SP2010 Set Site Search Settings through code

Question

I would like to use code behind to set the search settings of my site:

• The Site Collection Search Center Url
• Site Collection Search Dropdown Mode: Show Scopes Dropdown

Any ideas on how to implement this?

Answer 1

This is done by modifying properties on the Root Web property bag. Here's a PowerShell sample that I've used to set the same settings on all site collections:

$url = "http://rockingsharepointserver"
Get-SPSite  -Limit ALL | foreach{ 
    IF($_.RootWeb.AllProperties -ne $null) {
        $_.RootWeb.AllProperties["SRCH_SITE_DROPDOWN_MODE"] = "ShowDD"
        $_.RootWeb.AllProperties["SRCH_ENH_FTR_URL"] = "$url/sites/Search/Pages"
        $_.RootWeb.Update()         
        Write-Host -ForeGroundColor blue Updated Search settings for $_.RootWeb.Url
    }
    $_.RootWeb.Dispose()
}

The easiest way to find out what values you should be using is to configure one site collection and then use SharePoint Designer to inspect the properties (Ribbon > Manage > Site Options)