Burns

I've put together some tips and screenshots to help people use the forum's search function more effectively.


Before you start:

You cannot search for any word that is 3 letters or less. If you try, you will not receive any results. The keyword must be at least 4 letters long. It uses a lot of resources to search a forum and the default is to search for 4 letter or more letters.


Where to find the search tool:

The link to the search is located in the main link bar, as shown circled in red below:



When you click the "search" link, it will give you a drop down box - ALWAYS select "Advanced Search" (as circled). To yield the best results and to find what you are looking for, always narrow down your search as far as possible using the advanced options, which I will explain below.


Using the Advanced Search screen:

Here is what you will see what you select the advanced search.



From this screen, you can narrow your search to yield more specific results by using the following options:

• Search keyword - either by keyword within a post, or within a thread title only

• 
  
  
  
• Search user - either by posts that user has made, or threads they have started
  
  
  
• Search forum - search specifically within any forum or subforum
  
  
  
• Show results by post or thread - results will appear either by a list of thread titles, or a list of actual posts
  

Any of these options can be mixed or matched, depending on what you what to find and how you want to view the results. Be as specific as possible.

Examples to follow...

__________________


Gorrmae's Fantasy Red XIII CD RE CGC TDI
DOB 2/17/07, red/rust, male neutered Doberman

Burns

Example #1:

Let's say I'm looking for info on the breeder "Gorrmae Dobermans". I don't want to include the word "dobermans" in my search because that would have a TON of hits on this site and dilute out your results. Therefore, the keyword we want to use would be just "gorrmae".

So I plug "gorrmae" into the keyword search field, and leave all the other options as they are defaulted:



And click "Search Now". Here are the results:



The search returned 37 matches for the keyword "gorrmae" in posts on the entire forum.

But if we narrow down the search further, we will get better results. So now let's search for "gorrmae" as the keyword, but narrow it down to just within the "Breeding and Breeders" forum:



Here are the results for this search:



It returned only 19 matches this time. But we’re still getting some threads that merely mention the breeder’s name, not necessarily a thread ABOUT the breeder.

So let’s search for the word “gorrmae” in JUST the titles of threads within the breeder forum this time.



And here are the results:



So there we found just one thread which has the word “gorrmae” in the title within the breeder forum. Narrowed down from our original search of 37 threads

__________________


Gorrmae's Fantasy Red XIII CD RE CGC TDI
DOB 2/17/07, red/rust, male neutered Doberman

Burns

Example #2:

Let’s say I want to view the thread that I posted a birthday cake recipe in, but I can’t remember the name of the thread or which forum it was posted in.

So I’m going to put my name “Burns” in the search user field, and the keyword “cake” in the keyword field. And leaving the forum as searching all forums. But changing the search results to show posts instead of threads – so I can see a snippet of the thread so I can tell at first glance if it’s the right one.



And the results:



It returned 30 results, and at first glance, I’m not seeing the post I was looking for.

So let’s narrow it down even further by only searching for threads I have posted in with the word “cake” in the title, so just changing the drop down box under the keyword field:



And the results:



Only returned 5 results this time, and I see the one I was looking for! If I click the link that is circled within the post result, it will take me to that post:

__________________


Gorrmae's Fantasy Red XIII CD RE CGC TDI
DOB 2/17/07, red/rust, male neutered Doberman

Burns

I hope this tutorial helps people find what they are looking for. This forum is a wealth of information – some of it hidden away… but if you know how to use the search tool, you are more likely to come up with the information you are looking for

If you have any questions regarding using the search function, please post in the Site Feedback forum. Thank you!

__________________


Gorrmae's Fantasy Red XIII CD RE CGC TDI
DOB 2/17/07, red/rust, male neutered Doberman

greenkouki

Thank you for taking the time to make and post this! To any new folks reading this, please try to do a quick search following Burns's instructions prior to starting a new thread.

sam&macksmom

wanted to bump this thread as some of the newer DTers may not know about the advanced search feature

Happy searching!

__________________

Lady Kate

Thank You.. Have been wondering what the difference is between "Post Quick Reply" and "Go Advanced" ??

tnh317

"Go Advanced" allows for more formatting options.

__________________
"Expect the worst and you won't be disappointed." - Helen MacInnes

sandy2233

Thanks Burns for posting this. Can anyone tell me what the"points" are?

sam&macksmom

bumping for new folks

__________________

the_discowhore

Have only just found this now, it's a great tutorial, I will definitely post this onto threads for newbies who are feeling a little search function challenged! Thanks for writing it Burns!

__________________