SharePoint Search Function - Please advice on the best way to configure the search function for M365 LP

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

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M365 LP SharePoint Search Function

What is the context of your question

• [X] Installation
• [ ] Learning Pathways Content
• [ ] SharePoint Success Content
• [X] Administration
• [ ] Custom Content
• [X] Viewer Web Part

What is your question

Please advice on the best way to configure the search function for Microsoft 365 Learning Path SharePoint?

The Microsoft 365 Learning Pathways SharePoint Online site has a Search Bar similar to all other SharePoint Online sites.

However the Microsoft 365 Learning Pathways App also has its own search function:

The scope for these 2 search functions are different. Questions:

1. How can the search scope be set up to be the same for the 2 search functions?
2. What is the best way to configure the search functions for most hits on the site?
3. How can we add keywords for to increase the hits from the search functions? Please guide?!

Thanks in advance / Lars Krag (Inter IKEA)

[dcashpeterson]

Hello @LarsKragKongsgaard, Are you asking if we can configure the site search in the suite bar to search the content of Learning Pathways. If that is what you are looking for, that is not possible. The reason is that the content for Learning Pathways lives outside of SharePoint in github repo that serves as a CDN. That content then gets IFramed in so M365 Search doesn't know it exists. The search in Learning Pathways doesn't allow for keywords additions or any kind of configuration. If you wanted you could fork the repo and add that into the search functionality and submit it as a PR. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

Thank you for the explanation. Please what do you mean by " If you wanted you could fork the repo and add that into the search functionality and submit it as a PR"?

It is MOST important that the M365 LP search function will give a high hit rate. Please, any guides or work around will be most appreciated. Kr / Lars Krag

[dcashpeterson]

@LarsKragKongsgaard My apologies for not being clear. Changing the Learning Pathways search isn't currently on the roadmap for this project and would be quite difficult as the content lives elsewhere. You could even create your own content so there isn't a realistic way to build in the type of search experience you are looking for.

What I meant in reference to a PR is that this is an open source project. If you are a developer or have access to developers they are invited to create a copy of the code for Learning Pathways and add in the functionality you are seeking and submit it back to us for potential inclusion in a new release. That is why we share the code so that we can all work together and build a better solution. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

@dcashpeterson May thanks for your answer and I appreciate your explanation.

Is there any way I can put request for development to your roadmap? e.g. just lifting the search function for the M365 LP App to be its own web-part with the possibility to add the web-part to any page in the M365 LP site would be a valuable improvement.

What we have done right now in the M365 LP site is to hide the site search bar and redirect to the M365 LP App search function, but the M365 LP App search function is not so easy to find and not obvious to use.

[dcashpeterson]

Just so I can confirm what you are looking for you are requesting the ability to have an independent search web part that leverages existing search functionality but can be used anywhere in the LP site?

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

@dcashpeterson Thanks, Derek, and Yes, it would be a great help if we could have an independent web part which could be placed anywhere in the SharePoint site pages and the web part leveraging the search scope and functionality of the M365 LP App i.e. all information on the site including also playlists and assets.

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

@dcashpeterson Thanks again, Derek. It would be a great help if the search bar for the M365 LP app could be configured to stay visible all the time (and NOT automatically hide and minimize). Is that possible to configure, please? Kr / Lars Krag

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

@dcashpeterson please can you give an update here?

[dcashpeterson]

@LarsKragKongsgaard We are currently prioritizing all the enhancement requests to see which ones we are working on. We don't have a commitment to this functionality yet or a timeline but I am leaving this item open till we have something more concrete to report.

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

@dcashpeterson It would be a great help if the search bar could just stay visible all the time.

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

@dcashpeterson Please, can the search bar could just stay visible all the time. Please, could you change that in the m365 LP App?

[dcashpeterson]

@LarsKragKongsgaard Thanks. This is on the list that we are going through to prioritize our development efforts. It would also be a great first time contributor issue if someone in the community wanted to try. It is on the radar and I will update this issue as it progresses.

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

@dcashpeterson "Good first issue" does it mean that development is being done, please?

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

@dcashpeterson any news, please?

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

@dcashpeterson any news, please?

[dcashpeterson]

@LarsKragKongsgaard we have not made this enhancement. As this is a community effort if others want to submit a pull request with his functionality they are welcome to but unfortunately, I don't have the time to work on this right now.

[dcashpeterson]

Adding an option to the configuration to make the search box expanded. Currently working on this.

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

Great news! Thank you! Kr / Lars Krag

[KRReilly]

Hi @dcashpeterson do you know when this feature can be expected?

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

??

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

??

[AndieDML]

I am looking forward for the search box to be visible all the time instead of auto hide. I submitted the same request too. Hoping to hear the good news soon!

[AndieDML]

Hello, do we know when this feature will be available? "make the search box visible at all times"

[dcashpeterson]

@LarsKragKongsgaard after a long time, this is in process for an upcoming release in the next quarter

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

This is really god news! Many thanks and looking forward to it! :-)

[dcashpeterson]

@LarsKragKongsgaard I know this has taken a while but we have just released V5 Beta for testing with many updates including allowing the search box to be visible at all times. We invite you to participate in the testing of the V5 beta for this functionality.

[LarsKragKongsgaard]

Thanks @dcashpeterson, then I would need to install the app at the SharePoint site, I believe, correct?

[dcashpeterson]

@LarsKragKongsgaard you would need to update the sppkg file in the app catalog. Depending on how you have Learning Pathways installed this could be the tenant app catalog or a site collection app catalog. Keep in mind that this release is a beta. While we have made every effort to remove all the bugs you should try this in a test environment first.