Using the Search functions

[Darren]

The search engine has been updated in the recent release of our forums software and the way it works has also been tweaked.

Most importantly, the update has fixed one of the issues that we have been having with Buy & Sell threads, which was the inability to search for recently posted threads due to the usage of the forms-based posting.

Key point to take note of - Quick Searches using the drop-down boxes in the navigation bar and inside forums/threads (see below) will only search the body content of the threads/posts.

Navigation Bar drop-down Search box:

Forum/thread drop-down Search box:

The Advanced Search function provides a more robust and thorough search through the databases, and provides the additional ability to search ONLY the thread titles (see screenshot below):

<<Admin Note: Old screenshot removed - please refer to updated screenshot in Post #3>>

Try using the same search terms (eg WTB DSLR Nikon) in both the Drop-Down box and the Advanced Search (set to Search Thread Titles) and see the difference in the results.

 

[lwm]

Hi,

I was trying to use the search functions in the Buy & Sell threads. But when I typed strings like "nikon f80", whether in Quick Search or Advanced Search, I only see threads on "nikon", but not on "f80". Is there any bug, or I am not using it correctly?

Thanks.

 

[Darren]

Update for members having problems searching the Buy & Sell subforum for specific items.

We have found that limiting the search to defined timeperiods and also the sub-forum provides the BEST results.

In the screenshot above, we have limited the search to
a) Thread titles only
b) Threads/posts that are less than one month old
c) Searching within the Buy & Sell subforum only.

Please give this search method a try and you will definitely get better results.

Note: Minimum search phrase is 4 characters, thus words like f80, 20D etc will not be found. Unfortunately, there isn't a workaround for this limit currently as we have found that enabling 3-char searches has a severe performance hit on the server.

 

[shoon]

Hi, I've tried to use quoted string to search but it doesnt seems to work. eg "canon s70".
Does this search method work ? thanks

 

[sugarhigh]

I'm not very familiar with html coding but maybe what the administrators could do is to implement an additional field for now? so instead of just searching title, it searches the "Model" field which buyers and sellers have to fill in when submitting their items for bidding. I'm not sure if that would actually significantly reduce the stress on the server, hehe just a suggestion since it seems like some of us are having problems finding what we want. for instance, recently i wanted to find out what were the previous bid prices for used canon a40 so as to reasonably price my item but i could only search for "canon" and a whole barrage of search results came up, and in my case, limiting the search to recent entries wouldn't really help :sweat:

 

[itsybitsyspidy]

Hi,

how do i go about searching for items like lens? I think the forum search ignores numbers when entered in the search and hence i can't search for things like Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8. Any help?

Jack

 

[+evenstar]

not everyone writes f2.8 in the similar way...some write f/2.8, others f2.8, while others 1:2.8

 

[vince123123]

From what I know, I doubt this can be done. The Buy and Sell form is used only as a template to pre-format the manner your post will be finally presented. There is no storage of independent fields of information which was entered during the posting process in the database.

I'm not very familiar with html coding but maybe what the administrators could do is to implement an additional field for now? so instead of just searching title, it searches the "Model" field which buyers and sellers have to fill in when submitting their items for bidding. I'm not sure if that would actually significantly reduce the stress on the server, hehe just a suggestion since it seems like some of us are having problems finding what we want. for instance, recently i wanted to find out what were the previous bid prices for used canon a40 so as to reasonably price my item but i could only search for "canon" and a whole barrage of search results came up, and in my case, limiting the search to recent entries wouldn't really help :sweat:

 

[tangoinquestion]

Hi,

how do i go about searching for items like lens? I think the forum search ignores numbers when entered in the search and hence i can't search for things like Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8. Any help?

Jack

i oso tried entering numbers which are more than the minimum num of chars required, i.e. 28-135, 28-75 but couldn't get any results.

 

[reflecx]

i oso tried entering numbers which are more than the minimum num of chars required, i.e. 28-135, 28-75 but couldn't get any results.

The "-" character is a word stop, as are ".", "/", etc. 28-135 will be broken down to 28 and 135, and since both are less than 4 characters, nothing is indexed. Your best bet would be searching for 135mm, 75mm, etc.

 

[tangoinquestion]

The "-" character is a word stop, as are ".", "/", etc. 28-135 will be broken down to 28 and 135, and since both are less than 4 characters, nothing is indexed. Your best bet would be searching for 135mm, 75mm, etc.

aiyoh! thanks for the trip mate, confirmed that yo (why didnt i think of that) tip works!

 

[redstone]

Hi,

May I suggest to allow shorter terms (3 characters) to be search-able?

Especially camera models many are only 3 characters long.

 

[Daniz]

Hi,

May I suggest to allow shorter terms (3 characters) to be search-able?

Especially camera models many are only 3 characters long.

Yes I opine to the above as well. In addition, can you allow the system to search using 'and' condition for multiple words? The 'or' condition right now is frustrating to use, as many unwanted results are shown.

 

[michhy]

the Search function on ths forums is one of the worst I had ever came across. :thumbsd:
Some pet peeves include:

- 45 seconds between searches (what purpose does this serve besides annoy?)

- doesn't find anything when I type shorter keywords like "30D" or "KIT" or "D80"

- when no results is returned, please dont put the 45-second limit too.

Thanks for an otherwise fun website.

 

[vince123123]

1) The restriction is there to prevent overload to the server's computing resources. Searches are very computer processer intensive and not having a limit may result in spamming of searches, thereby possibly overloading processing resources.

2) The 3 letter limit I believe is also directed at having quick searches - too short search strings may return an inordinate number of hits. That said, I do wish that this may somehow be reviewed as a lot of camera terms are three letter terms.

3) I believe the reason is the same as (1).

the Search function on ths forums is one of the worst I had ever came across. :thumbsd:
Some pet peeves include:

- 45 seconds between searches (what purpose does this serve besides annoy?)

- doesn't find anything when I type shorter keywords like "30D" or "KIT" or "D80"

- when no results is returned, please dont put the 45-second limit too.

Thanks for an otherwise fun website.

 

[wee_ly]

Each time I try searching for M42 screw mount lenses by typing "M42" in the textbox for the word to search for, the outcome is always no such word found. Hmmm... how can I do a search for M42 items using the Search function?

Thanks.

 

[Simon]

Try this: M42*

Each time I try searching for M42 screw mount lenses by typing "M42" in the textbox for the word to search for, the outcome is always no such word found. Hmmm... how can I do a search for M42 items using the Search function?

Thanks.

 

[wee_ly]

Try this: M42*

Yes, it works. Thanks Simon.

 

[voldisinarta]

Hi bros,

Just wanna ask a question... how if I want to search all nikkor vr lenses in the buy and sell forum?

V

 

[sillyme]

On my office PC, using IE, I would get the 'try again 20 secounds' later message everytime I initiate a search 'new posts in 24hours'. This is in spite that I had not been refreshing/viewing the clubsnap forum for more than a few minutes.

The function would only work if I wait for the 20 seconds to elapse after the first try.

I don't face it when doing the same thing at home.