How to Use Synonyms with Atlas Search
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This tutorial describes how to add a collection that configures words as synonyms,
create an index that defines synonym mappings on the sample_mflix.movies
collection, and run Atlas Search queries against the title field using words
that are configured as synonyms.
The tutorial takes you through the following steps:
Load one or more sample synonyms source collections in the
sample_mflixdatabase.Create an Atlas Search index with one or more synonym mappings for the
sample_mflix.moviescollection.Run Atlas Search queries against the
titlefield in thesample_mflix.moviescollection for words configured as synonyms in the synonyms source collection.
Before you begin, ensure that your Atlas cluster meets the requirements described in the Prerequisites.
Note
To create multiple synonym mappings and run the advanced sample
query in this tutorial, you will need an M10 or higher cluster.
Required Access
To create an Atlas Search index, you must have Project Data Access Admin or higher access to the project.
Load the Sample Synonyms Source Collection
Each document in the synonyms source collection describe how one or more words map to one or more synonyms of those words. To learn more about the fields and word mapping types in the synonyms source collection documents, see Format of Synonyms Source Collection Documents.
To begin, you create the synonyms source collection and then add the
collection to the database where you intend to use the synonyms source
collection. In this section, you create one or two sample synonyms source
collections in the sample_mflix database, and then use the synonyms
source collections with an index of the movies collection in the same
database.
Navigate to the Database Deployments page for your project.
If it is not already displayed, select the organization that contains your desired project from the Organizations menu in the navigation bar.
If it is not already displayed, select your desired project from the Projects menu in the navigation bar.
If the Database Deployments page is not already displayed, click Database in the sidebar.
Click your cluster's Browse Collections button.
Create one or more sample synonyms collections in the sample_mflix database.
If you are running a free or shared tier cluster, follow the
steps in the Transportation Synonyms tab to create the collection
for a single synonym mapping definition in your index. If you have a
M10 or higher cluster and wish to create multiple synonym
mappings in your index, follow the steps in both the tabs to create
both the Transportation Synonyms and Attire Synonyms collections.
Load the sample data into the synonyms collection.
Follow the steps in the tabs to load data into the respective collection.
Create the Atlas Search Index With Synonym Mapping Definition
The synonym mapping in a collection's index specifies the synonyms source collection and the analyzer to use with the collection.
In this section, you create an Atlas Search index that defines one or many synonym
mappings for the sample_mflix.movies collection. The mapping definition
in the index references the synonyms source collection that you created
in the sample_mflix database.
Navigate to the Atlas Search page for your project.
If it is not already displayed, select the organization that contains your desired project from the Organizations menu in the navigation bar.
If it is not already displayed, select your desired project from the Projects menu in the navigation bar.
Click your cluster's name.
Click the Search tab.
Click Create Index.
Select a Configuration Method and click Next.
For a guided experience, select Visual Editor.
To edit the raw index definition, select JSON Editor.
Enter the Index Name, and set the Database and Collection.
In the Index Name field, enter
synonyms-tutorial.Note
If you name your index
default, you don't need to specify anindexparameter when using the $search pipeline stage. Otherwise, you must specify the index name using theindexparameter.In the Database and Collection section, find the
sample_mflixdatabase, and select themoviescollection.
Modify the default index definition.
To run the simple example query only, use the index definition in
the Single Synonym Mapping tab below. If you have an M10 or
higher cluster and if you loaded both the example synonyms source
collections, you can run both the simple and advanced example queries
using the index definition that specifies multiple synonym mappings
in the Multiple Synonym Mappings tab below.
Click Create Search Index.
Close the You're All Set! Modal Window.
A modal window appears to let you know your index is building. Click the Close button.
Wait for the index to finish building.
The index should take about one minute to build. While it is
building, the Status column reads Build in
Progress. When it is finished building, the
Status column reads Active.
Search the Collection
➤ Use the Select your language drop-down menu to set the language of the examples in this section.
Synonyms can be used only in queries that use the text
operator. In this section, you connect to your Atlas cluster and then
run the sample queries using the text operator against the title
field in the sample_mflix.movies collection. The sample queries use
words that are configured as synonyms of different mapping types in the
synonyms source collection. The source collection is referenced in the
synonyms mapping that the queries use.