thumb

In the modern age of digitization, dashboards have become a vital part of system monitoring and management. The Homer dashboard is widely used to create simple and flexible dashboards from static configuration. Sometimes, a user may wish to embed a search engine directly into the dashboard. This article explains how to integrate a Google Search or DuckDuckGo search box, enhancing the functionality and user experience of your Homer dashboard.

Prerequisites

Before starting the integration, make sure you have the following:

  • Access to the Homer configuration files.
  • A text editor to modify the YAML or JSON files.
  • Basic understanding of HTML and CSS for customization.

Let’s begin

Locate and open the configuration file that you want to modify. This could be a YAML or JSON file, depending on your setup. In my specific setup, the file is called config.yml and is located in the assets folder inside the Homer folder. Depending on your own setup, the name and location of the file may be different, but you should be able to find it based on your prior experience with Homer.

Find the section where you can add custom HTML or messages. After a fresh installation of Homer, you will find a line with message: ~ in the configuration file. This line is where you can add custom HTML or messages for the search box integration. Depending on your preference, you may either comment this line out by adding a hashtag (#) at the beginning or replace it with the code block provided in the next step. Look for comments or documentation within the configuration file that can guide you to the right place if needed.

Depending on your preferences, you may choose to integrate either the Google Search box or the DuckDuckGo search box into your Homer dashboard. Choose the option that best aligns with your needs and proceed with the integration. Here’s how you can do both:

Google Search

Copy and paste the following code snippet into the appropriate section to integrate a Google Search search box:

message:
  style: "is-info"
  title: "Google Search Box"
  icon: "fa fa-search"
  content: '<form action="https://www.google.com/search" method="get"><input type="text" name="q" placeholder="Search Google..." style="width:100%; height:35px;"/><input type="submit" value="Search" style="display:none;"/></form>'

DuckDuckGo

Copy and paste the following code snippet into the appropriate section to integrate a DuckDuckGo search box:

message:
  style: "is-info"
  title: "DuckDuckGo Search Box"
  icon: "fa fa-search"
  content: '<iframe src="https://duckduckgo.com/search.html?prefill=Go&focus=yes&kz=1&kac=1&kn=1&kp=-2&k1=-1" style="overflow:hidden;margin:0;padding:0;width:100%;height:35px;" frameborder="0"></iframe>'

Modify the styling inside the content property to suit your dashboard’s appearance.

Save the configuration file and restart the Homer service, if necessary. However, in my specific situation, I found that there was no need to restart Homer, and the changes took effect immediately upon saving the file. Your experience may vary depending on your setup.

Open your dashboard in a browser and verify that the Google Search or DuckDuckGo search box appears and functions as expected.

Conclusion

Integrating a Google Search or DuckDuckGo search box into the Homer dashboard is a simple and effective way to enhance the usability of your system. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily add this feature and customize it to fit your needs. Whether for personal use or within a corporate environment, this integration offers a practical solution for quick and convenient searches right from the dashboard.

I hope this article has helped you learn how to integrate a Google Search or DuckDuckGo search box into the Homer Dashboard. If this article has helped you, then please leave a comment :smiley:

Thanks for reading!

Additional resources: