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Search
Feb 11, 2015 16:48:00 GMT
Post by PinkHistory on Feb 11, 2015 16:48:00 GMT
Finding a specific thread or post
The forum has a unique live search system built in that will allow you to search for topics or posts quickly, and will allow you to see results as you type. You can locate the search bars in the top-right hand corner of a topics listing in a board on the forum, or in the top-right hand corner when viewing a topic.
To search for a specific topic, click into a board that you think may have the topic that you are looking for. Once you're on the topics page in a board, find the search bar located just above the Last Post column on the topics page. Click the search bar to activate it and then begin to type. You can type in either something that you think may have been in the title of the topic you are looking for, or you can search for key words that were used in posts of the topic that you are looking for. The search results will update automatically after each keystroke you make to show you the topics that contain the keywords you are looking for.
The same can be done within a topic itself as well. If you are wanting to look for a specific post in a topic, but don't want to go through all of the different pages to look for it, you can use the search bar found in the top-right hand corner of a topic, just below the Reply button if available. Simply begin to type the words you're searching for that the post contained and the topic will update automatically to show the posts that contained the keywords.
If you need to further fine tune your search, click the magnifying glass icon found to the right of the search bar for more filtering options. Otherwise if you conduct some searches and are not finding what you are looking for, it's possible that what you're searching for is in a different board or topic on the forum. You can use the Search button found in the menu bar at the top of the page to conduct a forum wide search and you may be able to find what you're looking for using the global search tools there.
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Search
Feb 11, 2015 16:48:35 GMT
Post by PinkHistory on Feb 11, 2015 16:48:35 GMT
Finding content on the forum using keywords
While the live search bars available in boards and topics are useful if you know the general area that you are searching for content, if you want to search for something that you're not exactly sure where it's placed you can use the forum search system by clicking the Search button found in the top menu bar. Once on the search page, look for the "What to search..." area found in the top-left hand corner of the page. In this area you'll see search boxes for the following:
"with at least one of the words" - Type in any word or phrase that you think was used in a post or topic on the forum that you are looking for. The search system will search for all of the words that you use here, but the results you get back may omit one or more words that you have provided in the search box if content is not found for those words. For example, you could type in the quick brown fox in the box provided, and you will receive search results back for any content that contains any of those words. So you could receive a search result back because it has the word fox in it, even if the content does not include any of the other words that you provided in the search.
"with all the words" - In the text area here, type in any words that you are certain was used in the post or topic that you are looking for. The search results you get back will only be for content that includes all of the words you typed into the search box. For example, you could type in the quick brown fox in the box provided, and you will receive search results back for any content that includes all of the words in your search regardless of the order that the words are placed in the posted content.
"with the phrase" - If there is a phrase that you know was used in the topic or post that you are searching for, type it into the box provided here. The search system will look for the words used in the phrase you typed and will return results based on the phrase.
"without the words" - If you have filled out one of the other search boxes in the "What to search..." area of the search page, this box will become available to use. Type in one or more words that you know the content you're searching for does not contain.
Once you have one or more of these search boxes filled out, you can continue on to choose how you want your search results to be viewed as and then click the Search button found at the bottom of the page to get results. Otherwise, you do have the option to use one of the other search filters as well in the other search categories if needed.
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Search
Feb 11, 2015 16:48:58 GMT
Post by PinkHistory on Feb 11, 2015 16:48:58 GMT
Searching for content made by specific members
Sometimes when you're looking for specific content, you may remember some things about who may have made the content that you are looking for. This could range by a specific member, a member group that the member was in, or who specifically created the topic that the post you are looking for was made in. If you can recall details about the member that created the content that you are looking for, you can use the "Who to search..." filters on the forum search page to help find what you are looking for.
To get started, click the Search button located in the forums top menu bar. On the search page, you'll find the "Who to search..." filters located in the bottom-right hand corner of the page. In this category you'll find the following search options:
"by at least one of the members" - This allows you to look for content that was made by one or more members. This would be best used if you have an idea on who created the content you're searching for, but are split on a couple of possible members that created it. To add a member to the search filter, click on the search box provided and a pop-up will appear. In the pop-up, search for one or more members using the member search provided and then click the Done button when you've selected the members you want to search from. You should see the usernames of the selected members listed in the text box provided.
"posts made by" - This filter allow you to search by the type of member that may have created the content you are looking for. To the right of this, you'll see a drop-down menu with a list of possible options:
Everybody: This option will not restrict your results by the type of visitor that created the content. Staff: This filter will give you results that were only created by a staff member of the forum. Members: With this selected, the results you receive back will only be from members of the forum, and will exclude content posted by guests. Guests: This filter will only return results of content that was created by forum guests, and will exclude content posted by registered members.
"except posts by the members" - This filter is the opposite of the "by at least one" option mentioned earlier. If you know the content you are searching for was not made by a specific member, you can use this filter to prevent any results from the member that you know didn't create the content that you are looking for. To use this filter, click on the text box provided next to this option and a pop-up will appear. In the pop-up, you can use the member search to find one or more members that you want to use in this filter. Once you have selected the accounts that you want to use in the filter, click the Done button found in the lower-right hand corner of the pop-up and you should see the usernames of the members you selected appear in the text box provided.
"by the member group" - If you can remember the member group of the member that created the content you are searching for, but cannot recall who specifically posted the content, you can use this option to filter your search results based on the member group of the member that created the content. To use this filter, click the box provided next to this option and a pop-up box will appear. This pop-up will list all of the member groups on the forum. Check the box next to the member group that you can recall the member that created the content you are looking for was in and then click the Done button in the pop-up. Once that's done, you'll see the member groups listed in the text box.
"In threads created by" - This filter can be used if you can recall who originally created the topic that houses the content that you are looking for, but can't remember the specific topic it is in. Click the box provided next to this option and a pop-up box will appear with a user search box. Use this user search to find the member that created the topic that houses the content that you are searching for. Once you have selected an account, click the Done button found in the pop-up window and you should see the username of the member you selected in the box provided.
The options provided in the "Who to search..." category of the search page can be used with any of the other search options on the search page as well. This is just one way that you can use to further refine search results if you are having trouble finding the specific content that you are looking for.
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Search
Feb 11, 2015 16:49:24 GMT
Post by PinkHistory on Feb 11, 2015 16:49:24 GMT
Searching for content by date and time
When searching for specific content, you may recall around the time frame that the content you're looking for was posted in. If you want to refine your search results based on time, you can use the filters provided in the "When to search..." category of the search page. In this category you'll find the following options:
"posted within the last __ days __ hours": This filter allows you to adjust your search results based on a time frame that the content was created. For example, if you know the content you're searching for was created within the last week, you could search the last 7 days and 0 hours. Likewise, if you know the content was created recently, you could search 0 days and 6 hours to refine your search results with content that was posted in the last 6 hours.
"between the dates __ to __": Using this filter, you can refine your search results between a certain amount of time. This filter is best used when you know the content you are looking for wasn't made recently, so you can filter out results from content that was posted recently, as well as filter out results for content that was created long ago. To use this filter, click the first box and with the calendar that pops up, choose the earliest date that the content could have been posted in. Then click the second box to bring up the calendar once more to choose the latest possible date that the content could have been posted in. Once you have made your selections, you should see the the date listed in a Year / Month / Day format.
"only on the exact date": If you know the day the content you're searching for was posted on, then this would be the best time filter for you to use to help you refine your search results. To use this filter, simply click on the box provided to the right of the listed option, then use the mini calendar to select the specific date that you are looking for. Once the date has been selected, you'll see it listed in the text box in the Year / Month / Day format.
"before the date": If you know that the content you're looking for was not created recently, you can use this option to filter out potential search results that have been posted recently. To use this filter, click on the text box to the right of this option and a mini-calendar will display. Using the calendar, select the date that you want to search before and when selected, you'll see the date listed in the Year / Month / Day format in the text box provided.
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Search
Feb 11, 2015 16:49:54 GMT
Post by PinkHistory on Feb 11, 2015 16:49:54 GMT
Choosing how your search results are displayed
When using the forum search option, done by visiting the Search button found at the top menu bar of the forum you're visiting, there are a couple of different ways to have your search results display depending on what you're looking for.
Once you have filled out one or more of the search options on the search page, at the very bottom of the page you'll see one last option for "How to search...". This gives you the options for "display results as posts" and "display results as threads". If you choose the "display results as posts" option, after you click the Search button the search results will display you individual posts that contain the items that you are searching for. This view is best used if you're trying to find a specific post that was made on the forum. Otherwise if you're just wanting to find a topic rather than a specific post, use the "display results as threads" view option. When this is selected, the search results you get back will list out the individual discussion topics from the forum that has content which contains the items that you are searching for.
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