Getting started with findinsite-ms

findinsite-ms is a search engine for a web site or Intranet. It runs on an ASP.NET based web server, eg Internet Information Services (IIS) on a Microsoft Windows Server, or "Microsoft Hosting" packages on shared hosts.

• Please make sure that ASP.NET is available, with the .NET framework 2.0 or later. If you want a version that runs ASP.NET 1.1, please contact us.

You can test findinsite-ms on your own computer if you are running Windows XP Pro with IIS 5 and the .NET framework installed (or Windows Vista with "Internet Information Services" including ASP.NET installed). Let us know if you want access to an example online installation.  WARNING: if running findinsite-ms on your own computer, then indexing seems to occasionally hang up if you are also running Visual Studio.NET - the hangs only seem to occur if the web site redirects page URLs.

1. Try findinsite-ms online
   • Try out an online search using findinsite-ms.  This search page should automatically use your preferred language, provided that it is one of the currently supported languages.  Try out various searches to confirm that findinsite-ms meets your requirements. Check out the highlighting of search words in hit web pages.
   • findinsite-ms also has a Search API - an XML web service that lets a programmer talk to the search engine direct. The search API description online has links to various examples to try out.

   The best way to try out findinsite-ms is to download the development kit and run it on a test system, eg on your computer. However if you want access to an example installation then email sales/support.

2. Get findinsite-ms
   • To test findinsite-ms running on your server, download the findinsite-ms development kit.
   • We hope to provide a Microsoft Installer MSI file shortly - this will make installation on a local server easier.

3. Install findinsite-ms
   1. The Installation instructions tell you how to install findinsite-ms locally on your own computer, or on a shared server. It is usual to install to a new directory in the web site root called findinsite.

   2. You may need to set the file permissions for the 'work' directory used by findinsite-ms to store information. Also - check that the 'work' directory is in a suitable location.
      Note that you may also want to change the IIS permissions so that the work directory cannot be read by direct browser requests - see here for details. If this is not possible, please store your password and license id in the Web.Config file - as described here.

4. Check findinsite-ms runs OK

   findinsite-ms should now respond at URLs similar to these:

   • http://www.example.org/findinsite/default.htm - documentation
   • http://www.example.org/findinsite/search.aspx - search page
   • http://www.example.org/findinsite/config.aspx - control panel
   • http://www.example.org/findinsite/SearchService.asmx - Search API web service

   For example, if you have installed on your own computer, the Control Panel should be at this URL: http://localhost/findinsite/config.aspx.

   If you installed the full development kit directory, then findinsite-ms should search its own documentation and show results correctly.

   Common problems

   • If you see a screen that starts like this then you probably need to mark the findinsite directory as an application:

     Server Error in '/' Application. Configuration Error

   • If the findinsite-ms Control Panel responds, but says that it cannot use its work directory, then you probably need to set the file permissions.

5. Search your web site

   The indexing instructions tell you how to use the Control Panel to:

   • Create a regular indexing run to index your site to build a search database.
   • Tell findinsite-ms to use this search database.

   Then try out searching your web site using findinsite-ms. Add links or a form from your web site to call findinsite-ms.

   Email sales/support to ask for a Temporary License to release all Free license limitations.

6. Advanced configuration options
   • Alter the look and feel, eg hits-list results, using template files.
   • If you want to fine tune the hits-list, use the Search API to get the results and format or reorder as you wish.
   • Customise word highlighting in web pages.
   • You can search more than one search database - add to the list in the Control Panel Searching section.  You can set up search forms that let the user choose which search database subsets to use.
   • Use a meta-data fields search.
   • Add more languages to the findinsite-ms user interface.  Please let us have a copy of any new language files.
   • Change the Web.Config parameters for findinsite-ms.

7. Go live on your main web server
   • Buy a findinsite-ms license.
   • Follow the above instructions again to install and configure findinsite-ms on your server.
   • Test findinsite-ms on your web site.
   • Add links or forms from your web site to call findinsite-ms.

   • Make sure that you have set up a regular indexing run to keep the search database up to date with any changes on your web site.