I realise I'm being thick here, but could anyone give us a mini tutorial on using the LMH Search function which I've never mastered.
On another thread I was making a comment on an outfit called readnotify.com which we've discussed before.
So I stick readnotify.com as a keyword in the Search facility and get 1848 replies.
Just using readnotify gets 6, but only 2 relevant, and neither the one I need.
What am I doing wrong?
MG
How does one use LMH Search?
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Mountain Goat
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MG,
Is this thread the one you need?
That one was not easy to find, probably because of the limitations of the forum search. Apparently the forum can't search for partial matches. So the above thread wasn't in your results because it never uses just the word "readnotify" -- it mentions it in the URL, but no one goes on to just mention the company name.
Another example of this: if I put "rental" into the search box, I get over 2,000 matches. But if I put "renta" into the box, I only get one -- because someone accidentally left the "l" off in a post title. As far as I can tell, the ability to search for partial word matches isn't even an option.
I found the above thread by skimming through the 6 threads matching to "readnotify". I noted that, in one thread, you mentioned the company and then said you were starting a thread about it in the workshop. So I searched again and specified that you should be the author and that the search should only look in the Workshop. Nothing new came up for "readnotify", so instead I searched for words that would probably be in the thread: "email + receipt" (specifying that I wanted to search for posts containing all terms). Voila! Only one match.
To get really good search results, I usually start out as specific as possible, and then only broaden things if I need to. If "email + receipt" hadn't worked, I'm sure "email" would have -- and I could have chosen which threads to look at (out of around 90 matches) based on the thread date, which would have to be right around the date of the post where you said you were going to start the thread. But in general, the trick is to tick the option "search for all terms" (wish that was the default) and choose your search terms wisely.
By the way, I notice that we've already discussed forum searches in another thread -- started by you!
Is this thread the one you need?
That one was not easy to find, probably because of the limitations of the forum search. Apparently the forum can't search for partial matches. So the above thread wasn't in your results because it never uses just the word "readnotify" -- it mentions it in the URL, but no one goes on to just mention the company name.
Another example of this: if I put "rental" into the search box, I get over 2,000 matches. But if I put "renta" into the box, I only get one -- because someone accidentally left the "l" off in a post title. As far as I can tell, the ability to search for partial word matches isn't even an option.
I found the above thread by skimming through the 6 threads matching to "readnotify". I noted that, in one thread, you mentioned the company and then said you were starting a thread about it in the workshop. So I searched again and specified that you should be the author and that the search should only look in the Workshop. Nothing new came up for "readnotify", so instead I searched for words that would probably be in the thread: "email + receipt" (specifying that I wanted to search for posts containing all terms). Voila! Only one match.
To get really good search results, I usually start out as specific as possible, and then only broaden things if I need to. If "email + receipt" hadn't worked, I'm sure "email" would have -- and I could have chosen which threads to look at (out of around 90 matches) based on the thread date, which would have to be right around the date of the post where you said you were going to start the thread. But in general, the trick is to tick the option "search for all terms" (wish that was the default) and choose your search terms wisely.
By the way, I notice that we've already discussed forum searches in another thread -- started by you!
Brooke
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Giddy Goat
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I'm always pleased if I need to find a thread I recall posting on - with luck I can then have a better stab at entering the right search words to bring up my post/s on the thread.
Two or three years ago searches wouldn't have been so complicated but the membership has really mushroomed since - and hopefully Mrs Paolo's shoe fund!
Two or three years ago searches wouldn't have been so complicated but the membership has really mushroomed since - and hopefully Mrs Paolo's shoe fund!
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
If you search for readnotify you get 6 results.
If you search for readnotify.com you get hundreds because the search function sees the full stop as a space, and returns all threads with either 'readnotify' or 'com' in it - quite a few!
If you search for readnotify.com and click on 'search for all terms' rather than 'any terms' you get four results, the four threads that either mention readnotify.com, or both readnotify and com.
Clear as mud?
If you search for readnotify.com you get hundreds because the search function sees the full stop as a space, and returns all threads with either 'readnotify' or 'com' in it - quite a few!
If you search for readnotify.com and click on 'search for all terms' rather than 'any terms' you get four results, the four threads that either mention readnotify.com, or both readnotify and com.
Clear as mud?
Paolo
Lay My Hat
Lay My Hat