php search script for medium website?

cmose

hey all, I'm looking for a good (and free) php site search specifically for indexing php pages (html too of course and preferably pdf's as well if possible). I'm currently using perlfect search and I'm just not happy with it (it's not indexing any of my php files and I've done all the necessary tinkering around with the conf file). Any suggestions or links would be fantastic, I've done some google searches but I'd love recommendations from people here who have used and had success/no success with the available options.

Thanks much!

cmose

ok, want to add another caveat - my site's navigation is contained in an external javascript file, with every search script I've tried, the links in the js menu do not get indexed at all, not sure how I can remedy this. Thanks much (and if anyone has any experience getting perlfect search working to index php files and links in .js files please let me know!)

mtimdog

Are you interested in dynamic searching of the php files or static text searching? htsearch (htdig) is really nice for static searches.

cmose

mtimdog,
thanks I checked that out as well, I'm looking for something that will index php pages as my entire site is php pages

---I'm trying out phpsitesearch, but that also doesn't index the links on my js menu which means I have to manually go through all those links and add keywords for them (which I don't want to do)--

mtimdog

sorry for the confusion, but my question was .....are you looking for something to search the static text in your php pages, or the dynamic text in your php pages?

cmose

my bad mtim,
misunderstood your question, looking for something to index the dynamic text and hopefully something that will be able to follow links on my .js menu. Thanks!

mtimdog

if you do find something, be sure to post it for the rest of us.

fyi, I resorted to putting 'feature' category links at the bottom of my pages (and one to the sitemap that has all my dynamic categories linked out) so search engines could find my pages since I am using a js menu as well. If you don't like links at the bottom, you could make the images of your js menu (I'm assuming you're using images) have links as well as the drop-down links.

cmose

hmnn...thats an idea, I'd prefer not to have a list of links at the bottom of the page but I guess it's always a viable option, and perhaps better for accessability issues (don't want to sound callous, but I'm not too worried about that on this particular site), I was just reading about throwing 'dummy' links into the php document, e.g., <a href="link.php"></a> so that the search engines and the site search can find them. I can't remember though if this violates google's site indexing rules or not (anyone recall if that's so?).

--also, anyone know of a decent site search that indexes php pages and provides graphical weighted results/etc.,?--

ok, just realized that if I have a sitemap that's linked as a text link off all the pages that may resolve my issue, on that note, anyone know something to autogenerate a sitemap?

thanks again!
muchas gracias!