The Semantic > Synonyms feature allows you to define synonym set resources for the mashup application without impacting search service. The synonym configuration is updated dynamically and applies only to the mashup application selected when you open Business Console.
Important: We recommend using compiled synonyms under Semantic > Resources instead of this feature.
Unlike the synonyms edited in the Semantic > Resources editor, you can create the resource without the intervention of the Exalead CloudView administrator or the Business administrator. Again, they only apply to the selected mashup application, in general, default.
If there is a mismatch between the terms found in your content and the search terms used by your users, you can specify synonyms to use for queries. This effectively expands the user’s query to include those synonyms. They are referred to as search-time synonyms.
For example, if all the documents in your Exalead CloudView index refer to european union while your users tend to query for europe, add european union as a synonym. The next time a customer searches for europe,the query will be automatically expanded to also include the synonym: europe OR “european union”
Synonyms are organized into sets, where each set represents a specific user query. Before adding synonyms, you must create a synonym set for the user query.
Add a new synonym set
To add synonyms, you must first create a synonym set for the user query.
1. On the Business ConsoleHome page, click Configure in the Synonyms box.
2. On the Synonyms page, under Synonym Set List, click Add.
a. In Expression, enter the search query that will trigger the synonym matching. In our example, we’ll use europe.
b. In Language, either accept N/A (all languages), or select a language.
Note: If you select a specific language, the same language must be set up in the search application for synonym matching to work.
3. Click Accept.
You are now ready to define synonyms for this query.
Add synonyms to a set
Once the synonym set for the user query is created, you can add synonyms to this set.
1. On the Business ConsoleHome page, click Configure in the Synonyms box.
2. Under Synonym Set List, select a synonym set.
3. Under Synonym Set: Your_Synonym_Set, type a synonym.
For our example, we’ll type european union.
4. Click Add Synonym.
5. (Optional) To have two-way synonym matching for the set, select Symmetrical synonyms.
For example, if you defined european union as a synonym for the query europe:
◦ If non-symmetrical, the query europe will be expanded to (europe OR “european union”), but the query “european union”will not be expanded.
◦ If symmetrical, users can reverse the query and the synonym: the query “european union” also expands to (“european union” OR europe).