How the search works in Retarus Docs

Retarus Docs uses AWS OpenSearch to index and display results from all pages on the site. The search experience is specifically optimized for help centers, giving you quick access to relevant content no matter where you are within the site.

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Search ranking

The search feature prioritizes results based on relevance. Pages with the exact search term in the title are ranked highest, weighted three times more relevant than the same term appearing in the page body.

Example

A page titled "Send a fax job request" will rank higher than a page where "send a fax job request" appears only in the body.

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Fuzzy search and exact matches

In addition to exact matches, Retarus Docs uses fuzzy search to find similar terms. The search uses the Levenshtein distance algorithm, which detects words that differ from your search term by only a few character edits, such as changing, removing, or inserting a letter.

Example

Searching for "TSID" may also return results for "CSID" because changing one letter is recognized as a minimal edit.

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If you enter more than one search term, results include pages containing any of the entered terms. Pages matching all terms appear first, followed by pages matching individual terms.

Search experience

Retarus Docs offers search bars and a dedicated search results page with multiple features to help you find what you need.

Search bars

A search bar appears on every page in Retarus Docs, including:

  • Home page – for quick, general searches

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  • Help pages – for context-specific searches

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As you type into the search bar, the most relevant results appear instantly. You can click to open a page directly without visiting the full search results page. If more than seven results are found, a more link appears to access the complete results page.

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Search results page

Press Enter or click the Search icon to view the full search results page.

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Each result includes:

  • Source
    The product or service it belongs to (e.g., Cloud Fax or Enterprise SMS).

  • Title
    The name of the page.

  • Snippet
    A text excerpt with the search term highlighted in bold.

Up to ten results appear per page. Use the numbered links or arrows to navigate through additional pages.

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Search filters

On the results page, you can narrow your search by selecting a specific product filter.

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When you search from an article or content source page, the search automatically filters to that content source. You can expand the scope to include all content sources using the filters on the results page.

Search limitations

Currently, Retarus Docs search does not support:

  • Quoted search
    Quotes are ignored, and each word is treated separately.
    Example
    Searching for send email returns results containing either word anywhere in Retarus Docs, not only the exact phrase.

  • Partial search
    Only exact word matches are returned.
    Example
    Searching for install does not return results for installation or installing.
    If you don't find what you need, try searching for different word forms or related terms.