Creating a Managed Property

Oct 13, 2025 by pynkocean.com 40 views

Understanding the Challenge

In the realm of content search and social features, querying for items a user has "liked" can be a crucial aspect of personalization and user engagement. However, when it comes to implementing this functionality, you may encounter challenges, such as the absence of a managed property for "liked" items. In this article, we will explore the possibilities of querying for items a user has "liked" and provide a step-by-step guide on how to achieve this.

The Crawled Property ows_LikedBy

As you mentioned, there is a crawled property called ows_LikedBy that stores information about the users who have liked an item. However, this property is not a managed property, which means it cannot be used directly in a search query. To overcome this limitation, you can create a managed property called LikedBy and map it to the crawled property ows_LikedBy.

Creating a Managed Property

To create a managed property, follow these steps:

Access the Search Schema: Go to the Search Schema page in the SharePoint Central Administration site.
Create a New Managed Property: Click on the "New Managed Property" button and enter a name for your managed property, such as LikedBy.
Map the Managed Property to the Crawled Property: In the "Mapping" section, select the crawled property ows_LikedBy and click "OK".

Querying for Items a User has Liked

Now that you have created a managed property for "liked" items, you can use it in a search query to retrieve the items a user has liked. Here's an example of a search query that retrieves items liked by a user with the login name "john.doe":

<Query>
  <Where>
    <Eq>
      <FieldRef Name="LikedBy" />
      <Value Type="Text">john.doe</Value>
    </Eq>
  </Where>
</Query>

Using the Content Search Web Part

If you want to display the list of items a user has liked in a SharePoint page, you can use the Content Search Web Part (CSWP). To do this, follow these steps:

Add the CSWP to a Page: Drag and drop the CSWP onto a SharePoint page.
Configure the CSWP: In the CSWP settings, select the search query you created earlier and configure the display settings to show the items a user has liked.

Rewriting the Search Query for Multiple Users

If you want to retrieve the items liked by multiple users, you can modify the search query to use the Or operator:

<Query>
  <Where>
    <Or>
      <Eq>
        <FieldRef Name="LikedBy" />
        <Value Type="Text">john.doe</Value>
      </Eq>
      <Eq>
        <FieldRef Name="LikedBy" />
        <Value Type="Text">jane.doe</Value>
      </Eq>
    </Or>
  </Where>
</Query>

Using the `Contains` Operator

If you want to retrieve items that have been liked by multiple users, you can use the Contains operator:

<Query>
  <Where>
    <Contains>
      <FieldRef Name="LikedBy" />
      <Value Type="Text">john.doe,jane.doe</Value>
    </Contains>
  </Where>
</Query>

Conclusion

In this article, we explored the possibilities of querying for items a user has "liked" in SharePoint. We created a managed property for "liked" items, mapped it to the crawled property ows_LikedBy, and used it in a search query to retrieve the items a user has liked. We also demonstrated how to use the Content Search Web Part to display the list of items a user has liked in a SharePoint page. By following these steps, you can implement a personalized content search experience in your SharePoint environment.

Additional Resources

Microsoft SharePoint Search Schema
Content Search Web Part (CSWP)
Search Query Language
Is there a way to query for items a user has "liked"? ===========================================================

Q&A: Querying for Items a User has Liked

In our previous article, we explored the possibilities of querying for items a user has "liked" in SharePoint. We created a managed property for "liked" items, mapped it to the crawled property ows_LikedBy, and used it in a search query to retrieve the items a user has liked. In this article, we will answer some frequently asked questions about querying for items a user has liked.

Q: What is the crawled property `ows_LikedBy`?

A: The crawled property ows_LikedBy is a property that stores information about the users who have liked an item. It is not a managed property, which means it cannot be used directly in a search query.

Q: How do I create a managed property for "liked" items?

A: To create a managed property for "liked" items, follow these steps:

Access the Search Schema page in the SharePoint Central Administration site.
Create a new managed property and enter a name for your managed property, such as LikedBy.
Map the managed property to the crawled property ows_LikedBy.

Q: How do I use the managed property in a search query?

A: To use the managed property in a search query, you can use the following syntax:

<Query>
  <Where>
    <Eq>
      <FieldRef Name="LikedBy" />
      <Value Type="Text">john.doe</Value>
    </Eq>
  </Where>
</Query>

Q: Can I use the `Or` operator to retrieve items liked by multiple users?

A: Yes, you can use the Or operator to retrieve items liked by multiple users. Here's an example of a search query that uses the Or operator:

<Query>
  <Where>
    <Or>
      <Eq>
        <FieldRef Name="LikedBy" />
        <Value Type="Text">john.doe</Value>
      </Eq>
      <Eq>
        <FieldRef Name="LikedBy" />
        <Value Type="Text">jane.doe</Value>
      </Eq>
    </Or>
  </Where>
</Query>

Q: Can I use the `Contains` operator to retrieve items that have been liked by multiple users?

A: Yes, you can use the Contains operator to retrieve items that have been liked by multiple users. Here's an example of a search query that uses the Contains operator:

<Query>
  <Where>
    <Contains>
      <FieldRef Name="LikedBy" />
      <Value Type="Text">john.doe,jane.doe</Value>
    </Contains>
  </Where>
</Query>

Q: Can I use the Content Search Web Part (CSWP) to display the list of items a user has liked?

A: Yes, you can use the CSWP to display the list of items a user has liked. To do this, follow these steps:

Add the CSWP to a SharePoint page.
Configure the CSWP to use the search query you created earlier.
Configure the display settings to show the items a user has liked.

Q: Are there any limitations to querying for items a user has liked?

A: Yes, there are some limitations to querying for items a user has liked. For example, you cannot use the Contains operator to retrieve items that have been liked by multiple users if the users have different login names. Additionally, you cannot use the Or operator to retrieve items liked by multiple users if the users have different login names.

Conclusion

In this article, we answered some frequently asked questions about querying for items a user has liked. We covered topics such as creating a managed property for "liked" items, using the managed property in a search query, and using the Content Search Web Part to display the list of items a user has liked. By following these steps, you can implement a personalized content search experience in your SharePoint environment.