Are you unclear on how to use your JoomlaBoard or FireBoard SearchBot from Handy PHP? Well, I'll see if I can get you going in the right direction. To begin with, I think an explanation of the SearchBots should help.

The JoomlaBoard and FireBoard SearchBots are identical in coding and use since the FireBoard forum component was developed from the JoomlaBoard forum component and as a result, the database structures are nearly identical which allows the SearchBots to be identical. These SearchBots are used to allow the forum database to be searched from the default Joomla search component. This allows your visitors to effectively search the entire website all at once instead of needing to enter the forum area to search it separately. Most visitors will not bother to use each of the several search boxes many websites offer. This results in visitors not finding the information that they were looking for so they move on to the next website that might be able to help them. The think is, if a person finds information on your website, they are more likely to return than if they don't!

Then click on the name of the SearchBot installed.

You will notice 12 configuration settings:

1. Name
2. Folder
3. Mambot file
4. Mambot Order
5. Access Level
6. Published
7. Description
8. Search Result Section Name
9. Search Limit
10. Show Category Results
11. Allow BBC
12. Handy PHP Credit

It is best to leave the first 3 settings alone unless you are an expert.

Mambot Order:
This is the standard ordering option for Joomla. This setting effects the position of the search results returned for the forum compnent. The higher up the order list, the closer to the top the forum results will be shown. In this example, the order is "0" so the forum results are the very first!

Access Level:
Again, this is a standard option in Joomla. This setting effects which user types may view search results for the forum component. Generally speaking, it is best to leave this set to "Public".

Published:
The Published option is relatively self explanatory but I'll cover it any way. Use this to turn the SearchBot "On" and "Off" or "Published" and "Unpublished".

Description:

The description offers you extra information information about the SearchBot. This could include instructions for using the different options, giving an overview of the plugin, or provide support information. In this case, the description offers various useful links, a chance to support Handy PHP with a donation, the script version you are using, and a check to determine if you are using the most current version of the SearchBot.

Search Result Section Name:

This option allows you to customize the section name displayed in the search results. This can be seen in the following image:

Search Limit:

The search limit option allows you to decide the maximum number of results that the SearchBot will return.

Show Category Results:

This will allow you to either show the forum categories that match your user's search term or not. If you want to show the matching categories, you can either show them before or after the message results.

Allow BBC:

This option lets you choose how to handle any Bulletin Board Code it may find in the search results. You can either convert the BBC to plain text or leave it in it's raw form. Either way, the BBC will not display in the search results the same way it is seen inside of the forum component.

Handy PHP Credit:

Well, this is where you decide how much credit you want to give to Handy PHP in exchange for this free SearchBot. You can either show the "Handy PHP" search result every time a search is performed with this SearchBot or only when the search is related to the Handy PHP website. By sending a few of your users back to Handy PHP when they are interested, you provide Handy PHP the ability to continue to offer free resources like this SearchBot.

I hope this clarifies the use of this SearchBot. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the forum.

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