Occasionally I get asked if it is possible not to show any entries until a search is performed by a user when using one of the premium templates that support search. This is possible and can be enabled by installing a free extension for Connections. Here are the download link and the installation and configuration instructions:
- Install this extension as you would any other WordPress plugin. Here’s a link to the general installation instructions for an extension.
- After you install and activate this plugin, navigate to the Connections Settings admin page.
- Click the Search tab and scroll to the bottom.
- Enable the “Suppress Results” option and save the settings.
No entries will be displayed until the user either filters by category or performs a keyword search.
Important
The WordPress Permalinks option must be set to any option than “Plain” for this to function correctly. This is due to the way WordPress sets up some internally used variables that are required for this to function properly.
Disclaimer: This is not supported, nor has it been thoroughly tested, so your results may vary.