Extending the Search Index

Adding Custom Fields via Events

The index update process stores system fields and supported data object/asset field types by default. Extend the index with custom attributes using the following events.

UpdateIndexDataEvent

Store additional fields in the search index. Use the event matching your element type:

• Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\Asset\UpdateIndexDataEvent (assets)
• Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\DataObject\UpdateIndexDataEvent (concrete data objects)
• Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\DataObject\UpdateFolderIndexDataEvent (data object folders)
• Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\Document\UpdateIndexDataEvent (documents)

An indexed document in the search index has this structure:

{
    "system_fields": {
        "id": 145,
        "creationDate": "2019-05-24T15:42:20+0200",
        "modificationDate": "2019-08-23T15:15:54+0200",
        "type": "image",
        "key": "abandoned-automobile-automotive-1082654.jpg"
    },
    "standard_fields": [ ... ],
    "custom_fields": [ ]
}

The three sections are:

• system_fields - Base fields common to all elements (id, creationDate, fullPath, etc.)
• standard_fields - Data object fields or asset metadata supported out of the box
• custom_fields - Custom data added via UpdateIndexDataEvent. Added fields are automatically included in full text search (depending on mapping).

ExtractMappingEvent

Define the search engine mapping for custom fields (see Elasticsearch mapping types or OpenSearch field types). Use the event matching your element type:

• Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\Asset\ExtractMappingEvent (assets)
• Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\DataObject\ExtractMappingEvent (concrete data objects)
• Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\DataObject\ExtractFolderMappingEvent (data object folders)
• Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\Document\ExtractMappingEvent (documents)

Example 1: Asset File Size Category

This event subscriber categorizes assets by file size into small (< 300 KB), medium (300 KB - 3 MB), and big (> 3 MB):

<?php

namespace App\EventListener;

use Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\Asset\ExtractMappingEvent;
use Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\Asset\UpdateIndexDataEvent;
use Pimcore\Model\Asset\Folder;
use Symfony\Component\EventDispatcher\EventSubscriberInterface;

class FileSizeIndexSubscriber implements EventSubscriberInterface
{
    public static function getSubscribedEvents(): array
    {
        return [
            UpdateIndexDataEvent::class => 'onUpdateIndexData',
            ExtractMappingEvent::class  => 'onExtractMapping',
        ];
    }

    public function onUpdateIndexData(UpdateIndexDataEvent $event): void
    {
        $asset = $event->getElement();
        if ($asset instanceof Folder) {
            return;
        }

        $customFields = $event->getCustomFields();

        $fileSize = $asset->getFileSize();
        $customFields['fileSizeSelection'] = match (true) {
            $fileSize < 300_000      => 'small',
            $fileSize <= 3_000_000   => 'medium',
            default                  => 'big',
        };

        $event->setCustomFields($customFields);
    }

    public function onExtractMapping(ExtractMappingEvent $event): void
    {
        $customFieldsMapping = $event->getCustomFieldsMapping();

        // 'keyword' works well for select and multi-select filters
        $customFieldsMapping['fileSizeSelection'] = [
            'type' => 'keyword'
        ];

        $event->setCustomFieldsMapping($customFieldsMapping);
    }
}

# config/services.yaml
services:
    _defaults:
        autowire: true

    App\EventListener\FileSizeIndexSubscriber:
        tags:
            - { name: kernel.event_subscriber }

Example 2: Data Object Variant Count

This event subscriber adds a numberOfVariants field to Car data objects, counting direct children (variants) of each car:

<?php

namespace App\EventListener;

use Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\DataObject\ExtractMappingEvent;
use Pimcore\Bundle\GenericDataIndexBundle\Event\DataObject\UpdateIndexDataEvent;
use Pimcore\Model\DataObject\Car;
use Symfony\Component\EventDispatcher\EventSubscriberInterface;

class CarVariantCountSubscriber implements EventSubscriberInterface
{
    public static function getSubscribedEvents(): array
    {
        return [
            UpdateIndexDataEvent::class => 'onUpdateIndexData',
            ExtractMappingEvent::class  => 'onExtractMapping',
        ];
    }

    public function onUpdateIndexData(UpdateIndexDataEvent $event): void
    {
        $car = $event->getElement();
        if (!$car instanceof Car) {
            return;
        }

        $customFields = $event->getCustomFields();
        $customFields['numberOfVariants'] = count($car->getChildren() ?? []);
        $event->setCustomFields($customFields);
    }

    public function onExtractMapping(ExtractMappingEvent $event): void
    {
        if ($event->getClassDefinition()->getId() !== 'CAR') {
            return;
        }

        $customFieldsMapping = $event->getCustomFieldsMapping();
        $customFieldsMapping['numberOfVariants'] = [
            'type' => 'integer'
        ];
        $event->setCustomFieldsMapping($customFieldsMapping);
    }
}

Rebuild Index After Changes

After registering an event subscriber, rebuild the search index:

bin/console generic-data-index:update:index -r