--- title: "Configuring search facets" date: "2024-02-14T06:18:38+00:00" summary: "Optimize your search functionality with customizable facets. Learn how to configure display settings, dependencies, filters, and caching for improved user experience and site performance." image: type: "page" url: "/acquia-cloud-platform/configuring-search-facets" id: "986b316a-09b5-4488-819b-767f7effd463" --- This document contains information about filtering search results with facets with the Apache Solr Search module. Note The [Apache Solr Search](https://drupal.org/project/apachesolr) module and related hooks are only available for Drupal 7. Search facets enable users to refine or sort their search result set. Users can begin with a general search and narrow down the results as they understand better what content is available on your website. To learn more about search facets, see the following: * [Filtering search results with facets](/acquia-cloud-platform/features/acquia-search/managing/relevant-results/facets) * [How search facets work](/acquia-cloud-platform/features/acquia-search/managing/relevant-results/facets/examples) To enable search facets, you must install and enable the Drupal 7 [Facet API](https://www.drupal.org/project/facetapi) module. If you are an administrator with search settings permissions, you can go to the **Apache Solr Search > Settings > Facets** tab and enable the facets you want to use in your search pages. The facets displayed on the **Facets** tab depend on the bundles and entities that you have enabled on your website, and the other search-related modules that you have installed. For more information, read [Modules for Acquia Search](/acquia-cloud-platform/features/acquia-search/getting-started/modules). ![Apache Solr Search settings facets screen](https://acquia.widen.net/content/d6w1yxh6dq/jpeg/search_enable-facets.jpeg?position=c&color=ffffffff&quality=80&u=soxprt) Facet configuration operations ------------------------------ For each enabled facet, you can select the following operations: * [Configure display](#search-facet-config-display) * [Configure dependencies](#search-config-dependencies) * [Configure filters](#search-config-facet-filters) * [Export configuration](#search-export-config) Configure display ----------------- You can configure how each facet displays in the search results on the **Configure display** page. From the **Configure display** page, you can configure the following: * [Display widget](#search-facet-display-widget) * [Soft limit](#search-facet-soft-limit) * [Empty facet behavior](#search-empty-facet-behavior) * [Sort rules](#search-sort-rules) * [Global settings](#search-global-settings) ![Configure facet display settings](https://acquia.widen.net/content/dsope7lrso/jpeg/search_facets-config-display.jpeg?position=c&color=ffffffff&quality=80&u=soxprt) ### Display widget The Facet API includes two basic _display widgets_: links and links with checkboxes. Other modules (such as [Facetapi Slider](https://www.drupal.org/project/facetapi_slider)) can provide other display widgets. ### Soft limit The _soft limit_ limits the number of facets displayed initially. Other facets display after clicking the **Show more** link. ### Empty facet behavior _Empty facet behavior_ controls the action to take when a facet has no items. The default is not displaying the facet if the search returned no items for the facet. You can select **Display text**, and then enter and format the text to display for an empty facet. ### Sort rules You can configure how to sort the facets in the _sort rules_. Each sort rule can display in ascending or descending order, and can have a weight assigned to determine the order to apply the sort rules. ### Global settings The _global settings_ for facet configuration apply to the facet across all realms. #### Hard limit The _hard limit_ displays no more than the configured number of items per facet. #### Minimum facet count The _minimum facet count_ displays facets matching in the configured number of documents. The default number is `1`. You can increase the number to delete some facets, even if they contain search result items. Configure dependencies ---------------------- In order for the server to process facets, and display them to the user, dependencies must meet all conditions. Dependencies are based on either bundles or roles. ### Bundle-based dependencies Using _bundle-based dependencies_, you can control whether a given facet must display based on the bundle (such as content type). ### Role-based dependencies Using _role-based dependencies_, you can control whether a given facet must display to a user based on the user’s role. Configure filters ----------------- The **Configure filters** operation enables, disables, and weights facet filters created using search-related contributed and custom modules. Export configuration -------------------- Using the **export configuration** operation, you can view, copy, and paste a PHP version of the facet’s configuration. By exporting a facet’s configuration to code, you can use version control for the configuration, and export the configuration to other sites. Block cache settings -------------------- The **Apache Solr Search > Settings > Facets** tab also displays your Block cache settings. For best performance, enable block caching, which you can do on the **Administration > Configuration > Development > Performance** page. For more information, see [Page and block caching](../../../customizing/recommendation.html#search-page-block-caching) in [Creating content recommendation blocks](/acquia-cloud-platform/features/acquia-search/customizing/recommendation).