Boost Rules

This section describes how to use boost rules to adjust the weightings of search results according to the values in particular document fields.

Boost Rules Page

The Boost Rules page displays a list of all your boost rules. Each rule defines a way to boost search results according to the value in a particular field. The boost rule provides different options depending on the type of field that you want to use to boost results. The following table describes the different types of fields, and the boost options.

Field types for boost rules

Field Type	Matches	Description
Parametric	A text value.	Boosts results that contain a particular value in a particular parametric field.
Numeric	A number.	Boosts results that contain a value in a particular numeric field that is within a particular numeric distance from a value that you specify.
Date	A date.	Boosts results that contain a date in a particular date field that is within a particular number of days from a date that you specify.
Cartesian Position	A location in Cartesian coordinates	Boosts results that contain a location value in Cartesian coordinates that is within a particular distance from a point that you specify. There are two options, depending on whether the fields in your documents use a unified format with both coordinates in a single field, or separate fields for the X and Y coordinates.
Spherical Position	A location in Spherical coordinates (latitude and longitude)	Boosts results that contain a location value in Spherical coordinates (latitude and longitude) that is within a particular distance from a point that you specify. There are two options, depending on whether the fields in your documents use a unified format with both coordinates in a single field, or separate fields for the latitude and longitude values.

To create a new boost rule

1. In the main navigation on the left of the page, click Boost Rules. The Boost Rules page opens.

2. Click New.

   A placeholder boost rule is displayed.

3. Click each highlighted option (or beside it) to modify it:

   • The first value is the boost percentage. This value is the amount by which IDOL boosts the relevance score for a document when the rule matches.

   • The second value is the field type. For details of the available options, see Field types for boost rules. When you change this option, it changes the rest of the available options. The text of the rule also changes to show you the values that you must set. You must always choose the name of a field (or two fields for Cartesian Position Fields and Spherical Position Fields options).

   • The third value is the name of the field that contains the values you want to use to boost results. For Cartesian Position Fields and Spherical Position Fields, this value is one coordinate (X or latitude), and the next value is the other coordinate (Y or longitude).

   • The next values depend on the type of field you choose. In each case, you pick a value (or coordinates) that you want to boost. For most values you also pick a range; for example, within 3 of a numeric value, or within 7 days of a particular date. The outline text provides a guide to what the values do.

   To confirm a value, click the check mark.

4. (Optional) To add a database match for your rule:

   1. Click +ADD DATABASE MATCH.

   2. In the list, select the databases that you want the boost rule to apply to.

   IDOL applies the boost rule to any query that requests documents from at least one of these databases (the user must request the database explicitly).

5. (Optional) To add a user field restriction for your rule:

   1. By the user restriction label, click .

   2. Select an available user field from the list.

   3. In the Field Value box, type the value of the field that you want the boost rule to apply to.

   4. Click the check mark to confirm the field rule.

   IDOL applies the boost rule only to users that have the specified value in the explicit user fields for that user. You can add multiple user field restrictions.

6. To change the language of the rule, in the Select a Language section, click the language to open a list. Click the language you want to apply the boost rule to.

7. After you have finished modifying the rule, click FINISH.

   IDOL Data Admin adds the Boost Rule and returns to the Boost Rules page.

You can view and edit your boost rules on the Boost Rules page.

Modify or Delete a Boost Rule

You can modify a boost rule on the Boost Rules page, by clicking the icon beside the value that you want to modify. You can also add database matches on this page.

To delete a boost rule, find the rule and click .