Forum "Search"

[riffjim4069]

Has the search parameters changed in the past month or so...and is there a search help/faq?

I used to use "+" to string together two keywords (AND) when conducting a search, but this no longer works. For example: "zero+balance" used to display post that contained both the keywords "zero" AND "balance". However, it now displays posts containing "zero" OR "balance" - it works the same as entering "zero balance".

A better example would be if I wanted to find information about the 811 Guide issues. Previously, a search "811+guide" used to display a few thread in which both keywords were discussed...and about half of those threads provided relevant data. However, "811+guide" now brings up anything with those keywords...and almost none of these threads discuss 811 Guide issues.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Interesting...

I am seeing this now, but dont have an answer. I am looking into it.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Ok we are now using FULL TEXT Search, which is faster and its also supposed to be faster.

Here is some info I found on it from another vBulletin site.

By default, the search box uses an OR type boolean on the THREAD level:

Search for: dead pixels

... will give you all THREADS where both those words appear. This might not quite be what you're looking for, as it will undoubtably return MORE results that what you might want.

If what you're looking for is the PHRASE "dead pixels", then you need to enclose your search value in quotes:

Search for: "dead pixels"

... this will return you a smaller number of threads and the threads WILL have at least ONE post that has that exact phrase.

Finally, boolean expressions are now allowed. From what I've seen, they can be as powerful as you want to make them.

Let's say you're interested in a LCD TV (not a Nintendo DS) and want to know about dead pixels.

Search for: (dead AND pixels NOT DS)

This will return you threads WITH those two words but NOT DS in the thread (btw, no results found )

Technically, you should be able to do something like this:

Search for: pixels AND (stuck OR dead) AND Nintendo

If you're unsure the power of boolean searching, hit Google for more information.

 

[riffjim4069]

Outstanding AND Much Appreciated...

 

[riffjim4069]

Hey, a search of search of Richard AND Head displayed a bunch of posts by justalurker...

Oh, will vBulletin allow you define your own symbolics like "+" = "AND", etc.?