Copy a Search App

The Copy App feature in SearchStax Site Search copies configuration settings from one App to another. You can use it to test changes in a non-production App before copying them to a production App.

Copying App Configurations

Copying a Search App is straightforward, but there are some prerequisites and limitations.

Prerequisites

Before you start, keep these prerequisites in mind:

In Site Search, a schema is the set of fields and field rules that shapes how content is structured for search in an App. For Copy App to work, the source App and destination App must use matching schema definitions.

• You need both a source App and a destination App in your account. Copy App doesn't create a new App, and the App names don't matter.
• Copying the source App to the destination App overwrites the destination App's profiles and settings. It doesn't merge them.
• The source App and destination App must use matching schema definitions. That includes the same fields, field types, and dynamic fields.

Limitations

Copy App has these limitations and behaviors:

• Copy App makes changes in the destination App configuration that you can't undo.
• While Copy App is running, you can't make changes in either App. This usually takes about five minutes.
• Copying an App overwrites the destination App’s settings for:
  • Languages, including custom language associations and app-level language settings from the source App
  • Search Profiles (see Promotions below for an exception)
  • Synonyms
  • Auto-Suggest dictionary
  • Related Searches dictionary
  • Search Fields
  • Results Fields
  • Facets
  • Ranking
  • Spell Check dictionary
  • Stopwords
  • Data Filters
  • Location
  • Rules
  • Sorting
• Copy App doesn't copy these settings:
  • Promotions (but see the note on Promotions below)
  • Smart Match Assist
  • Crawler

Copy App and Auto-Suggest

If the source App has Auto-Suggest enabled, Copy App checks whether Auto-Suggest is ready in the destination App.

If Auto-Suggest is not ready yet, Site Search starts setting it up in the destination App and asks you to try Copy App again after about 10 minutes.

Promotions

Copy App doesn't copy Promotions from the source App to the destination App. It doesn't attempt to merge Promotion lists.

In most cases, it deletes the destination App's Promotions, if any, to avoid conflicts with incoming settings.

There's one exception. If the source App and destination App each have a Profile with the same name, such as My Profile, the destination App's My Profile Promotions can remain. Copy App never copies Promotions from source to destination.

Copy a Search App

To copy one App's configuration into another App, follow these steps:

1. Go to the All Apps list at the top of the Site Search navigation menu.
2. Click the Copy Application button beside the source App.
3. Verify the source App and select the destination App. Copy App permanently overwrites the destination App's settings. If the App uses multiple languages, select the languages to transfer. Click Next.
4. The next window shows the Copy App action you requested. Confirm the details, then click Copy App.
5. Watch for a green banner that confirms the copy succeeded.

Troubleshoot Schema Compatibility Errors

If Copy App fails, you may see a message saying the source App can't be copied to the destination App because the schemas aren't compatible. This means the two Apps don't have matching schema definitions.

Common mismatches include missing fields, fields with the same name but different field types, and missing dynamic fields.

The error message lists up to 10 fields or field types that need attention. If there are more than 10 mismatches, the message shows the first 10 and uses an ellipsis to indicate there are more.

For example, one App might include a field that doesn't exist in the other App. A field with the same name might also use a different field type. Either issue can block Copy App.

1. Open the source App and destination App, then use Reload Schema in both Apps.
2. Check whether the fields you expect to use appear in both Apps after the reload.
3. If a field appears in one App but not the other, update the setup that creates that field, such as your Crawler configuration or CMS/DXP connector setup, then reload the schema and try again.
4. If the copy still fails after you reload the schema and check for missing fields, the mismatch may involve field types or dynamic fields that aren't easy to confirm in the Site Search Dashboard.
5. Once the Apps use matching schema definitions, run Copy App again.

If you can't resolve the mismatch in the Dashboard, contact Support and include the source App name, destination App name, and any schema differences or error details you found.