Killer Tip : How to add seach bar to your ning 3.0 network ?

[Bernard Lama]

Hi NCs,

As you know Ning 3.0 doesn't have search bar like ning 2.0 yet. May be some people are desperately looking for a solution. So today I'm gonna show you few simple steps to add  google custom search bar to your ning 3.0 network (Ning 2.0 has search bar at the top right corner within ning bar) and it works as good as default ning 2.0 search bar. So here we go.

Step one: Click on this lick http://www.google.com/cse/manage/all and sign in to your Google or Gmail account, or create one if you don’t already have one. Once you’ve done that, head over to the Google Custom Search management page. Click on ADD button> Enter your network link under "Sites to search" and hit CREATE button> now go to step two.

Step Two: Copy and paste the following code into notepad. Go back to the google page you just created google custom search bar code and Click on GET CODE and copy the code. Now go back to the notepad and paste the google custom search bar code within <p style="text-align:left;"> and </p>. 

<!--CUSTOM GOOGLE SEARCH BAR by [e-mail]-->
<div id="BL_search_bar" style="display:none;">
<p style="text-align:left;">

YOUR GOOGLE CUSTOM SEARCH BAR CODE GOES HERE

</p>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
if (typeof(x$) != 'undefined') {
x$(".ningbar").prepend('<div id="inside_header"></div>');
var within_headerCode = document.getElementById('BL_search_bar');
var insideheaderCode = document.getElementById('inside_header');
insideheaderCode.innerHTML = within_headerCode.innerHTML;
}
</script>
<style>
input.gsc-search-button-v2 {
padding: 6px 20px 7px 20px;
}
.gsc-search-box-tools .gsc-search-box .gsc-input {
padding-right: 0px;
}
.gsc-control-cse {
background-color: hsla(0, 100%, 100%, 0);
border-color: transparent;
height: 33px;
padding: 0px 3px;
}
#inside_header {
width: 300px;
float:right;
}
</style>
<!--CUSTOM GOOGLE SEARCH BAR by [e-mail]-->

Step Three: Now copy and paste the entire code into custom code (End of Page Code) and save the page. You are done.

Live preview here

 

If you are looking for more than this tip or want to hire me for any kind of Ning custom job or ning re-designing jobs, you can directly contact me @ [e-mail]

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[The Builder :)]

Oh yes yes yes!

this is very great killer tip!

[Strumelia]

it works as good as default ning 2.0 search bar.

Well, though it's a workable temporary solution (I remember Allison repeatedly recommending installing the Google Search bar when the Ning 2.0 Search was broken), I can't really agree that the Google Search Bar works 'as well as' the native Ning Search feature.  Why?-

I like the Ning search features in 2.0 (especially now that Ning repaired it)-  the fact that there's a separate Ning Search feature for each area of our networks...one for the Video section, another one just for searching in Groups, another only for Members, a search in Blogs, a search in Events, and another only for the Forums/discussions.  That makes all the difference in the world for a big network!   :)

With a network-wide Google bar search, if I punch in a specific musical term I get aaaallll the results using that word or term- in blogs, videos, photo comments, forum discussions, groups, events....I tried that once and it was mind boggling to the point of being useless- like 100 pages of links. 

If I use the Ning search for example in videos and punch in "quill", I get the 23 videos of my members playing their dulcimers with a feather quill.  If I do the Ning Saerch in my Blog section, it gives me the 6 blog posts my members have made that mention playing with a quill.  Now...If I punch it into a network-wide search (like the top Ning entire-site search or a Google Bar search), I get 66 pages of results, including every comment anyone ever made about a quill.  It's almost impossible to find something one is looking for in results like that.

Another cool thing about the Member search provided by Ning is that you can punch in a city, or initials for a state or a country, and it pretty accurately pulls up all the members listing that location. Uh, not to mention finding a member by NAME...absolutely essential! 

This is why the Ning-provided full Search feature is so important and why I love it.  :)   It's a 'must-have' before I will migrate from 2.0 to 3.0.

[Bernard Lama]

Somehow I do agree with you when you talk about individual page search bar. 

[Angela Pifer]

I completely agree! I wish I would have known about this before I migrated to 3.0. Now I am stuck and I am losing customers because if it. the layout of the profile pages and the lack of the search function on the site and especially the FORUM on 3.0 are two HUGE drawbacks. The profile member page is all chopped up with five header links. No one wants to click through all of those. They want their profile page content to be on one page.

Angela

[Tuxedo Ramen]

I did not know they "fixed" it. I installed Google search once I realized Ning was not searching user pages, where I had 1,000s of spammers leaving links. 

[Hazel Owen]

I have a couple of Ning community spaces - one in 2.0 and one in 3.0. The tip worked a treat thank you Bernard Lama (the community is still tiny)...but I agree with you 100% about what you are saying about the ability to refine a search (my other community is way bigger, and has heaps of resources).

There are a load of other features i miss in 3.0 too - and, until some of these are added that are 'must haves', I'm with you, and won't be migrating my large community across to 3.0.

[Petter Næss]

Is there nobody from NING here who can pipe up and tell us why they decided not to include such an obviously useful feature in NING 3.0???? 

[Strumelia]

Nobody from Ning talks to us customers here anymore Petter.

Why did they decide not to include a search function in 3.0?- I think they originally planned on it, but Glam/Mode has pretty much now abandoned the whole ning platform.  They keep collecting money every month though, and letting new customers sign up...and they have a skeleton tech crew to keep it limping along.

[Petter Næss]

Thanks - I think you're right. I did get a prompt response from Ning when I sent them an email about this, but they merely directed me to the Google search solution, which is unsatisfactory for several reasons..think I must find another platform.

[Strumelia]

Petter if you are looking around, be sure to look at Jamroom.