How do I advance search

[alan_fincher]

I've always struggled to find what I want using the forums search facility.

 

For example I want to look at information on replacing flexible gas tails.

 

But if I search as follows

 

+gas +tail

 

then I seem to get just about every thread that anyone has ever posted.

 

I don't want to know about Vulcan bombers flying today, I want to know about Gas Tails!

 

Using a string

 

"gas tail" or "gas tails"

 

seems no better.

 

What am I doing wrong, or do I need to do something like use Google search, restricted to this site.

 

Alan

[BlueStringPudding]

I've always struggled to find what I want using the forums search facility.

 

For example I want to look at information on replacing flexible gas tails.

 

But if I search as follows

 

+gas +tail

 

then I seem to get just about every thread that anyone has ever posted.

 

I don't want to know about Vulcan bombers flying today, I want to know about Gas Tails!

 

Using a string

 

"gas tail" or "gas tails"

 

seems no better.

 

What am I doing wrong, or do I need to do something like use Google search, restricted to this site.

 

Alan

 

 

I think there's an option to choose the Most Relevant answers not the Most Recent which might be your problem.

 

But I agree, it's a bloomin nightmare the search facility on this forum (sorry guys, but it is and it's probably also why people continuously ask questions that have gone before, you just can't find the answers with the search).

 

Why Most Recent should be the default search is beyond me when the View New Posts link does exactly the same, gawd knows. Especially as the answers will rarely contain the words you've searched for too!

[Webchem]

I have never really had much luck carrying out searches in any forum - no matter what they are based on...

 

Although I have noticed that the better the title and sub-title of the post, the better the return...

[alan_fincher]

I think there's an option to choose the Most Relevant answers not the Most Recent which might be your problem.

Nope! Might be being dense, but I can't see that option.

But I agree, it's a bloomin nightmare the search facility on this forum (sorry guys, but it is and it's probably also why people continuously ask questions that have gone before, you just can't find the answers with the search).

It's not just me then!

Especially as the answers will rarely contain the words you've searched for too!

Yep!, That's the bit I can't get! I seem to get countless hits having sod all to do with my specified search criteria, even if I put '+' in front, which it says means "must contain".

 

Dan ? Liam ? Help

[Scotty]

i use google

 

type your search plus site:canalworld.net into the search box

 

eg. gas tail site:canalworld.net

 

gives you http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q...earch&meta=

 

 

I've no idea if it helps you, as i've no idea what a gas tail is!

[Gary Peacock]

Because I am really nice to you lot I have knocked up a search page for you.

 

Click HERE then bookmark the page to your favourites etc.

 

Let me know if it is any better.

[alan_fincher]

Because I am really nice to you lot I have knocked up a search page for you.

 

Click HERE then bookmark the page to your favourites etc.

 

Let me know if it is any better.

Thanks Gary, that helps.

 

The only drawback of relying on Google is that it will not find recent posts that Google hasn't indexed yet.

 

But as it's older stuff I'm after that's fine!

[Gary Peacock]

Thanks Gary, that helps.

 

The only drawback of relying on Google is that it will not find recent posts that Google hasn't indexed yet.

 

But as it's older stuff I'm after that's fine!

 

It might actually stay quite up to date because it is using a Google custom search account and it seems to actually increase the indexing on the specific site it is set to search.

 

I could also do another one that conducted a search specifically across all the various canal related forums if it would be of interest?

[Chris Pink]

Hey, Gary that works really really well.

 

Cool.