Want to add custom filter type in dspace 4.x search filter facet

Question

I am using dspace 4.x XMLUI version. I want to add new filter type like "Type of Learning Material","Education Level"etc. in the discovery search filter list(not in sidebar facet). How can I do it?

Answer 1

In [dspace-install-dir]/config/spring/api/discovery.xml, you can add your custom search filter. For example, if you want to add a search filter for dc.type, you should add:

<bean id="searchFilterType" class="org.dspace.discovery.configuration.DiscoverySearchFilterFacet">
    <property name="indexFieldName" value="type"/>
    <property name="metadataFields">
        <list>
            <value>dc.type</value>
        </list>
    </property>
    <property name="type" value="text"/>
    <property name="sortOrder" value="VALUE"/>
</bean>

and then add:

<ref bean="searchFilterType" />

to the existing searchFilters, e.g.:

        <list>
            <ref bean="searchFilterTitle" />
            <ref bean="searchFilterAuthor" />
            <ref bean="searchFilterSubject" />
            <ref bean="searchFilterIssued" />
            <ref bean="searchFilterType" />
        </list>

Make sure to add this in the

<bean id="homepageConfiguration" class="org.dspace.discovery.configuration.DiscoveryConfiguration" scope="prototype">

if you have this entry

<entry key="site" value-ref="homepageConfiguration" />

in your

<bean id="org.dspace.discovery.configuration.DiscoveryConfigurationService" class="org.dspace.discovery.configuration.DiscoveryConfigurationService">

After modifying sidebarFacets and searchFilters, don't forget to reindex existing items by running [dspace]/bin/dspace index-discovery -b, otherwise the changes will not appear.

Please read Search filters & sidebar facets Customization in the documentation for additional details.

UPDATE

To apply your own label for the searchFilters, edit your [dspace-install-dir]/webapps/xmlui/i18n/messages.xml. Example:

    <message key="xmlui.ArtifactBrowser.SimpleSearch.filter.type">Type</message>

Please note that to ensure that your custom messages are not overwritten the next time you rebuild, you should store & manage it in your src tree:
[dspace-source]/dspace/modules/xmlui/src/main/webapp/i18n/
which is mentioned here.