--- title: "How to Customize the Look of Search Results in Smart Search" description: "Learn how to configure what each search result shows in the Vitextra Smart Search web part for SharePoint Online: icon, path, last modified date, views, file size, summary, tags, thumbnail and view analytics — from a compact list to a rich result card." url: https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10225 language: en published: 2026-10-09 modified: 2026-10-13 author: "Roger Gagne" tags: ["Smart Search result layout", "customize search results", "SharePoint search result display", "search result thumbnail", "search summary length", "view analytics", "Row Layout", "Vitextra Smart Search", "SharePoint Online search web part"] --- # How to Customize the Look of Search Results in Smart Search Learn how to configure what each search result shows in the Vitextra Smart Search web part for SharePoint Online: icon, path, last modified date, views, file size, summary, tags, thumbnail and view analytics — from a compact list to a rich result card. ## Overview Each result in **Vitextra Smart Search** is shown as a card, and you decide what goes on it. The same web part can display a compact list of titles for a narrow side column or a rich card with a path, a summary, tags, a thumbnail and view analytics for a search center. All of these elements are switched on and off in the **Row Layout** group of the web part property pane. Changes are applied to the results immediately, so you can see the effect while you edit. ![Elements of a search result card](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10225/result-anatomy-en.png) *Elements of a search result card* --- ## Opening the layout settings 1. Open the page in edit mode, select the Smart Search web part and click the **pencil (Edit web part)** icon. 2. In the property pane, expand the **Row Layout** group. 3. Turn the elements you need on or off. The results on the page update right away. 4. Save or republish the page. ![The Row Layout group in the property pane](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10225/row-layout-group-en.png) *The Row Layout group in the property pane* --- ## Result card elements The **title** is always shown. It's a link that opens the item in a new browser tab. All other elements are optional: | Setting | What it shows | Default | |---|---|---| | **Show Icon** | The file-type icon on the left of the card. Sites, libraries, folders, list items, news and meeting recordings get their own icons too | On | | **Show Path** | Where the item lives: the site and the library or folder, as clickable links. Long paths are shortened with an ellipsis | On | | **Show Last Modified** | When the item was last changed and by whom, for example *Modified 3 days ago by Anna Smith* | On | | **Show Views Count** | The total number of views of the item | On | | **Show File Size** | The size of the file in a readable form, for example *2 MB* | On | | **Show Incoming Links Count** | How many other pages and documents link to the item | Off | | **Show Summary** | A short extract from the item's content with the search terms highlighted | On | | **Summary length (symbols)** | The length of the summary, from 100 to 300 characters | 180 | | **Show Tags** | Managed metadata tags of the item | On | | **Show Thumbnail** | A preview image of the document, video or picture | On | | **Show Analytics** | A small chart of daily views and unique viewers over the last seven days | Off | Some elements offer more than meets the eye: - **Last modified** — the date is shown in a relative form (*3 days ago*); hover over it to see the exact date and time. Hover over the editor's name to open their Microsoft 365 profile card. - **Views count** — hover over it to see the lifetime views and the recent views of the item. - **Summary** — when an item has no matching extract, its description is shown instead. For Teams meeting recordings, the summary lists the meeting attendees. - **Tags** — when the refinement panel is on, a click on a tag filters the results by that tag. - **Thumbnail** — a click on the thumbnail opens the item. When SharePoint has no preview for a file, a neutral placeholder is shown. ![The views analytics chart with a tooltip](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10225/analytics-chart-en.png) *The views analytics chart with a tooltip* In the analytics chart, the bars show the number of views on each of the last seven days and the line shows the number of unique viewers. Hover over a bar to see the exact numbers for that day. 📝 **Note** Views, viewers and incoming links come from SharePoint search and usage analytics. For new or rarely opened items, these numbers may be missing or appear with a delay. The analytics chart isn't shown for items with no views in the last seven days. --- ## Ready-made layouts You don't have to switch every element on. Here are three combinations that work well: | Layout | Turn on | Where to use | |---|---|---| | **Compact** | Icon, Path | A narrow side column, a *Related documents* block | | **Standard** | Icon, Path, Last Modified, Summary, Tags | Most pages; quick to scan | | **Rich** | Everything, including Thumbnail and Analytics | A search center on a full-width page | ![Compact and rich layouts of the same results](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10225/layouts-compared-en.png) *Compact and rich layouts of the same results* 📝 **Note** In columns narrower than 320 pixels, the thumbnail and the analytics chart are hidden automatically so that the text stays readable. Thumbnails and analytics are also not shown for sites and libraries in the results. --- ## Results for people Results on the **People** tab use their own card: a photo, the person's name, job title and office location. The **Row Layout** settings don't apply to these cards. --- ## Related settings A few other groups of the property pane also affect how results look: - **Appearance** — **Show Total Count** shows the line *About N results* above the list; **Enable Paging** and **Items Per Page** (from 2 to 30) control how many results are shown at once. - **Actions** — the **Download**, **Preview** and **Play** buttons under each result. **Preview** and **Play** are on by default, **Download** is off. 💡 **Tip** For an overview of all Smart Search features, see [KB10222. Smart Search. Solution Overview](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10222). To set up which tabs users see, see [KB10224. Single Source vs. Multiple Sources (Tabs): Choosing the Search Mode in Smart Search](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10224). Learn more about the product: