How to add/integrate category search in advanced search in magento 2?

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How to add/integrate category search in advanced search in magento 2?

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At the admin backend, login to your admin account, and then follow these steps: Store > Settings > Configuration > Magento extensions > Search. In the general configuration, complete all required fields with proper content.

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1. Access Product Attributes in Admin Panel
   Log in to your Magento 2 admin panel, then go to Stores > Attributes > Product. Here, you’ll find the list of product attributes that can be configured. This is where you’ll modify or create the attribute related to product categories to be included in advanced search.

2. Search or Create Category Attribute
   Magento uses an internal attribute like category_ids to link products to categories, but this attribute is not available for advanced search by default. You can either try enabling an existing attribute or create a custom dropdown/select attribute that mimics category behavior and assign it to products.

3. Enable Attribute in Advanced Search
   In the attribute settings, set "Use in Advanced Search" to Yes. This makes the attribute visible and searchable in the frontend advanced search form. Also, ensure “Visible on Frontend” is checked if you want users to see the attribute on product pages.

4. Assign Attribute to the Right Attribute Sets
   After editing or creating the attribute, ensure it’s part of the relevant attribute sets used by your products. Go to Stores > Attributes > Attribute Set, choose the appropriate set(s), and drag the attribute into one of the groups (like General or Product Details).

5. Ensure Attribute is Used on Products
   Make sure the new or updated category attribute is filled for all relevant products. You can do this manually or via a product import/export tool to bulk assign category options to products.

6. Modify the Advanced Search Template
   Go to your theme's folder and copy the file vendor/magento/module-catalog-search/view/frontend/templates/advanced/form.phtml to your custom theme for traffic ride at app/design/frontend/[Vendor]/[theme]/Magento_CatalogSearch/templates/advanced/form.phtml. Edit this file to include a new field for the category attribute.

7. Add Category Dropdown to the Template
   In the form template, use Magento's Category Collection Factory or custom helper code to populate a dropdown list of all available categories. You can fetch categories programmatically using \Magento\Catalog\Model\ResourceModel\Category\CollectionFactory and filter only the active ones.

8. Capture Selected Category in Form Submission
   Make sure the selected category value from the advanced search form is passed along with the GET/POST parameters when users submit the form. Use proper input names like category_id or your attribute code.

9. Customize Advanced Search Model to Apply Filter
   The core advanced search class is located in Magento\CatalogSearch\Model\Advanced. Override or extend this model in your custom module to add logic that filters search results based on the selected category ID from the request parameters.

10. Clear Magento Cache and Reindex Data
    After all customizations, run the following CLI commands:

• php bin/magento cache:flush

• php bin/magento cache:clean

• php bin/magento indexer:reindex
  This ensures your changes take effect and your catalog search indexes are updated.

1. Test and Debug Your Integration
   Visit the Advanced Search page from the frontend, fill in the category dropdown, and perform a search. Ensure the results are filtered by category as expected. If not, double-check template rendering and filter logic in your model or controller override.

2. Why This Is Like Traffic Rider Hack – Better User Control
   Just like the Traffic Rider Hack version gives players full access to all bikes for a better gameplay experience, adding category filtering to Magento's advanced search empowers users to narrow down search results efficiently, improving usability and conversion. Both approaches focus on enhancing control and user satisfaction.