Searching DartsNutz!

[nixer55]

Searching the DartsNutz Forum

Update: April 2022!
I've used links to posts in this thread for some points.  Be sure to follow them!  Should save some effort! Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

We're all used to searching the Internet with Google, but don't expect the same from a forum search box.  The technologies are entirely different, and Google thinking will not work for you!   Now - there IS a way to get Google to do all the work, which I'll get to.  If you're in a hurry to see that particular trick, go directly to the end of this tutorial.

For those still with us, the most important thing to remember - the forum search is based on keywords.   The more unique that word, the better the results.  In fact, the Search box on the main page is keyword only.  Although it will search thread titles too - it's quite basic.


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I only use this for quick searches, where the keyword is quite unique.  A good example of a unique keyword is this post.  A Youtube video identifier makes a great keyword!

A more useful tool is the Search page.  From there I can stipulate the search look at thread titles - or just post content.  This makes a *big* difference - as we see from this post.

Another good example is finding Show us threads - described in this post.  Remember - when searching Titles Only, it's important the Display Options remain Threads.  A good rule of thumb - when searching for Titles, you're looking for Threads.  When you're searching Entire Post - well, you're looking for posts.  Simple right ?  Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

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All this stuff takes a little getting used to, and tricky when you're a novice search whisperer. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.  For things like a specific dart model, should work fine.   Fuzzier searches are more complicated, and require more thinking.  Google has made a fortune doing this for you - lol.

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Which leads me to leveraging that Google - arguably the most powerful search engine on the planet.  The forum is heavily indexed by Google and other search engines.  If you use the advanced features of Google, you can search for results only on DartsNutz.  More than one way to do this, but the method pictured should work for any browser on any device.

In the Google search bar, type or paste in site:dartsnutz.net - followed by your search criteria.  Like this:

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Quite a few members have expressed dismay at the number of hits returned by Forum keyword searches.  Remember, a keyword is just that - a word in a post.  So what you choose is going to impact the results.  And also why using the Google advanced search technique is better for many until they acquire skill. Google's advanced algorithms are designed to "predict" what you mean. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[elevendarter]

Anytime I want to find anything here on the Nutz, I write in a few key words into the google searching bar alongside with words "darts nutz". For me it's the only way how to qickly find a particular content. I gave up on the local searching engine a long time ago.

[Kenneth]

Great post Nixer! I've also used Google when the internal search hasn't worked and now I know why Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[nixer55]

Thanks for the comments guys.  The google 'hack' is a good tip, but don't underestimate the built in search.  Especially when using the search Page.  I use that all the time, when I know the poster's forum name, and where something should be - like BSS for example.  In such cases, it's faster and the results more relevant than google.  As I mention in the tutorial, google is king for fuzzier or more general searching.  Which is not surprising given the comparative scale of the technologies.  Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[Anita Khubchandani]

Thanks for the info. Very helpful.

[Phil D]

Thanks for info and work involved.

[nixer55]

One thing I haven't got into - source code makes a great base for Forum keyword searches.  Because it tends to be unique - you don't get a lot of useless results.  The Forum search includes source code - the stuff I talk about in this guide - first 2 posts.  Why? Because that's what's actually there.  Your browser turns it into human readable format - but you can take advantage for keyword searches.

Consider this recent example. A member wondered if a Youtube link had ever been posted.  No problem I sez, just searched for the YT video identifier using a Forum search.  Now, I can view the source code in any post, but anyone can do the same by opening the video on Youtube (in this case).  Grab the identifier and plug it into a Forum search.  See below screenshot for that identifier highlighted:

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Paste in the search box, and presto!  Here's the result:

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You can try it yourself, using keyword 2Yme8HV2U2c

Easy! Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[nixer55]

Another thing I should mention - searching from the Search Box on the main page searches post content by keyword.  Pictured:

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However, on the Search Page, you can select either post or title.  Link to get to the search page is in the Top Links:

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You can select to search entire posts - OR search titles only.  This is an important distinction.  As I mention in the main tutorial - I often use the Forum Search to find things I know are somewhere - but exactly where can't put my finger on.

One such example is Show Us Your Infuriating Misses.  I struggle to find that thread when I'm in a hurry.  Now I know it's called "Show us your infuriating misses", but you won't find most of those words or the actual phrase in the posts themselves.  So now what?  Toggle the search selection to "search titles only" and put "infuriating" in the keyword box.  Like this:
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And here's the result:
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So lot's of options - and maybe lot's to think about when using the Forum Search - but very powerful when you do. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

[elevendarter]

Well, yeah, it works. I gave up on searching anything here on the Nutz long time ago. For me, the by far (so far) fastest option was to write up the key words along with the "darts nutz" words into google.

Now I tried the Search bar here and it it didn't work. Then I opened the Search page and it didn't work either. Then I read the instructions again and chose the searching in "Titles" and I got the results I wanted. So, yeah, it seems it works in the end :-)

I was looking for the word "comparison". I must admit, the results I got with this function are probably better than those I was getting with the google search.

It may be that I got it wrong because searching in the "entire posts" hasn't worked at all ... perhaps it would work somehow when looking for the longer strings of words. I just thought that searching by titles could be set as a default option (the way you did it with the "youtube" option - having it on the first position).

[nixer55]

Well, those options are set in the core search php file. I try not to mess with core files too much because:

1. Good possibility they'll be overwritten on upgrade.  Another is in the works as we speak.  This I know - been tracking the issues at MyBB.
   
2. It's better to understand the choices than change defaults IMO. The video selection javascript was an exception - felt obligated to fix the double protocol issue anyway.  Same file, and could be trouble down the road.
   
3. I've tried hard not to start a new post retirement career. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.
   

To better get a handle on this, sometimes it's easier to experiment from known values.  Take your post for example.  Opened the search page, selected you in Search by Username, default selection of entire post, used the word comparison as keyword, selected forum - Forum Guides, and Posts as output.  Results?

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Your method of adding "darts nutz" to a Google query is close to an advanced search anyway.  The one I document is just more explicit in that it forces dartsnutz.net to be the domain of choice. So if that works for you, wouldn't change a thing.

[nixer55]

Another thing I should mention - searching from the Search Box on the main page searches post content by keyword.  Pictured:

[Image: https://i.imgur.com/saEvH2J.png]
However, on the Search Page, you can select either post or title.  Link to get to the search page is in the Top Links:

[Image: https://i.imgur.com/tsaWcMA.png]

You can select to search entire posts - OR search titles only.  This is an important distinction.  As I mention in the main tutorial - I often use the Forum Search to find things I know are somewhere - but exactly where can't put my finger on.

One such example is Show Us Your Infuriating Misses.  I struggle to find that thread when I'm in a hurry.  Now I know it's called "Show us your infuriating misses", but you won't find most of those words or the actual phrase in the posts themselves.  So now what?  Toggle the search selection to "search titles only" and put "infuriating" in the keyword box.  Like this:
[Image: https://i.imgur.com/IkRElLo.png]

And here's the result:
[Image: https://i.imgur.com/TQWYxSw.png]
So lot's of options - and maybe lot's to think about when using the Forum Search - but very powerful when you do. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

Another example came up today.  Lots of times members are wondering if a "Show us" thread exists.  Easy to find out - if you use the Search Page and toggle the keyword box selection to Titles Only.

Just put in Show for the search criteria.  You'll get a list of "Show Us" threads, and very few that don't fit:

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[elevendarter]

I think that Show us deserves a special section...which there is, kind of.
https://www.dartsnutz.net/forum/forum-66.html

[Ancient Darter]

Absolutely FAB Nixer!!!

[nixer55]

Came across a search in our back-end logs.  Where a guest as trying to find "THROW+STRAIGHT+DARTSW".  Ignoring the obvious typo, decided to put that in a Google Search to see if that service could yield results.  Not going to try to explain why a forum search wouldn't work.  I could - but the details would probably dismay most users. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

So I plugged it into a Google search using the tip in the tutorial:

The result?  See the first 2 hits yourself:

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[Levonster]

Came across a search in our back-end logs.  Where a guest as trying to find "THROW+STRAIGHT+DARTSW".  Ignoring the obvious typo, decided to put that in a Google Search to see if that service could yield results.  Not going to try to explain why a forum search wouldn't work.  I could - but the details would probably dismay most users. Guests cannot see images in the messages. Please register at the forum by clicking here to see images.

So I plugged it into a Google search using the tip in the tutorial:

The result?  See the first 2 hits yourself:

[Image: https://i.imgur.com/KkWV3Xpl.png]

This is a great reminder, is there a way to have the search results be in chronological order when using this method?