if}

MiniShop3 product search

{'!pdoPage' | snippet: [
    'element' => 'msProducts',
    'parents' => 0,
    'resources' => '!mSearch' | snippet: ['return' => 'ids', 'limit' => 0] | default : '999999',
    'sortby' => 'ids',
    'tpl' => 'tpl.msProducts.row'
]}

{$_modx->getPlaceholder('page.nav')}

default filter

| default : '999999' uses a non-existent ID when search returns nothing, so an empty query does not list all products.

JSON for AJAX

{'!mSearch' | snippet: [
    'return' => 'json',
    'limit' => 5
]}

Default chunk

Chunk mSearch.row:

<div class="search-result">
    <h3>
        <a href="{$id | url}">{$pagetitle}</a>
        <span class="weight">{$weight}</span>
    </h3>
    {if $intro}
    <p class="intro">{$intro}</p>
    {/if}
</div>

Highlighting

Placeholder [[+intro]] contains a text fragment with highlighted matches. By default words are wrapped in <mark>.

Highlight settings (via Highlighter service):

• Max fragment length: 200 characters
• Text is truncated with ellipsis around the first match

Search algorithm

1. Split query — query split into words
2. Aliases — synonyms and replacements applied
3. Morphology — base forms found for each word
4. Index search — words looked up in index table
5. LIKE search — additional full-text search
6. Bonuses — weight added for exact matches
7. Sort — results sorted by relevance

Events

The snippet fires:

• mseOnBeforeSearch — before search, can modify query
• mseOnAfterSearch — after search, can modify results