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Users enter dimensions and measures in many different ways. For example, users might search for 30 x 50 or 30mm x 50mm, while your records may use a different format like 30x50mm. Algolia’s features support some formatting variations but may not handle all dimension formats reliably. This is because:
  • User query formats vary. A query like 30mm x 50mm won’t necessarily match a record with 30x50mm.
  • Unit differences cause mismatches. Queries may include ", inches, mm, cm, or ft, while records might use only one format.
  • Typo tolerance has limits. While typo tolerance can match slight variations such as 30by50 or 30 x 50, but not different units or separators.
  • AI doesn’t consistently interpret dimensions. Although NeuralSearch can identify dimensions, it doesn’t do so consistently, due to the ambiguity of the input.
To improve matching for dimension-based searches, standardize and expand these values using a transformation function before sending your data to Algolia.

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Transform data into dimension-friendly formats

To address this issue, pre-process your data with a transformation function like the one below. For each record you pass to it, the transform function returns a transformed record or undefined if no dimensions are found. To run this function, create a Push to Algolia connector, using the following transformation code.
JavaScript
const DIMENSIONS_RE =
  /\b\d+(?:[.,]\d+)?\s*(?:(?:mm|cm|m|in(?:ch(?:es)?)?|ft|'|["″])?(?:\s*(?:x|\*|by)\s*\d+(?:[.,]\d+)?\s*(?:mm|cm|m|in(?:ch(?:es)?)?|ft|'|["″])?){1,2}|(?:mm|cm|m|in(?:ch(?:es)?)?|ft|'|["″]))\b/gi;
const PART_RE =
  /(\d+(?:[.,]\d+)?)(?:\s*(mm|cm|m|in(?:ch(?:es)?)?|ft|["″'])?)?/gi;

// Convert any raw unit symbol to a standard form
function normalizeUnit(raw, fallback) {
  if (!raw) return fallback.toLowerCase();

  switch (raw.toLowerCase()) {
    case '"':
    case "″":
    case "in":
    case "inch":
    case "inches":
      return "in";
    case "'":
    case "ft":
      return "ft";
    default:
      return raw.toLowerCase();
  }
}

// Return every spelling for a unit
function unitForms(unit) {
  if (unit === "in") return ["in", '"', "inch", "inches"];
  if (unit === "ft") return ["ft", "'"];
  return [unit];
}

function dimensionKeywords(attr, fallbackUnit) {
  if (!attr) return [];

  const out = new Set();
  const entries = [...attr.matchAll(DIMENSIONS_RE)].map((m) => m[0]); // Extract all matching dimensions

  for (const entry of entries) {
    // Extract number and unit pairs
    const parts = [];
    let match;
    while ((match = PART_RE.exec(entry)) !== null) {
      const number = match[1];
      const unit = normalizeUnit(match[2], fallbackUnit);
      parts.push({ n: number, u: unit });
    }

    if (!parts.length) continue;

    // Single numbers and number plus unit forms
    parts.forEach((p) => {
      out.add(p.n);
      unitForms(p.u).forEach((f) => out.add(p.n + f));
    });

    // Combined variants when there's more than one part
    if (parts.length > 1) {
      const nums = parts.map((p) => p.n); // ["30","50"]
      const nu = parts.map((p) => p.n + p.u); // ["30mm","50mm"]

      // Join dimensions without spaces (for example, 30mm50mm), including inch variants
      const tight = nu.join("");
      out.add(tight);
      if (tight.includes("in")) {
        unitForms("in").forEach((f) => out.add(tight.replace(/in/g, f)));
      }

      ["x", "by"].forEach((sep) => {
        // Raw numbers joined
        out.add(nums.join(sep));
        if (sep === "by") out.add(nums.join(` ${sep} `));

        // Numbers and units joined
        const joinedTight = nu.join(sep);
        const joinedSpc = nu.join(` ${sep} `);

        [joinedTight, joinedSpc].forEach((s) => {
          out.add(s);
          if (s.includes("in"))
            unitForms("in").forEach((f) => out.add(s.replace(/in\b/g, f)));
        });
      });
    }
  }
  return [...out];
}

/**
 * Transforms a record by extracting dimension keyword variants.
 * @param {SourceRecord} record - A record from your dataset.
 * @param {Helper} helper - A helper for accessing secrets and metadata.
 * @returns {SourceRecord|undefined} - The transformed record, or undefined if no dimensions are found.
 */
async function transform(record, helper) {
  record.dimension_keywords = dimensionKeywords(record.name, "mm");

  return record;
}

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Customization

You can customize the function to support other measurement units or non-standard formats. To add new units (for example, yd, mil, µm, kg) or handle alternative patterns (for example, D30, H50, Ø20mm x 40mm), update the following:
  • DIMENSIONS_RE. Extend the regular expression to detect new unit symbols or structural patterns. Consider using AI-assisted tools to build and test regular expressions.
  • normalizeUnit(raw, fallback). Map any new unit symbol or abbreviation to a standard form. For example, ‘yard’ and ‘yd’ become ‘yd’.
  • dimensionKeywords(). The function defaults to mm if it doesn’t find a unit. To change this default (for example, to cm or in), update the second argument in the dimensionKeywords() call.
  • unitForms(unit). Add alternative spellings and symbols for each unit. For example, ["yd", "yard", "yards"].

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How the transformation function works

The function improves search by extracting keyword variants from dimension patterns, by performing the following steps:

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Identify dimensions

The function uses the DIMENSIONS_RE regular expression to detect one-part, two-part, or three-part dimensions, such as:
  • One part: 600mm, 2.4m
  • Two-part: 30x50, 3"x6", 20mm x 30mm
  • Three-part: 245x148x65mm, 30mm x 50mm x 2m
It recognizes various separators (x, *, by) and units (including mm, ", inches, and ft), with or without spaces.
The regular expression handles a wide range of edge cases, but test it against your data to confirm it captures the formats you use.

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Extract numbers and units

For each match, the function extracts the numbers and their associated units. The function standardizes unit variants like ", inch, and inches to in.

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Generate variants

Each detected dimension expands into these keyword-friendly formats:
  • Bare numbers: 30, 50, 2
  • Normalized units: 30mm, 2m, 3in
  • Commonly-accepted synonyms: 30in, 30", 30inch, 30inches
  • Joined forms:
    • Without spacing: 30mm50mm
    • With separators: 30x50, 30 mm by 50 mm, 30mmx50mm
For example, from 30mm x 50mm, the function generates:
JavaScript
[
  "30",
  "50",
  "30mm",
  "50mm",
  "30x50",
  "30 x 50",
  "30mmx50mm",
  "30 mm x 50 mm",
  "30 by 50",
  "30mm by 50mm",
  "30mm50mm",
];

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Attach keywords to an attribute

The function adds a new attribute, dimension_keywords, to each record it processes.

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Add dimension keywords to your index

To use the generated keywords in Algolia:
  • With the taskID generated by the Push to Algolia connector, send your data to Algolia with the Ingestion API pushTask method, making sure each one includes the dimension_keywords attribute.
  • Configure dimension_keywords as a searchable attribute in your index settings.

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See also