The Search Feature is Live!

Here's the results I got:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/search.php?st=Adv&forum=&q=%22Lapeirousia%22&forum_ids[]=27&limit_poster=&dl=0&dl-rel=0&sort-type=0&sort-order=0&Search=Search+Forums

Did you highlight the Bulbs forum in the list?

Your link shows fields searched and no results.

No, I didn't highlight the Bulbs forum on the list, because it wasn't ON the list. Here's what's on the list just below "Search in forum(s)":

Backporch
Beginners
Cooking
Country
Crafts
Family
Garden
Health
Home
Intl
Leisure
Plants
Regional
Special
Trading
Hide Advanced Search Find posts by user

No "Bulbs" on this list! I typed in "bulbs" in the field just below this list.

Hmmm....That's odd. I'm getting the entire list of forums. These are just the headers and there is a sub-list area under each one of these.

Can you drop me a note at the helpdesk where I can work with you one on one? It might be easier to find out what we need to do to fix this if we have a dedicated thread.

Where's the helpdesk? Is that the "Contact Us" link?

I know I used to search for certain posts made certain other members in the old search function. I really can't picture it now but I used to put in the other member's name in one box and then the word(s) that I thought were written within the post I wanted to find.

Is this still possible?

Example, I want to find a restaurant another member mentioned 2 or 3 years ago. In the past I would type in the member's name in one box and the word restaurant in another and would find the post. How do I do it now?

At least I think I searched by using member's names. Hard to remember it seems so long ago!

Thanks

Kell, yes we did have that on the old search, and yes, you can do that on the new advanced search.

Enter your search word/phrase (restaurant name) in the first box and their username in the second box: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/search.php?st=Adv

Thanks so much, Terry. You are working late and on a Sunday too! I figured it out and love it! Plus all my search words were in red which saved me from reading thru every post! Of course I did not find the restaurant (no fault of the search function I bet) so I caved and dmailed the other member. LOL

Thanks again for getting back to me so fast!

OK, I just went back to search more and got a totally different window in Advanced Search. LOL. Now I can't find the last window I had. So there are 2 advanced search windows?

This is the one I was using when I was trying to figure out how to search under a member's name.

And in this Advanced Search window, it is so clear how to search by member name for it says "Find posts by user." LOL .

And a side note just FYI, look at all the added symbols in all these posts.

I just got it again by just going to the search on the top of this page and clicking on it and then on Advanced Search. See the time mark. Now I can't find the other one.

So sometimes it gives you the whole list and other times it gives you just the categories?

I was more looking at the left side and how that is set up. On one the second blank box which has no label is under the "Search the Forums" big box on the bottom right and in the other it is labeled "Find posts by user" under the top blank box the on the left.

OK, the other one is back.

Hi All,

I just wanted to let you know that I am working on how-to use instructions for our search features on the site, including our Forum Search.

Search engines are really helpful - and it helps to know exactly how to use them!

We'll get these instructions to you this week.

Please let me know if there is anything specific you'd like me to include in these instructions, and I will happily address it in as much detail as possible.

Thanks,
Talia

This message was edited May 3, 2010 7:35 PM

Kell, can you tell me what browser(s) you were using? Were they both with the same browser, or did you switch to another browser?

Yes Terry, I was searching between AOL so IE and Mozilla Firefox. I go back and forth constantly for AOL so sucks. Each does show a different page. A bug it is, Talia!

When I reported your problem yesterday, the tech guys figured out you were using AOL from the screenshot. Just as an FYI, it's probably not a browser DG (or many other sites) will support long-term just because it less used than many others and it has it's share of problems.

AOL is so bad in so many ways. Name a day and a different problem. I have no clue why I still use it other than it has thousands of my emails I have collected over the years. I wonder if there is a way to download them all to save elsewhere.

Kell, I don't know if AOL browser has an 'Export' feature on the browser, but if it dosen't, try this:
Select ALL the email addy's you wish to keep in a Newly created email, then highlight and copy all the addy's, then paste them into a text editor. I know that's a crude way of doing it, but worse comes to worse...

Xeno.

Hi Xeno! Thanks for your input! I will sure see if I can do that!

And if not, I will look into that epreserver. Thanks Terry!

You're very welcome...we left AOL many years ago and never looked back ;o0

Though we can't blame AOL for having a totally different screen on the advanced search than Firefox had. So odd! Both had to come from DG. Maybe one was an older model and AOL just would not update to the new one?

Kell, you're just going to have to bite the bullet and get a new browser. I like Firefox real well. I have had it since their very beginning.

Jeanette

edited to add:

Don't whine Kell. LOL

This message was edited May 4, 2010 7:21 PM

I use Firefox too Jeanette or I couldn't open 75% of the sites I want to go to. I had no clue why but Terry might have told me in that many sites do not support it. AOL will just spin and spin and go nowhere must of the time. A long time ago I added Firefox too.

Good. I thought you were only using AOL. Haven't talked to you in a long time. Hope all is well with you and your husband. Oh, and dthe plants of course.

Hi All,

Here are a few how-to instructions for the Forum Search. Please let us know if you have any questions!

Search Forums:
The DG forums are the backbone of the DG community and include lively discussions on topics covering every niche and interest in the home and gardening world. Use the forum search to find answers to home and gardening questions and to join in conversations that interest you. The Forum Search is located on the top right of your internet browser here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/

Use “Search Forums for” to perform a search in the DG forums by first entering your keyword(s) and click the “Search Forums” button. Your search results will be listed below. For the best forum search results on DG make sure you are logged into your DG account. We encourage you to become a DG subscriber for access to more forums (and more fun)!

Advanced Search Filtering:
The Forum Search includes an Advanced Search to enhance your keyword(s) search with filtering options.

Use “Find posts by user” by entering the DG username of a specific DG member to see their forum threads and posts. Your search results will include all threads and posts the member has created. Please note this feature will only give you results if you are logged in to your DG account.

Use “Find posts from” by selecting a date range to see forum threads and posts that were created during that time.

Use “Search in Forum(s)” by locating the forum category list on the right side of the advanced search page to perform a search in specific areas of the forum.

Advanced Search Sorting:
The Forum Search also includes an Advanced Search to enhance your keyword(s) search with sorting options. With the sorting options you decide how you’d like your search results to display by selecting to sort results by “Relevancy”, “Title”, “Number of replies”, “Thread start date”, “Last post date”, or “Forum”.

Use “Relevancy” to sort your search results by how often the keyword(s) you are searching for appear in the forum thread or post. By default, all of your advanced searches will be sorted this way until you manually select another sort option.

Use “Title” to sort your search results by alphabetical order according to the title of the forum thread. A forum thread is essentially a focused discussion around a topic of interest within a forum category. The title of the forum thread is written by the member that started the thread and usually reflects a more detailed topic of discussion. For example, “Bulbs in Alabama” is the title to a forum thread within the “Bulbs” forum category. Tip: If the title post includes special characters, titles with characters in the beginning of the title will show up first.

Use “Number of replies” to sort your search results by the amount of replies members have posted to a forum thread. The number of replies can sometimes indicate the liveliness of a conversation around a topic of interest. Tip: Use this along with “Find posts from” filter to find the latest, most discussed forum threads and posts for your keyword(s).

Use “Thread start date” to sort your search results by the date a member began a forum thread. The DG community has been actively posting threads since 2000. Sorting by the date a thread was started makes it easier to find newer or older discussions for your keyword(s). Tip: Use the “Find posts from” filter to select a specific date range for an even more exact search within a date range.

Use “Last post date” to sort your search results by the date the last post was made on a forum thread that includes your keyword(s).

Use “Forum” to sort your search results by the forum category wherein the thread or post including your keyword(s) is located.


This message was edited May 13, 2010 11:52 AM

I've been having such a great time with the new search feature. It's even better than I imagined it could be. I just want to say awesome job and thank you to the tech guys. I so appreciate the incredible job you're doing.

Joy

If you've been using the new forum search - please share your experiences here. I'd love to know how this is working for everyone now that some time has passed and maybe you've had the chance to use it more. Feel free to send me a personal message with your feedback too. Thanks!

I did a quick search today and it worked great!

I'll make sure to let everybody in the PNW forum know.

Could the instructions be made a "sticky" or put somewhere else where they can be easily found?

Yes please to the "sticky". Those are especially handy when there
are instructions like these.

Thanks,
June