Instructions for using the fabulous Google Custom Search Engine module.
- First of all, head over to the Google Co-op Custom Search Engine page and make your own custom search engine. To do so, you need to be logged in with to Google account (i.e. gmail account), but there are no additional requirements.
- Follow the instructions there to create your custom search engine, and try it out to make sure it works to your satisfaction. Study the options in the different tabs of the control panel, and make sure you spend some time at the Preview tab.
- Once you have the search like you like it… important: Take note of your "Google Co-op Custom Search Engine ID" (needed to get the great Drupal module to work).
- Whaaaaat? Well, this is not the name you gave your search engine. This is something else. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear anywhere handy. Where to get it? Let’s suppose (starting from a fresh browser just for the sake of argument) you log into your gmail account, then hit "my services", then at the Co-op icon, hit "My Search Engines". In my case, it is called aWebFactory. Then click on the "control panel" link. Hit the "Code" tab link. From the html code for the form to put on a static html page, grab the value of the "cx" hidden field. In my case (changed to protect the innocent as well as myself) the line reads as follows:
<input type="hidden" name="cx" value="099999020263237110000:vict9orkane" />
You want the value: "099999020263237110000:vict9orkane".
- Now download and install google_cse, grant access rights and configure. Now, when you configure in administration (http://example.com/admin/settings/google_cse), the first field you have to fill in is "Google Co-op Custom Search Engine ID". There you have to put in, not the name you gave your search engine, but the long alphanumeric ID I mention in the last point.
- In my case I disabled the "Add to Google" gadget, and left everything else as is, and hit Save configuration.
- I then headed to the block admin page and enabled the block.
- Then I tested the block (you can see it on the right-hand side of this page) by typing in "konqueror", and voilá… my own custom google search engine for awebfactory.com.ar . Cool!
- Obviously got some theming problems, but that has to do with this new "work in progress" blog theme, and not the module: it will look much more "Google-like" on your site.