Installation

Overview · Configuration · Usage · Developer notes · FAQ

Requirements

• CS-Cart or CS-Cart Multi-Vendor 4.17.2 – 4.21.x, PHP 7.2.5 – 8.3.
• A theme that uses the standard search box (Responsive, Bright, Nova and themes based on them).
• No external service and no API key. A cron job is recommended if you change products by import, the REST API or bulk tools (see below).

Install

1. In the admin panel go to Add-ons → Manage add-ons, click the + (Upload & install add-on) button and upload kv_instant_live_search-1.0.0.zip.
2. The search index is built during the installation for catalogs with up to 3,000 products. For larger catalogs open Products → Instant search: the index build starts by itself and shows its progress (about 10,000 products per minute). Until the index is ready, the storefront keeps using the standard search.
3. Type in the search box of your storefront: the dropdown appears after two letters.
4. Enter your license key on the License tab of the settings (see License). Without a key the add-on works for 14 days.
5. Optional: add synonyms for words your customers use (Products → Instant search → Synonyms & stop words) and set the popular searches shown before typing.

Keeping the index up to date

Products, categories, pages, brands and vendors that you save in the admin panel (or that vendors save in the vendor panel) are indexed at once, and status changes in lists too. Changes made outside these screens, for example by product import, the REST API or bulk editing tools, are picked up by the Update changed products button on the add-on page or by cron. Add this command to your server’s crontab (every 15 to 60 minutes):

php /path/to/store/admin.php --dispatch=kv_instant_live_search.cron

The command also deletes analytics older than the retention period. Add --full=Y to rebuild the whole index (for example once a night on a large catalog).

Prices and stock are not part of the index: the dropdown always reads them from your store when it builds an answer. Answers are cached for a few minutes (5 by default, see Configuration); Clear suggestion cache on the add-on page refreshes them at once.

Upgrading

Upload the new zip over the installed add-on in Add-ons → Manage add-ons (or install the Upgrade Center package). Settings, synonyms, stop words, analytics and the index are kept. On the next admin page the add-on completes the upgrade by itself (new tables, settings and texts are added).

Uninstalling

Add-ons → Manage add-ons → Instant Live Search with Typo Tolerance → Uninstall removes the add-on’s tables (index, synonyms, stop words, analytics, caches), settings and texts. The storefront search box and results page work exactly as before the installation.