NDS Advanced Search

License: GPLv2 or later

License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Tags: WordPress advanced search, autosuggest, auto completion, custom loop, search multiple post types, settings page for post types.

Requires PHP at least: 5.6.0

A WordPress plugin to add an Advanced Search Form with auto-suggest using a shortcode.

The intent is to help developers with a boilerplate search plugin with search suggestions that can be customized for advanced scenarios as shown here https://github.com/nuancedesignstudio/nds-advanced-search-demo.

Description

The plugin adds a custom Search Form using a shortcode on any page. It provides search suggestions as you type. The results are displayed on the same page using a flexbox container. The plugin overrides the searchform.php defined by the theme but only on the page where the shortcode is used. You can control the custom post types to include in the search from Settings->Advanced Search Settings. By default only posts are included.

Installation Manually

1. Download the latest archive and extract to a folder
2. Upload nds-advanced-search to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
3. Activate the plugin through the Plugin Menu in WordPress

Usage

1. Select the post types to include in the search Dashboard->Settings->Advanced Search Settings
2. Add the shortcode [nds-advanced-search] on the page where you want the search form.

Note: You may need to modify the CSS to suit your theme.

Features

• Makes uses of WordPress transients to cache the search results. The transient expiry is six hours.
• The AJAX request for search suggestions is also cached to prevent ajax calls when a search term is repeated
• Specify post types to include in search from the Dashboard->Settings->Advanced Search Settings
• Does not depend on Theme Page Templates
• Makes use of my Object Oriented Plugin Bolier Plate here: https://github.com/nuancedesignstudio/WordPress-Plugin-Boilerplate

Developer Notes

• Boilerplate files and comments have not been removed.
• To rename the plugin and files refer the steps here: https://github.com/nuancedesignstudio/WordPress-Plugin-Boilerplate
• For an example of how the plugin can be extended with Search Filters using Custom Taxonomies and Advanced Custom Fields, see https://github.com/nuancedesignstudio/nds-advanced-search-demo

i18n Tools

The Plugin uses a variable to store the text domain used when internationalizing strings throughout the code. To take advantage of this method, there are tools that are recommended for providing correct, translatable files:

• Poedit
• makepot
• i18n

Any of the above tools should provide you with the proper tooling to internationalize the plugin.

However, if you still face problems translating the strings with an automated tool/process, replace $this->plugin_text_domain with the literal string of your plugin's text domain.

Credits

The plugin boiler plate is a modified version of the Plugin Boiler Plate here: https://github.com/DevinVinson/WordPress-Plugin-Boilerplate

Screenshots

1. Access Plugin Settings in the Dashboard

2. Include the shortcode [nds-advanced-search] to add an advanced search form.

3. Search suggestions as you type!

4. Search results in a flexbox container

Flow of Control