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Table of Contents
Combining Search Types
VuFind can pull data from a wide variety of sources. This page describes various ways in which users may be guided through diverse forms of data.
Most of the features on this page were introduced in VuFind 2.1 and are not available in earlier versions.
Multi-Column Search
It is often useful to perform searches in parallel and display the results in a multi-column format. This can be achieved with VuFind's CombinedController. To set up this feature, simply copy combined.ini from the config/vufind directory into your local settings directory's config/vufind subdirectory. The comments in the file will guide you through configuration.
Tip: Prior to VuFind 2.3, the default template is designed to work best with only two columns of search results; starting with 2.3, extra configuration options in combined.ini give you additional control over the layout.
Tip: If you want to make multi-column search your default result screen, just set the defaultModule setting in config.ini to “Combined.”
Tabbed Search Boxes
If you want to allow the user to easily switch between different types of searches, you can enable tabs at the top of your search box. These can be turned on via the [SearchTabs] section of config.ini.
Combined Search Handler Drop-Downs
If you want to allow the user to choose different types of searches (including searches of third-party sites not part of VuFind) via the drop-down next to the search box, you can activate a combined search handler feature by copying searchbox.ini from the config/vufind directory into your local settings directory's config/vufind subdirectory and editing the settings. The comments in the file will guide you through configuration.
Labels in Search History
When using multiple search sources, it is often useful to label search history so users can identify which searches came from which modules. This can be accomplished through the [SearchHistoryLabels] section of config.ini.