SharePoint University

Under site administration, there is a setting for creating keywords.  I've poked around trying to figure out how they work, and nothing I do seems to affect my search results one way or another...  Can someone explain to me (without using MOSS geek-speak) what should go in the following fields:

 Keyword Phrase (I assumed this was the phrase that actually exists in the index)

Synonyms (I assumed these were terms that people might type that may or may not exist in the index)

Best Bets (I have no earthly idea what these are for)

Any help is greatly appreciated.  To give you an example, I typed "ADE Distance Learning Center" (without quotes) in the Phrase box, then typed synonyms like ade-dlc;adedlc;ade-maumelle.  Then, I tried to search on adedlc.  the results only showed items where that phrase actually existed (as opposed to showing items with "ADE Distance Learning Center" in them... Even if I change the drop-down to "This Site" only, it does not do what *I* think it should do...

What am I doing wrong?  Thanks!

I admit that I haven't looked too much into it, but have you tried to re-index your site since creating the keywords?  You can do that from the SSA admin page.

Have you looked through the basic guide MS has?
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointserver/HA100478321033.aspx

I haven't done much with setting up the search yet myself, but this seems to address some of the questions you have.

- Dink

Thanks for the info!  Turns out that the keyword function (with best bets) does not really do what I thought it would.  It can be very functional, just not a "word substitution" setting like I thought it would be... :-)  Oh well!  I learned something anyway, right!?

We're using Best Bets to help users find information in our SharePoint system. For example, we review the search logs and identify content that users are looking for. We then create a new keyword and as many aliases as we see on the search logs for the keyword. Finally, we link up the best bets to help our users find the content they need.

For example, a common search early on was for our Travel Expense documentation. Users were searching by expenses, travel, business expenses, travel expenses, expense log, etc. We create a key word and then set the best bets to the Business Expense Log, Travel Expense Policies, etc. Our users use this query almost daily to find the information.

Ahh.. Yes!  This is exactly the kind of thing I am talking about!!  thanks!!  I now understand the "best bets" part of the set up!

Well, maybe I don't understand after all... Here is what I have now:

Keyword Phrase: ADE Distance Learning Center

Synonyms: ADE;ADEDLC;ADE-DLC;DLC;Maumelle

Best Bet: http://ardl.k12.ar.us/SearchCenter/Pages/Results.aspx?k=ADE Distance Learning Center&s=ARDL Portal Content
Best Bet Title: ADE-DLC Maumelle Search Results

Now, this works fine, but I was hoping that by creating these things, the Best Bet link would actually EXECUTE, thus giving the desired results without making the user jump through another step.  If there is no way to do this, then I will just have to work on making the Best Bet Title something that makes sense... LOL

Are you looking for a "I'm feeling lucky" style result like Google?

LOL, no, more like i want them to be able to search for things using whatever words they choose.  And, if the exact match doesn't exist, then I could use "synonyms" that would redirect the search to the "real" terms and show those results in the regular results.  Does that make sense? 

If my users type "ade-dlc," I would rather not have the "Best Bet" thing over there, hoping they will see it.  I'd rather "ade-dlc" be "translated" into "ADE Distance Learning Center" (which is a valid term) and the user be shown those results (without having to click on anything else)....

But, I can live with "Best Bets" and just get creative... :-) 

The Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Administrator's Companion has a section dealing with Thesaurus lookups. This is where you define a pattern and then optional search terms.

Basically, look in <drive:>\program files\office sharepoint server\data for a few files named TS<XXX>.XML. You'll see several items already defined in the XML file. There are two types of entries: Expansion and Replacement. I'm figuring an Expansion would be the best for your problem.

So, just add something similar to the following (You should make a backup of the original file!!!):

<expansion>
   _ade-dlc
   _{ADE Distance Learning Center}
</expansion>

If a user does a search for ade-dlc they will also have a search for ADE Distance Learning Center (and visa versa). I highly recommend purchasing the book I mentioned as there are other interesting tid-bits in there!

First, THANK YOU!  Yes, this is *EXACTLY* what I have been looking for!  I will get started on that as tomorrow's project - very cool!

Second, Thanks for the book recommendation!  I'll be getting that puppy ASAP!

Third, I think one of those bits on the cover should be slightly bent.... A true representation of dealing with Sharepoint.... :-)

Oh, don't worry... the book is only 3 months old and has seen plenty of use!

I have book marks ALL over the place!

Well, I ordered it and it came in yesterday (Wed) and we are already wearing out pages!!

Okay, after reading the book, and poking around, I found the TSENU.XML for my site (we host several).  I edited the file and removed the comment tags, and added the following:

 <replacement>
     <pat>hot dogs</pat>
     _{ADE Distance Learning Center}
 </replacement>

I'm using 'hot dogs' because I want something that only I would think to type.. LOL, and I was hungry...  Anyway, when I search for 'hot dogs' I just get the "no results found" message...  Do I have to re-crawl, reset iis, or anything like that after I make changes to the xml file?

I think any time you make changes to the XML files in SharePoint you have to reset the servers in the farm with iisreset /noforce. I was beating my head against a wall when adding the pdf icon when I suddenly remembered to try the iisreset trick. Viola! The icon showed up.

I would try both an iisreset and a full crawl (if possible).