|
|
© Rare Cancer Alliance Forums Documentation |
I have to be very honest about this Menu selection. It is a little complicated and the search software is lacking in functionality. But, it is better than nothing for those of you who are searching for something specific. Keep in mind, that if you search on a word (or words) and the results are in private forums that you do not have access to, you will not be able to see the posts. Having said all that, let me explain this menu option.
Click on the Search link in the top menu. A new page will open that helps you to select your search criteria. You will see the Search Query section first.
1. The Search for Keywords instructions, on the left, are self-explanatory.
2. To the right of that, you will see two radio buttons that
you can choose from. If you enter multiple search words, and you leave the default button of
'Search for any terms or use query as entered' checked, your search results will
include any entries that contain at least one of the search words you enter
(for all forums that you have access to). Clicking on the the second radio
button, 'Search for all terms', will display results that include every word you
entered.
3. If you want to search for posts that were written by a
specific Username, you would enter their username in the 'Search for Author'
box.
The next section of that page, Search Options, will allow you to narrow your
search.
1. The first drop down menu lets you choose a specific forum to
search. Select All available to include all forums that you have
access to.
2. The second allows you to choose a forum
category to search through. Selecting All available will let you include all
Forum categories that you have access to.
3. The radio buttons after that, let you choose the
type of result you would like to see. The Topics choice will display the results with
forum heading information only. The Posts choice will let you display the results in a post summary format, with the first
couple of lines of the post displayed.
4. The Search Previous dropdown menu, let's you choose
a post time frame to search. This allows you to narrow down to more recent
posts.
5. The radio buttons below this, allow you to choose whether you want to search the
post titles and message, or just the post message.
6. The Sort by dropdown menu lets you choose the
element you would like to see the results sorted by and....
7. The radio buttons let you choose the
order of those elements. For example; you can choose to see the search results
in Author (Username) order, ascending sequence. This would show you the results
in A - Z username order.
8. The last choice allows you to select how many
characters of each post you want displayed in the results. This is only useful
if you have chosen the 'Display results as Posts' radio button.
9. When you have completed making your sort choices, click on the Sort button at the
end of that page. You will be redirected to your results page.
Deciphering how to sort can be a complicated process. You will most likely want to do a few test runs to learn how to best utilize the menu option.