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    Free Mod Google Search Replacement for vB4

    Search feature on websites not just in vB4 forums is one of the most important features a website must have. Giving the website visitors the ability to easily find the information they are looking for is critically important especially in forums where there are tons of user-generated content to sift through.

    Having said that, I'm sure we can all agree that in general internal forum search is not as powerful as Google Search. Not surprising as Google knows everything (it can index)!

    For those of you who owns a vB4 forum and doesn't like the limited feature of vB4 keyword search, there's a way to power keyword searches within your forum with Google Search.

    Previously you could use Google Site Search to use Google to search your site with customizable design to match the look and feel of search results with your website. But unfortunately, Google has discontinued sale/renewal of the Google Site Search since April 1, 2017 and it will be completely shut down by April 1, 2018.

    But don't worry, there's still a way for you to use Google Search within your forum with this mod albeit without customizable design and other features Google Site Search offered.

    Advantages of using Google Search to power your keyword search in your forum:
    1. Better search algorithm than internal search.
      • Can include short and common words. vB4 strips these in the default vB Search.
    2. Vast Google Search tips and tricks will be available in your forum.
      • Use quotes to search for an exact phrase
        Yields only results with the same words in the same order as what's in the quotes. Very useful if you are searching for a specific phrase.
      • Use an asterisk within quotes to specify unknown or variable words
        For example, "* is thicker than water" may yield results such as "blood is thicker than water" and "love is thicker than water".
      • Use the minus sign to eliminate results containing certain words
        For example, jaguar -car will yield results containing the animal jaguar and not jaguar the car.
      • ...and many more!
    3. Users can do Images or Videos search by clicking Images or Videos tab in the Google search results.
    4. Offloads your server with keyword search requests.
    Disadvantages of using Google Search:
    1. Not useful for private forums as Google cannot index the private pages.
    2. Your site will lose branding to Google on search result pages. Users are taken out of your site and redirects to Google search results page.
    3. Google will only search indexed pages in your forum. Recent content from your forum may not be instantly available until Google indexes it.
    You have to weigh the pros and cons before using this mod.

    Notes:
    • This mod is only compatible with vB4. If you are looking for a vB5 compatible version, it can be found here.
    • This mod replaces the default Search box in the header in vB4. This does not replace the Advanced Search page.
    • This is a FREE mod without vbmods.rocks branding. Any donation is welcome and appreciated.
    • This does not require editing existing vB4 templates but it requires uploading XML file to install this product. If you are not comfortable doing this, you could purchase product installation service from us by clicking the button below.

    Version History:
    v1.1
    • Removed newline \n. Thanks to nuggetf5 for reporting this issue.
    v1.0
    • Initial version

    Need help or not comfortable installing this mod? Purchase the installation service below:

    vBulletin One-Time Plugin Installation Service Add-On: $20
    Purchase this product add-on to get one-time professional installation of this mod from us.

    Buy Now Add to Cart View Cart


    Download the zip file below. Uncompress the file and then follow the installation instructions in the readme.txt file.
    Attached Files
    Last edited by glennrocksvb; 04-06-2022, 08:28 AM. Reason: Released v1.1
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    #2
    Does it work with 4.2.5 version?

    Comment


      #3
      sendtowest I moved your post here. This mod should work in 4.2.5. Please try and let me know if you find any issues and I'll fix it. This is a free mod so there's nothing to lose.
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      Comment


        #4
        This appears to work great. Happy to PayPal you $20 but first, on my install it's leaving this at the top of the page and causing a shift downward of the entire site: \n\n which I take to be newline characters. Fix?

        EDIT: never mind. There are two \n characters in the XML file. I simply removed those and made them line breaks and problem solved.

        EDIT: after your post below. $ sent

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by nuggetf5 View Post
          This appears to work great. Happy to PayPal you $20 but first, on my install it's leaving this at the top of the page and causing a shift downward of the entire site: \n\n which I take to be newline characters. Fix?

          EDIT: never mind. There are two \n characters in the XML file. I simply removed those and made them line breaks and problem solved.
          Thanks for reporting this issue. I've fixed it in v1.1 and updated the first post.
          Helpful? Donate. Thanks!
          Buy me a coffeePayPal QR Code
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          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by nuggetf5 View Post
            after your post below. $ sent
            Thanks! Donor badge added to your postbit.
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            Comment

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