About the Campus-Wide Search Engine
The University has licensed a "Google Appliance" allowing us to index and search the campus web sites. To search go to the following URL and enter a query just as you would if you were using Google:
http://search.nd.edu/
What does it index?
Can I incorporate "search this site" into my page?
How do I prohibit indexing of my site?
How do I establish my web site as a keymatch in ND Google?
Who do I call for technical support?
What does it index?
The "Appliance" is configured to crawl and index as much content as possible from across campus without using any username/password combinations or special authentication. This means it should acquire and provide access to just about any Web page found at nd.edu.
The Appliance knows how to index an enormous range of document types including HTML, PDF, Microsoft Word documents, PowerPoint slides, etc. The Appliance does not index image files, compressed files, or files needing username/passwords to access.
If you do a search and you do not find your content, then contact the Digital Access and Information Architecture Department (daiad@listserv.nd.edu), and we will see what we can do.
Can I incorporate "search this site" into my page?
Yes, you can create an HTML form that searches just your web site's content. See Incorporating "Search This Site" Functionality Into Your Web site for details.
How do I prohibit indexing of my site?
If you do not want your site crawled, then there are two ways to prohibit this from taking place. The first and most direct way is to create a robots.txt file and save it in the root of your web site. Specifically, save a file named "robots.txt" at the top of your web site. Next, include the following lines in the file:
User-agent: *Disallow: /
The next time the Appliance visits your site it will first look for robots.txt. If the file does not exist, then it will index your site. If it does exist and it includes the lines above, then it will go away. For more information about robots.txt files, see http://www.robotstxt.org/wc/robots.html.
Alternatively, you can contact the Digital Access and Information Architecture Department (daiad@listserv.nd.edu), and we will see what we can do to change the Appliance's configuration.
How do I establish my web site as a keymatch in ND Google?
The Appliance has a feature called "keymatches" that associates search terms with authoritative content. When someone searches the words you've specified, your web site will be highlighted at the top of the search results page.
To request a keymatch, contact the Libraries Digital Access and Information Architecture Department (daiad@listserv.nd.edu).
Who do I call for technical support?
In conjunction with the OIT and the University Web Group, the Appliance is primarily administered by the Digital Access and Information Architecture Department of the University Libraries.
The OIT is responsible for the Appliance's power and networking. The Web Group provides leadership regarding the graphic design and ways to incorporate the search engine into HTML pages. The Libraries is responsible for what gets indexed and how. If you have questions, then the best places to begin are with the Libraries (daiad@listserv.nd.edu) or the Web Group (webgroup@nd.edu).