SearchWP Form Parameter Usage on WordPress search.php

Overview

The swp_form $_REQUEST attribute is a critical mechanism that SearchWP uses to identify which search form configuration was used to initiate a search. This parameter acts as a bridge between the SearchWP form interface and the search results, enabling form-specific settings, engine selection, and advanced filtering.

What is swp_form?
How swp_form is Set
How swp_form Modifies WordPress Search Results
Integration with WordPress Native Search
Form Configuration Impact
Advanced Search Filtering
Code Examples
Reference Code Locations

What is `swp_form`?

swp_form is a URL parameter (array) that contains metadata about the SearchWP form that was used to initiate a search. It’s transmitted via $_GET when a search form is submitted.

Structure

?swp_form[form_id]=1

Key: swp_form (array)
Sub-key: form_id (integer)
Value: The numeric ID of the SearchWP form configuration

Example URLs

https://example.com/?swp_form[form_id]=1&swps=coffee
https://example.com/search/?swp_form[form_id]=2&s=espresso&swppg=2

How `swp_form` is Set

The swp_form parameter is automatically added as a hidden input field in every SearchWP form.

Source: Forms/Frontend.php:189

<form id="searchwp-form-1"
    role="search"
    method="get"
    class="searchwp-form"
    action="<?php echo esc_url( $target_url ); ?>">
    <input type="hidden" name="swp_form[form_id]" value="<?php echo absint( $form_id ); ?>">
    <!-- Other form fields -->
</form>

Key Points:

The form ID is embedded as a hidden field during form rendering
The field name uses array notation: swp_form[form_id]
The value is the form’s configuration ID from the SearchWP database
This ensures every search request can be traced back to its originating form

How `swp_form` Modifies WordPress Search Results

The swp_form parameter influences search results through multiple interconnected mechanisms:

1. Form Identification and Settings Retrieval

Templates/Frontend.php:1061-1066

private static function get_form_from_request() {
    $form_id = isset( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) : 0;

    if ( ! empty( $form_id ) ) {
        return SearchWPFormsStorage::get( $form_id );
    }

    return false;
}

This method retrieves the complete form configuration based on the form_id from the URL parameter. The form configuration contains:

Engine selection: Which search engine to use
Target page: Where results should be displayed
Input field name: Whether to use s or swps as the search parameter
Advanced search settings: Filters for categories, tags, authors, post types
Display preferences: Button labels, styling, etc.

2. Engine Selection

The form configuration determines which SearchWP engine processes the query.

Templates/Frontend.php:1105-1131

private static function get_engine_name( $args, $form ) {
    $available_engines = Settings::get_engines();

    // Priority: direct args > form settings > default
    if ( ! empty( $args['engine'] ) ) {
        $selected_engine = sanitize_text_field( $args['engine'] );
        if ( array_key_exists( $selected_engine, $available_engines ) ) {
            return $selected_engine;
        }
    }

    if ( ! empty( $form['engine'] ) ) {
        $selected_engine = $form['engine'];
        if ( array_key_exists( $selected_engine, $available_engines ) ) {
            return $selected_engine;
        }
    }

    return 'default';
}

Impact on Search Results:

Different engines can index different content sources
Engines have custom relevance algorithms
Weighting and ranking can differ between engines
Some engines may search specific post types, while others search users, media, or custom content

3. Search Parameter Detection

The form’s input_name setting determines which URL parameter contains the search query.

Forms/Frontend.php:208

$search_input_name = ! empty( $form['input_name'] ) ? $form['input_name'] : 's';

Templates/Frontend.php:54-56

$form = self::get_form_from_request();
$input_name = isset( $form['input_name'] ) ? $form['input_name'] : 's';
if ( $input_name !== 'swps' ) {
    return; // Don't load SearchWP templates if using standard WordPress parameter
}

Two Search Parameter Options:

swps (SearchWP’s parameter)
- Triggers SearchWP’s built-in template system
- Loads SearchWP assets (CSS/JS)
- Uses SearchWP’s rendering pipeline
s (WordPress standard parameter)
- Integrates with WordPress’s native search
- Can use WordPress’s default search.php template
- Allows custom theme integration
- Still powered by SearchWP engine via Native integration

Integration with WordPress Native Search

When a form uses input_name='s', SearchWP integrates with WordPress’s native search system through the Native class.

Forms/Frontend.php:643-687

public static function set_native_search_engine( $args ) {
    if ( is_admin() ) {
        return $args; // Forms don't work on admin side
    }

    $form_id = isset( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) : 0;
    $form = Storage::get( $form_id );

    if ( empty( $form ) ) {
        return $args;
    }

    // Only proceed if using WordPress's 's' parameter
    if ( ! empty( $form['input_name'] ) && $form['input_name'] !== 's' ) {
        return $args;
    }

    $engine_name = ! empty( $form['engine'] ) ? $form['engine'] : 'default';

    if ( $engine_name === 'default' ) {
        return $args;
    }

    $engine_settings = Settings::get_engine_settings( $engine_name );

    if ( empty( $engine_settings ) ) {
        return $args;
    }

    // Check for custom (non-WP_Post) sources
    $custom_sources = array_filter(
        isset( $engine_settings['sources'] ) ? $engine_settings['sources'] : [],
        function ( $key ) {
            return strpos( $key, 'post' . SEARCHWP_SEPARATOR ) !== 0;
        },
        ARRAY_FILTER_USE_KEY
    );

    // Set form engine as native engine only if it doesn't contain custom sources
    if ( empty( $custom_sources ) ) {
        $args['engine'] = $engine_name;
    }

    return $args;
}

How This Works:

Filter Hook: searchwp\native\args (line 45)
Detection: Checks if swp_form[form_id] exists in the URL
Engine Selection: Applies the form’s configured engine to native WordPress search
Restriction: Only works if the engine contains only WP_Post sources (no users, terms, etc.)

Native.php Integration

The Native class intercepts WordPress’s search query:

Native.php:332-430

private function find_results() {
    add_filter( 'posts_pre_query', function( $posts, $query ) {
        if ( ! $this->is_applicable( $query ) ) {
            return $posts;
        }

        $search_query = get_search_query();
        $args = $query->query_vars;
        $args['s'] = ! empty( $search_query ) ? $search_query : $args['s'];
        $args['engine'] = $query->get( 'searchwp' );

        // The searchwp\native\args filter is applied here
        // This is where set_native_search_engine() modifies the engine
        $this->results = new \SWP_Query(
            apply_filters( 'searchwp\native\args', $args, $query )
        );

        // Override WordPress's results
        $query->max_num_pages = $this->results->max_num_pages;
        $query->found_posts = $this->results->found_posts;

        return $this->results->posts;
    }, 999, 2 );
}

Result:

Your theme’s search.php template runs normally
But the results come from SearchWP’s engine instead of WordPress’s default search
The $wp_query global contains SearchWP results
You can use standard WordPress template tags: the_title(), the_content(), the_permalink(), etc.

Form Configuration Impact

The form configuration retrieved via swp_form[form_id] affects many aspects of search behavior:

Template Selection

Templates/Frontend.php:1082-1093

private static function get_template_id( $args, $form ) {
    if ( ! empty( $args['id'] ) ) {
        return absint( $args['id'] );
    }

    if ( ! empty( $form['results-template'] ) ) {
        return absint( $form['results-template'] );
    }

    return 1; // Default template
}

The form’s results-template setting determines which SearchWP results template is used for rendering.

Target Page Configuration

Forms/Frontend.php:174-180

$target_url = ! empty( $form['target_url'] ) ? $form['target_url'] : false;

if ( empty( $target_url ) ) {
    $target_page = isset( $form['target-page'] ) ? $form['target-page'] : false;
    $target_url = ! empty( $target_page ) && is_numeric( $target_page )
        ? get_permalink( $target_page )
        : home_url( '/' );
}

The form’s target page setting determines where search results are displayed:

Custom page with SearchWP template
WordPress homepage with native integration
Specific page with custom template

Advanced Search Filtering

When swp_form[form_id] is present, SearchWP applies form-specific filtering via Mods (query modifications).

Category Filtering

Forms/Frontend.php:699-805

public static function taxonomy_mod( $mods, $query ) {
    global $wpdb;

    $form_id = isset( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) : 0;

    if ( empty( $form_id ) ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    $form = Storage::get( $form_id );
    $engine = isset( $form['engine'] ) ? $form['engine'] : 'default';

    // Only apply if this form's engine matches the query's engine
    if ( $engine !== $query->get_engine()->get_name() ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    if ( empty( $form['advanced-search'] ) && empty( $form['category-search'] ) ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    // Check for category/tag filter in URL
    if ( empty( $_GET['swp_tax_limiter'] ) ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    // Build taxonomy query
    // ... (creates WP_Tax_Query and applies as SearchWP Mod)

    return $mods;
}

URL Parameter: ?swp_tax_limiter[category]=5

Process:

Extracts form_id from URL
Loads form configuration
Verifies the form has category filtering enabled
Checks if swp_tax_limiter parameter exists
Validates the category ID against form’s allowed categories
Creates a WP_Tax_Query object
Wraps it in a SearchWP Mod
Adds SQL JOIN and WHERE clauses to filter results

Author Filtering

Forms/Frontend.php:817-860

public static function author_mod( $mods, $query ) {
    global $wpdb;

    $form_id = isset( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) : 0;

    if ( empty( $form_id ) ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    $form = Storage::get( $form_id );
    $engine = isset( $form['engine'] ) ? $form['engine'] : 'default';

    if ( $engine !== $query->get_engine()->get_name() ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    if ( empty( $form['advanced-search'] ) || ! in_array( 'authors', $form['advanced-search-filters'], true ) ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    $author_id = isset( $_GET['swp_author_limiter'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_author_limiter'] ) : 0;

    if ( empty( $author_id ) ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    // Validate author exists and is allowed
    if ( ! array_key_exists( $author_id, self::get_authors( $form ) ) ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    // Create Mod to filter by author
    $mod = new \SearchWP\Mod();
    $mod->set_local_table( $wpdb->posts );
    $mod->on( 'ID', [ 'column' => 'id' ] );
    $mod->raw_where_sql( function ( $mod ) use ( $author_id ) {
        return "{$mod->get_local_table_alias()}.post_author = " . $author_id;
    } );

    $mods[] = $mod;

    return $mods;
}

URL Parameter: ?swp_author_limiter=3

Post Type Filtering

Forms/Frontend.php:872-933

public static function post_type_mod( $mods, $query ) {
    $form_id = isset( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) : 0;

    if ( empty( $form_id ) ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    $form = Storage::get( $form_id );
    $form_engine = isset( $form['engine'] ) ? $form['engine'] : 'default';

    if ( $form_engine !== $query->get_engine()->get_name() ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    $form_post_types = (array) $form['post-type'];

    if ( empty( $form_post_types ) ) {
        return $mods;
    }

    $advanced_filter_enabled = ! empty( $form['advanced-search'] )
        && in_array( 'post_types', $form['advanced-search-filters'], true );

    if ( $advanced_filter_enabled ) {
        $filter_post_type = isset( $_GET['swp_post_type_limiter'] )
            ? sanitize_text_field( wp_unslash( $_GET['swp_post_type_limiter'] ) )
            : '';

        if ( ! empty( $filter_post_type ) && in_array( $filter_post_type, $form_post_types, true ) ) {
            $form_post_types = [ $filter_post_type ];
        }
    }

    // Create Mod to limit results to specific post types
    $mod = new \SearchWP\Mod();
    $mod->set_where( [
        [
            'column' => 'source',
            'value' => $mod_value,
            'compare' => 'IN',
        ]
    ] );

    $mods[] = $mod;

    return $mods;
}

URL Parameter: ?swp_post_type_limiter=post

Tag Filtering

Similar to category filtering, using:

URL Parameter: ?swp_tax_limiter[post_tag]=12

Code Examples

Example 1: Detecting Form ID in search.php

<?php
/**
 * Template Name: Custom Search Results
 * File: search.php or custom template
 */

get_header();

// Check if this search came from a SearchWP form
$form_id = isset( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) : 0;

if ( $form_id ) {
    echo '<p>This search was initiated by SearchWP Form ID: ' . $form_id . '</p>';

    // You could load form-specific display logic here
    if ( $form_id === 1 ) {
        // Display format for form #1
    } elseif ( $form_id === 2 ) {
        // Display format for form #2
    }
}

// Standard WordPress loop works because Native integration
// has already replaced the results with SearchWP results
if ( have_posts() ) :
    while ( have_posts() ) : the_post();
        get_template_part( 'template-parts/content', 'search' );
    endwhile;

    the_posts_pagination();
else :
    get_template_part( 'template-parts/content', 'none' );
endif;

get_footer();

Example 2: Conditional Logic Based on Form

<?php
// In your search.php or functions.php

$form_id = isset( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) : 0;

if ( $form_id === 2 ) {
    // Form #2 is the "Product Search" form
    // Use a different layout
    get_template_part( 'template-parts/search', 'products' );
} else {
    // Default search layout
    get_template_part( 'template-parts/search', 'default' );
}

Example 3: Accessing Form Configuration

<?php
use SearchWP\Forms\Storage as SearchWPFormsStorage;

$form_id = isset( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) : 0;

if ( $form_id ) {
    $form_config = SearchWPFormsStorage::get( $form_id );

    if ( $form_config ) {
        echo '<div class="search-info">';
        echo '<p>Search Engine: ' . esc_html( $form_config['engine'] ) . '</p>';
        echo '<p>Form Name: ' . esc_html( $form_config['label'] ) . '</p>';
        echo '</div>';
    }
}

Example 4: Reading Advanced Filters in Template

<?php
$form_id = isset( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_form']['form_id'] ) : 0;
$category_id = isset( $_GET['swp_tax_limiter']['category'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_tax_limiter']['category'] ) : 0;
$author_id = isset( $_GET['swp_author_limiter'] ) ? absint( $_GET['swp_author_limiter'] ) : 0;
$post_type = isset( $_GET['swp_post_type_limiter'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $_GET['swp_post_type_limiter'] ) : '';

if ( $form_id && ( $category_id || $author_id || $post_type ) ) {
    echo '<div class="active-filters">';
    echo '<h3>Active Filters:</h3>';
    echo '<ul>';

    if ( $category_id ) {
        $category = get_term( $category_id, 'category' );
        echo '<li>Category: ' . esc_html( $category->name ) . '</li>';
    }

    if ( $author_id ) {
        $author = get_user_by( 'id', $author_id );
        echo '<li>Author: ' . esc_html( $author->display_name ) . '</li>';
    }

    if ( $post_type ) {
        $post_type_object = get_post_type_object( $post_type );
        echo '<li>Post Type: ' . esc_html( $post_type_object->labels->singular_name ) . '</li>';
    }

    echo '</ul>';
    echo '</div>';
}

Reference Code Locations

Form Parameter Injection

File: includes/Forms/Frontend.php
Line: 189
Function: render()
Purpose: Adds hidden input field to form

Form Retrieval from Request

File: includes/Templates/Frontend.php
Line: 1061-1070
Function: get_form_from_request()
Purpose: Retrieves form configuration from database

Engine Selection

File: includes/Templates/Frontend.php
Line: 1105-1131
Function: get_engine_name()
Purpose: Determines which engine to use

Native Search Integration

File: includes/Forms/Frontend.php
Line: 643-687
Function: set_native_search_engine()
Hook: searchwp\native\args (line 45)
Purpose: Sets engine for WordPress native search

Taxonomy Filtering

File: includes/Forms/Frontend.php
Line: 699-805
Function: taxonomy_mod()
Hook: searchwp\query\mods (line 47)
Purpose: Filters results by category/tag

Author Filtering

File: includes/Forms/Frontend.php
Line: 817-860
Function: author_mod()
Hook: searchwp\query\mods (line 48)
Purpose: Filters results by author

Post Type Filtering

File: includes/Forms/Frontend.php
Line: 872-933
Function: post_type_mod()
Hook: searchwp\query\mods (line 49)
Purpose: Filters results by post type

Native Query Interception

File: includes/Native.php
Line: 332-430
Function: find_results()
Hook: posts_pre_query (line 332)
Purpose: Replaces WordPress results with SearchWP results

Summary

The swp_form[form_id] parameter is the cornerstone of SearchWP’s form system:

Identifies which form configuration initiated the search
Determines which search engine processes the query
Configures display templates and styling
Enables advanced filtering (categories, authors, tags, post types)
Integrates with WordPress native search on search.php templates
Validates filter parameters against allowed form settings

When a user submits a SearchWP form:

The form ID is sent via swp_form[form_id]
SearchWP retrieves the form configuration
The configured engine is selected
Advanced filters are validated and applied
Results are either rendered via SearchWP templates (with swps parameter) or integrated into WordPress’s native search (with s parameter)
Your theme’s search.php receives SearchWP-powered results instead of WordPress’s default search results

This architecture allows SearchWP to provide powerful, customizable search while maintaining compatibility with existing WordPress themes and templates.

SearchWP Form Parameter Usage on WordPress search.php

Overview

Table of Contents

What is swp_form?

Structure

Example URLs

How swp_form is Set

Source: Forms/Frontend.php:189

How swp_form Modifies WordPress Search Results

1. Form Identification and Settings Retrieval

Templates/Frontend.php:1061-1066

2. Engine Selection

Templates/Frontend.php:1105-1131

3. Search Parameter Detection

Forms/Frontend.php:208

Templates/Frontend.php:54-56

Integration with WordPress Native Search

Forms/Frontend.php:643-687

Native.php Integration

Native.php:332-430

Form Configuration Impact

Template Selection

Templates/Frontend.php:1082-1093

Target Page Configuration

Forms/Frontend.php:174-180

Advanced Search Filtering

Category Filtering

Forms/Frontend.php:699-805

Author Filtering

Forms/Frontend.php:817-860

Post Type Filtering

Forms/Frontend.php:872-933

Tag Filtering

Code Examples

Example 1: Detecting Form ID in search.php

Example 2: Conditional Logic Based on Form

Example 3: Accessing Form Configuration

Example 4: Reading Advanced Filters in Template

Reference Code Locations

Form Parameter Injection

Form Retrieval from Request

Engine Selection

Native Search Integration

Taxonomy Filtering

Author Filtering

Post Type Filtering

Native Query Interception

Summary

What is `swp_form`?

How `swp_form` is Set

How `swp_form` Modifies WordPress Search Results