Will my lightbox or other JavaScript work with this plugin?

Yes it should, but you may need to make some modifications to your theme:

If you do not wish to use Ajax for loading your search results then you should be fine – you might need to make some small modification to your theme however a search result page is much like an archive page – so if you can get it working there it shouldn’t be a problem.

If however you wish to use Ajax, then the answer is still yes, BUT, you must be comfortable to make modifications to your theme yourself.

When you load in search results via Ajax, results are dynamically added to the page, which means that your lightbox or other script you want to use on your results are not loaded on these dynamic results.  You must modify your theme so that your lightbox or JavaScript is re initialised when Ajax loading is finished.  Luckily Search & Filter provides a handy event to hook into:

We cannot provide support for your various JS plugins etc however we will try to point you in the right direction – you must know a little what you are doing!

My plugin won’t update to the latest version, how do I update it?

First you must activate your plugin using your license key (from within the Search & Filter menu in you WP dashboard), once you enter it and click submit, you will need to also click the activation button that becomes available.

If you are running on a local development server please make sure you have CURL enabled as this is how your WordPress website communicates with our servers for activating licenses and receiving automatic updates.

Updates may take a take a few moments to show up and will appear in your plugins page as a regular plugin update.

How do I remove CSS/JS files when I don’t need them?

Luckily WordPress provides a few useful functions for remove CSS/Scripts – add these to your themes functions.php to remove everything.

Note: removing some scripts on pages where there are Search Forms will cause them to break – only remove what you need to and use at your own risk!

add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'remove_sf_scripts', 100);
function remove_sf_scripts(){
	wp_deregister_script( 'jquery-ui-datepicker' );
	wp_deregister_script( 'search-filter-plugin-build' );
	wp_deregister_script( 'search-filter-chosen-script' );
}

add_action('wp_print_styles', 'remove_sf_styles', 100);
function remove_sf_styles(){
    
	wp_dequeue_style( 'search-filter-plugin-styles' );
}

My results won’t show, or my search results are not being updated?

First question is, how are you displaying your results?

If, under the “display results” tab in the settings box, you are using “as shortcode”.. then open a support ticket – otherwise read on.

If you are displaying your results “as archive” then 90% of problems can fixed by following the below information:

When using the archive method Search & Filter uses the pre_get_posts action to modify the The Loop with your search parameters (The Loop basically is the query that fetches all your posts).  However, in most cases when the results don’t seem to change then it is likely your theme not using The Loop or the Template Hierarchy – typical WP standards which this plugin was designed around.

What can I do to make my theme use The Loop?

Normally the fix is quite easy but can vary from theme to theme – typically themes that don’t use The Loop run their own custom queries inside the template files, which means these queries override the search results generated.  In most cases all we need to do is remove these custom queries from the template that will be used for displaying your search results.

First, as with all debugging with S&F, disable Ajax – its easier to locate and identify any potential issues with Ajax disabled.

Now I’ll demonstrate how to overcome this with a theme that does not use the main loop – Avada (it has its own templating system) here are some simple steps to follow:

1) Take a template from your theme that you wish to use for displaying results – for Avada I would take `search.php` (its up to you which template from your theme to use), and then duplicate your template to `search-filter.php`.

2) In S&F, under “display results” you will need to tick `use custom template` and then set the filename to `search-filter.php`.

Now we have S&F displaying your results using a copy of your template – this will still not work as we need to make some modifications – but at least we are telling S&F which template to use.

3) Remove any custom queries in the new template (`search-filter.php`) – its the queries within the template files that are usually the cause of the problem – all you will hopefully need to do is comment out or remove the lines with the queries on.  Take a look for any instances of `WP_Query`, `get_posts` or `query_posts` and remove these.  In Avada (at the time of writing) this would be line 71, remove the whole line:

`query_posts($query_string.’&posts_per_page=’.$smof_data[‘search_results_per_page’].’&paged=’.$page_num);`

And that’s it – the basics covered and will work for 90% of themes out there!

*NOTE, this was for an old version of Avada, but the logic applies to problematic templates – for Avada specific instructions (based on the latest version) please see below.

But I’m still having problems getting my theme to work…

Some themes need to know that the results are in fact search results – head to the “advanced” tab and tick `force is_search to be true`.

Any other options?

Well, there can be more issues with your particular theme as well as other plugins interfering with search results – in this case it is recommended not to display your results “as archive” but to use “as shortcode” – this setting can be changed under the “display results” tab.

A quick note for Avada Users

If you are using the archive method, and wish to use `search.php` to display results, you need to make 1 modification to the template.

Replace:

<?php if ( have_posts() && strlen( trim(get_search_query()) ) != 0 ) : ?>

With

<?php if ( have_posts() ) : ?>

What is a license, and how long does it last for?

Licenses are valid for one year from the date of purchase. A valid and active license key is required in order to get automatic upgrades and support for purchased extensions only.

You may continue to use your plugins/extensions without an active license.

A Developer license allows you to use S&F with updates & support on an unlimted number of sites.

A Single Site license is restricted to one site only.

Neither License allows for bundling / direct resale of our products/downloads.

What about software updates?

Updates are included for free for one year. If you have a valid and active license key, and your plugin(s) supports it, updates will be delivered automatically from the WordPress dashboard. If your plugin(s) does not support automatic upgrades, then updates can be downloaded from your account page.

How long am I entitled to Support for my purchase?

Support for purchased plugins is given up to one year after the purchase date (unless shown otherwise). If you wish to get support after one year, you must renew your license key, or purchase a new license for the plugin you wish to get support for.

What is your Refund Policy?

If you have problems getting plugins to work, we will be happy to provide a full refund within 30 days of the original purchase. After 30 days, no refunds will be given. Before a refund will be granted, you must allow us to try and help solve any problem you have by opening a support ticket. NOTE: refunds will not be granted if you simply decide not to use the purchased products. We stand behind our products and will assist you in solving any problem you have, but we also expect you to adequately understand what you are purchasing and why.

Can I include your plugin in my theme?

Our licenses do not cover / support the resale of our plugins & themes, or bundling them within other products (such as themes) unless otherwise agreed upon – contact us.

As a note, it is generally bad practice to bundle plugins within themes (security). The recommended way to display a required plugin dependency is via the TGM Plugin Activator.