[SEARCH FUNCTION DOWN] Geolocation not indexed in Algolia v2.3.1 on Umbraco 13 (no _geoloc or geolocation field)

[iksweliwita]

After upgrading from Umbraco 10 to Umbraco 13, the directory indexing no longer writes any geo-coordinates to Algolia. Previously (on Umbraco 10) each record included _geoloc (lat/lng) and radius searches worked. On Umbraco 13, the indexed JSON has no _geoloc or geolocation attribute, so ?query=London&distance=25 returns 0 results.

Steps to reproduce
Install Umbraco.Cms.Integrations.Search.Algolia v2.3.1 on Umbraco 13.4.1
Add and register a RidingCentreRecordBuilder subclass of BaseLocationRecordBuilder:

csharp

builder.Services.AddScoped<IRecordBuilder, RidingCentreRecordBuilder>();
Configure the directory in back-office → Package Settings → “Indexing Directory” → click Build.
In the Algolia Dashboard, open the index and click Browse.
Expected
Each record should contain a geo-attribute (_geoloc or geolocation) with latitude/longitude derived from location_googlemaps.

Actual
No geo-attribute is present. The location_googlemaps field in the record is [null], and there is no _geoloc or geolocation entry.

Custom code

// CustomAlgoliaComposer.cs
public class CustomAlgoliaComposer : IComposer
{
public void Compose(IUmbracoBuilder builder)
{
builder.Services.AddScoped<IRecordBuilder, RidingCentreRecordBuilder>();
// … other record builders …
}
}

// RidingCentreRecordBuilder.cs
public class RidingCentreRecordBuilder
: BaseLocationRecordBuilder, IRecordBuilder
{
public RidingCentreRecordBuilder(IPublishedSnapshotAccessor acc)
: base(acc) { }

protected override string GetLocationAlias()
    => RidingCentrePage
         .GetModelPropertyType(_publishedSnapshotAccessor, x => x.Location_googlemaps)
         .Alias;

}
Sample indexed record

json

{
"objectID": "ffb773db-c9d5-471d-ac63-31f6b63f3048",
"name": "Little Munden Equestrian",
"data": {
"location_googlemaps": [null],
"clients": [null],
// …
},
// no _geoloc or geolocation
}

Notes
The same code works on Umbraco 10 with v2.3.1 of the package.
It appears geo-mapping via BaseLocationRecordBuilder is not being invoked on Umbraco 13.
Questions

Is there a breaking change in v2.3.1 or Umbraco 13 that disables BaseLocationRecordBuilder-based geo-indexing?
What’s the correct way to restore _geoloc (or geolocation) indexing in this version?

---

This item has been added to our backlog AB#54770

[acoumb]

Hi @iksweliwita ,

Version 2.3.* targets both Umbraco 10 and 13, so if you're experiencing issues post upgrade, it might be related to CMS.

Regarding Algolia geolocation, the recommended approach would be to extend with your own geolocation provider as detailed here, which will set the _geoloc property of the payload.

The integration uses a NULL return value provider, which will cause the _geoloc property to not show in the details of your index, this is why you would need to register your own provider:

builder.Services.AddSingleton<IAlgoliaGeolocationProvider, UmbracoGeolocationProvider>();

Regards,
Adrian

[iksweliwita]

Thanks for the suggestion. However, we already have all of the geolocation wiring in place. Here are the relevant snippets from our code:

1. BaseLocationRecordBuilder.cs
This is the core of the geo-injection, which reads our Google Maps model and populates the Algolia Record.GeolocationData (which becomes the _geoloc field):

public Record GetRecord(IContent content, Record record)
{
    var locationAlias = GetLocationAlias();

    if (locationAlias != null && record.Data.ContainsKey(locationAlias))
    {
        if (record.Data[locationAlias] is Our.Umbraco.GMaps.Models.Map gmapsData)
        {
            var geolocData = gmapsData.Address.Coordinates;

            // We already set the GeolocationData here:
            record.GeolocationData = new List<GeolocationEntity>
            {
                new()
                {
                    Latitude  = geolocData.Latitude,
                    Longitude = geolocData.Longitude
                }
            };
        }
    }

    return record;
}

We’re explicitly pulling our Google Maps property (Our.Umbraco.GMaps.Models.Map) rather than any built-in Umbraco location type.

2. CustomAlgoliaComposer.cs
All of our record builders (including RidingCentreRecordBuilder which derives from that base class) are registered properly:

public class CustomAlgoliaComposer : IComposer
{
    public void Compose(IUmbracoBuilder builder)
    {
        builder.Services.AddScoped<IAlgoliaSearchService<SearchResponse<Record>>, AlgoliaSearchService>();
        builder.Services.AddScoped<IAlgoliaDirectorySearchBuilderService, AlgoliaDirectorySearchBuilderService>();

        // RecordBuilders for each directory type
        builder.Services.AddScoped<IRecordBuilder<RidingCentrePage>, RidingCentreRecordBuilder>();
        builder.Services.AddScoped<IRecordBuilder<CoachPage>,        CoachRecordBuilder>();
        builder.Services.AddScoped<IRecordBuilder<EventPage>,        EventRecordBuilder>();
        builder.Services.AddScoped<IRecordBuilder<JobPage>,          JobRecordBuilder>();
        builder.Services.AddScoped<IRecordBuilder<BritishRidingClub>,BritishRidingClubRecordBuilder>();
        builder.Services.AddScoped<IRecordBuilder<AccessGroupPage>,  AccessGroupRecordBuilder>();
    }
}

3. GeolocationDataSearchParameters.cs
When building the search parameters, we wrap our single GeolocationEntity into the radius‐in‐meters expected by Algolia:

public class GeolocationDataSearchParameters
{
    public GeolocationEntity? GeolocationEntity { get; set; }

    // radius in miles (default 25)
    public double AroundRadiusMiles { get; set; } = 25;

    // Convert to meters
    public int AroundRadius => (int)Math.Round(AroundRadiusMiles * 1604.344);
}

Despite having all of the above, _geoloc still doesn’t appear in our index. We’re definitely using Google Maps via Our.Umbraco.GMaps.Models.Map (not the default Umbraco location). Can you advise what else we might be missing or if there’s a version‐specific issue in v2.3.1?

[acoumb]

@iksweliwita I've been trying to replicate your use case and here is a breakdown of my local setup, let me know if there is something I'm missing.

I have my local instance of Umbraco running 13.4.1, and I want to index my Home doc type.

With the default configuration, my Algolia index data looks like this:

No geolocation data, as I am using the NULL provider and the values in the content builder are NULL here

Then I am registering a new record builder, which will be picked by the record builder factory and used with the AddCustomValues method here

public class RidingCentreRecordBuilder : BaseLocationRecordBuilder, IRecordBuilder<Home>
{
    public Record GetRecord(IContent content, Record record)
    {
        record.GeolocationData = new List<GeolocationEntity>
        {
            new()
            {
                Latitude = 999.0,
                Longitude = 100.0
            }
        };

        return record;
    }
}

*** I am just returning hardcoded values for testing purposes.

I then register my new builder for the Home document type:

 public static class AlgoliaExtensions
 {
     public static IUmbracoBuilder AddGeolocationProviders(this IUmbracoBuilder builder)
     {
         builder.Services.AddScoped<IRecordBuilder<Home>, RidingCentreRecordBuilder>();

         return builder;
     }
 }

When I've rebuilt my index, I can see the geolocation data has been sent to Algolia:

If a NULL value is returned for the _geoloc property, then this property would not be included with the serialized payload; is the returned value for geolocData.Latitude correct?

If there something missing in my setup, please let me know, drop me an email at aco@umbraco.com and I can jump in on a call and try to get to the bottom of this.

[iksweliwita]

Hi Adrian,

Following your suggestion, here’s the exact snippet from our BaseLocationRecordBuilder.cs. It appears the underlying issue is with the alias resolution:

public Record GetRecord(IContent content, Record record)
{
    // The alias returned here does not match the key in record.Data:
    var locationAlias = GetLocationAlias();

    if (locationAlias != null && record.Data.ContainsKey(locationAlias))
    {
        if (record.Data[locationAlias] is Our.Umbraco.GMaps.Models.Map gmapsData)
        {
            var geolocData = gmapsData.Address.Coordinates;
            record.GeolocationData = new List<GeolocationEntity>
            {
                new() { Latitude = geolocData.Latitude, Longitude = geolocData.Longitude }
            };
        }
    }

    return record;
}

Observations:

• GetLocationAlias() is returning a value that does not correspond to the actual property key under which the Google Maps data is serialized in record.Data.
• As a result, the geo‐injection block is never executed, and record.GeolocationData remains unset.

Could you please confirm:

1. Whether the mechanism for determining the property alias has changed in v2.3.1 or with Umbraco 13?
2. The correct approach to ensure GetLocationAlias() returns the precise key used in record.Data so that geo‐coordinates are properly injected?

Thank you for your assistance.

[acoumb]

Hi @iksweliwita ,

Could you give me an implementation for GetLocationAlias or the returned value, so I can get an overview of your business logic?

The Algolia integration has no changes that might impact you post Umbraco upgrade.

Thanks,
Adrian

[iksweliwita]

Hi Adrian,

Below is the GetLocationAlias() implementation we’re using in each of our directory record builders (here shown for RidingCentreRecordBuilder as an example):

using Umbraco.Cms.Core.PublishedCache;
using Umbraco.Cms.Web.Common.PublishedModels;
using Umbraco.Cms.Integrations.Search.Algolia.Builders;

namespace BHS.Cms.Core.Algolia.RecordBuilder
{
    public class RidingCentreRecordBuilder 
        : BaseLocationRecordBuilder, IRecordBuilder<RidingCentrePage>
    {
        public RidingCentreRecordBuilder(IPublishedSnapshotAccessor publishedSnapshotAccessor)
            : base(publishedSnapshotAccessor)
        { }

        protected override string GetLocationAlias()
        {
            // We retrieve the alias for the Google Maps property on the RidingCentrePage
            var propertyType = RidingCentrePage
                .GetModelPropertyType(_publishedSnapshotAccessor, x => x.Location_googlemaps);

            return propertyType.Alias;
        }

        public Record GetRecord(RidingCentrePage content, Record record)
            => base.GetRecord(content, record);
    }
}

When we log the returned value, GetLocationAlias() consistently returns:

location_googlemaps

We have equivalent overrides in our other builders (e.g. CoachRecordBuilder, EventRecordBuilder, etc.), each pointing to the corresponding *.Location_googlemaps property alias.

Let me know if you need any further detail on how we’re registering these builders or on the underlying content types. Thanks!

[acoumb]

Hi @iksweliwita ,

You would probably need to update how the data from the property editor is retrieved. Without a better overview of your content structure, the property editors, data types used, it is a bit difficult to fix this. Any option to share the source code with me?

Thanks,
Adrian