SP 2013 : Result types and display templates

A result type is a classification of a search result. For example, if a search result is found in a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, the search result belongs to the Microsoft PowerPointresult type. If a search result is found in a PDF file, the search result belongs to the PDF result type.

The following table shows the default result types.

 

Result type	Search result found in
Person	The Local People Results result source
Microsoft Access	A Microsoft Access file
Microsoft Excel	A Microsoft Excel file
Microsoft OneNote	A Microsoft OneNote file
Microsoft PowerPoint	A Microsoft PowerPoint file
Microsoft Publisher	A Microsoft Publisher file
Microsoft Visio	A Microsoft Visio file
Microsoft Word	A Microsoft Word file
Discussion	An entry within a community site
Reply	A reply to an e-mail
Email	An e-mail
Image	An image file
PDF	A PDF file
Text	A TXT file
Video	A video file
XML	An XML file
Zip	A ZIP file
SharePoint Blog	A SharePoint Blog site
SharePoint Community	A SharePoint Community Site
SharePoint Discussion Board	A SharePoint Discussion Board library
SharePoint Document Library	A SharePoint Document library
SharePoint List	A SharePoint list
SharePoint MicroBlog Post	A blog post within a SharePoint Blog Site
SharePoint Picture Library	A SharePoint Picture library
SharePoint site	A SharePoint site
SharePoint Survey	A SharePoint survey
SharePoint Wiki	A SharePoint Enterprise Wiki Site
SharePoint Picture Library List Item	An item in a SharePoint picture library
SharePoint List Item	An item in a SharePoint list
Webpage	External web pages, for example HTML or ASPX pages
Default Result Type	Anything not covered by the other result types, for example Java files, C++ or C#

How result types and display templates are connected

In a SharePoint Search Center, search results are displayed in a Search Results Web Part. To control how the search results are displayed, two types of display templates are used:

1. Item display template
2. Hover panel display template

The item display template defines how each result is displayed. The hover panel display template shows additional information when a user hovers with the mouse pointer over a search result.

The following diagram shows how result types and display templates are connected.

1. Each result type refers to an item display template.
2. Each item display template contains a variable that refers to a hover panel display template. This variable is var hoverUrl.

The following table shows how the default result types are connected to item display templates and hover panel display templates.

 

Result type	Item display template title as shown in the user interface	Item display template file name as shown in the Master Page Gallery	Hover panel display template file name as shown in the Master Page Gallery
Person	People Item	Item_Person	Item_Person_HoverPanel
Microsoft Access	Office Document Item	Item_OfficeDocument	Item_OfficeDocument_HoverPanel
Microsoft Excel	Excel Item	Item_Excel	Item_Excel_HoverPanel
Microsoft OneNote	OneNote Item	Item_OneNote	Item_OneNote_HoverPanel
Microsoft Powerpoint	PowerPoint Item	Item_PowerPoint	Item_PowerPoint_HoverPanel
Microsoft Publisher	Office Document Item	Item_OfficeDocument	Item_OfficeDocument_HoverPanel
Microsoft Visio	Office Document Item	Item_OfficeDocument	Item_OfficeDocument_HoverPanel
Microsoft Word	Word Item	Item_Word	Item_Word_HoverPanel
Discussion	Discussion	Item_Discussion	Item_Discussion_HoverPanel
Reply	Reply Item	Item_Reply	Item_Reply_HoverPanel
Email	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
Image	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
PDF	PDF Item	Item_PDF	Item_PDF_HoverPanel
Text	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
Video	Video Item	Item_Video	Item_Video_HoverPanel
XML	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
Zip	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
SharePoint Blog	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
SharePoint Community	Community Item	Item_Community	Item_Community_HoverPanel
SharePoint Discussion Board	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
SharePoint Document Library	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
SharePoint List	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
SharePoint MicroBlog Post	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
SharePoint Picture Library	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
SharePoint Site	Site Item	Item_Site	Item_Site_HoverPanel
SharePoint Survey	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
SharePoint Wiki	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
SharePoint Picture Library List Item	Picture Item	Item_Picture	Item_Picture_HoverPanel
SharePoint List Item	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel
Webpage	Web Page Item	Item_WebPage	Item_WebPage_HoverPanel
Default Result Type	Default Item	Item_Default	Item_Default_HoverPanel

Common display templates that are used by all result types

In addition to the display templates that are listed in the previous section, there are some display templates that are used by all result types. These are called common display templates. The common display templates are referred to from both the item display templates and the hover panel display template. The following diagram shows how they are referenced.

1. Each item display template refers to the Common Item Body item display template. The reference is _#=ctx.RenderBody(ctx)=#_.
2. Each hover panel display template contains three references to the three common hover panel display templates. The references are _#=ctx.RenderHeader(ctx)=#_, _#=ctx.RenderBody(ctx)=#_ and _#=ctx.RenderFooter(ctx)=#_.

The following table shows the common display templates.

 

Display template title as shown in the user interface	Display template name as shown in the Master Page Gallery	Description
Common Item Body	Item_CommonItem_Body	Displays information in the body of the Search Results Web Part.
Common Hover Panel Header	Item_CommonHoverPanel	Displays information in the header of the hover panel.
Common Hover Panel	Item_CommonPanel_Body	Displays information in the body of the hover panel.
Common Hover Panel Actions	Item_CommonHoverPanel_Actions	Displays actions in the footer of the hover panel, such as Edit or Send.

Display template that is used for promoted results

You can use query rules to promote individual results so that they appear towards the top of the search results list. The promoted results are displayed by using a specific item display template that is not connected to a result type. Therefore, it is used to display all search results that are promoted. This display template does not refer to a hover panel display template.

The following table shows the display template that is used for promoted results.

 

Item display template title	Item display template file name as shown in the Master Page Gallery	Description
Best Bet Item	Item_BestBet	Displays search results that are promoted by using query rules.