Block link style now the default

Link style 3, described in our previous post, is now available in the standard search engine--in fact it is now the default style. If you do not specify a style in your search URL, the block style is used.

To get a different style, add "/linkN" to your search URL, where N is the style number. The previous default style was 0 (zero), so to get style 0 add "/link0". For a complete description of the link styles, please see Output Format section of the Search Guide.

New block link style in search results

We are testing a new link style that turns the extract for a page into a block. The block has a few features that enhance the search results:

• As a user moves their pointer over the block, the block is highlighted.
• While the pointer hovers over the block, the block expands to show more sentences containing the search terms (if any).
• Clicking anywhere in the block brings up the matched document.

The new link style is #3, thus to use it add "/link3" to your search URL. During testing it will be available only in our test search engine, nquery. (That is, use nquery in place of query in your search URL.) You can try it out by searching this blog!

New way to control format of search results

As an alternative to using Head and Tail files to control the appearance of search results, you can now use a template file on your website. The benefit of using a template file are

• The file is processed by your webserver, so some server-side processing like includes and scripts are usable.
• The file is read by Blossom each day, so changes you make to the template are automatically reflected in your search results.

For details on using Template Files, please consult the Search Guide section Output Format.