Is it me or is it Search???

[Daviddubya]

In trying to use Search to locate posts I made myself, I found the Search results lacking.  I did a Search on "MFT" and my own user name.  Search found one post.  There are several others.  Any hints???

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

David,

Give this a try:http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?action=search;advanced

It gives the option to specify the user.

 

[Daviddubya]

David,

Give this a try:http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?action=search;advanced

It gives the option to specify the user.

sh - Thanks, but that is exactly what I am using and getting less than satisfactory results.  Hmmm.

 

[Ned]

David

Click the Profile tab.  On your profile page, on the left side is a link to your posts.

Ned

 

[Matthew Schenker]

David,
If you are searching for posts by a specific member, I do think the best way is to go into the "Members" area and click on "show the last posts of this person."

Try this and tell me if it works better for you.

Matthew

 

[Daviddubya]

Ned - Thanks - the Profile option works.  However, if I had a ton of posts, it would be nice to be able to Search for a word or phrase within my own posts, which, of course, is what the Advanced Search is supposed to provide, but...

Edit for correction:
Matthew - The option "show the last posts of this person" on the Members page leads to the same list of posts as Ned's method.  Two different ways to get to the same list of posts.
End edit.

BTW - The Advanced Search function should have found the posts I wanted, but...

 

[Daviddubya]

Search is badly in need of help.  I tried again today.  I did a Search on the word "planner" which I knew was in a thread about a planer table.  No hits - not one.  Then I searched for "deano" - the guy that had started the thread.  Viola - I found the thread with several occurances of "planner".  Hmmm.

So then I go to Advanced Search and do another Search for "planner", making sure that the option to search all boards is checked.  Double viola - Search found all of the posts I wanted plus a couple more.

So, evidently, Search only searches the board you happen to be in at the moment.  Double hmmm.

To verify my suspicion, I went to Home and did a Search on "planner".  I got the same result as I had when using Advanced Search.  Suspicions confirmed.

If you want Search to work as you, or at least I, would expect it to work, Search from Home or use Advanced Search.

ps - The Help function here has the following information about the "Simple Search", which means the non-Advanced Search:

"...But you might also like to know that this tool searches the entire forum for any or all of what you specify that's been posted during the last 9999 days..."

Evidently the Search is supposed to search the entire forum, not just one board.  However, it simply does not work that way.  I hope this problem will be brought to the attention of the forum software folks, so it can be fixed.

 

[Matthew Schenker]

David,
I'm working on improving the search function for the forum.  There are numerous parameters that can be tweaked to alter the way the software "weights" the search results.

If anyone here has experience with search engines, please let me know.  Perhaps you could help me figure out the best combination of settings for optimal search results.

A good search function is essential to a successful forum.

When I used the "Search" function from the main menu, entering the word "Planner," I received six hits, including the one from deano.  This seems to be complete, but I am open to ways for improving search even more.

If you want to do a forum-wide search, use the "Search" function from the main menu.  Using the search with the magnifying glass icon searches the current thread.

Stay in touch,
Matthew

 

[Matthew Schenker]

Everyone,
After some consultation with SMF programmers I have enhanced the search function a bit by creating what is known as a "custom index."  From what I understand, this is a complete indexing of every word in the forum, saved to our server.  It makes searches more accurate, and also makes them faster.

I've tested out the search function with the new improvements, and I am seeing impressive results.  In some cases, it returns hundreds of results in about three seconds.

Regarding search methods, here are the basic principles:
- Use the SEARCH link from the main menu to do forum-wide searches, as shown below:
[attachimg=1]

- Use the magnifying glass [attachimg=2] to also access forum-wide searches.

- Use the text field search feature [attachimg=3] to search just within the topic or board you are presently in.

Most of the time, you will want to use the main-menu SEARCH function or the magnifying glass.  The text field is probably an exception.

So, in the end, I believe the search function does work well.  I am looking for ways to label the text field area to be more clear, however.

Matthew