Based on recent threads, I wanted to show folks how you can harness the power of Google for searching this forum (and only this forum) rather than using the very simple forum search.

As you may or may not know, you cannot search for common words, 2-letter words and 3-letter words using the native forum search.  This can be overcome using Google to search the forum.

Google supports several "operator" keywords that let you customize your results.  There are several operators:  'filetype', 'site', 'cache', 'link', etc. 

If you want to search a specific website using Google while ignoring all other websites on the internet, you need to use the 'site' operator.  Simply put, in the search box, you'll put [site:SITENAME SEARCHTERM] into the search box, like this:



NOTE: There is NO space between "site:" and the website address, but there IS a space between the .com and each subsequent search term.

So, if you wanted to search the Figs4Fun forum for "VdB", you would type in the following bold text (feel free to copy/paste):

[i]site:figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com VdB[/i]

You can use as many terms as you want, so if you wanted to search for info on how to air layer it:

[i]site:figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com how to VdB air layer[/i]

In a normal search with the forum's search feature, it would have ignored every word except layer, and you're damned sure not going to get what you want that way.

You could further refine your search by putting quotes around phrases you want to search for.  So, for example, you could search for:

[i]site:figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com VdB "how to" "air layer"[/i]

That will search the F4F forum for only the threads containing the word VdB, the phrase how to and the phrase air layer. 

Google has some pretty powerful search capabilities, this is just one of them which will probably be most helpful here at the forum where many things may get abbreviated.

Thanx again for doing some heavy lifiting.

No problem.  Thought you might want to sticky this one, but not sure if it would got a ton of visits/use.  This is really, really handy info to have for everyone, so sticking it to the top of the forum list... would save a lot of people time using the (ugh) native search feature and trying to remember the keywords to find this thread.  Heh.

Just tried it out...Thanks, worked perfectly... 

Thanks Jason, You have solved the problem that drives me and a lot of others nuts. I've just printed a copy to tack to my wall.
"gene"

Thank you. Very helpful information.

Now 'search' is even more my friend. :)

I haven't tried this out yet, but do you think iIwill be able to get to older pages?  For example, I want to start on page 98.  Will this "new" method get me there?  I hope I'm explaining this correctly.

Thanks for the useful information.

Frank

The method above will work with any page that Google has crawled across and indexed, and it can take you directly to the page # containing the search terms, which is something the forum search feature cannot do (not that I'm aware of). 

You may even find that it will work for pages that have been deleted by the owner months or years ago if you use the "Cached" page features of Google.

To use the "cached" page feature, when you search, you need to make two clicks in the results list.  See below, I have searched for "vdb breba" specifically on this F4F forum.  On the first result, you'll see I clicked the >> next to the link/description, then click the "cached" link which should appear, in that order.  (Shown in order #1, #2 below).

This will pull up the page Google saw the last time it crawled this forum.  "Cached" pages work whether or not the source website is online, so if F4F ever goes offline, this search would still potentially work to show content.

(Note 1:  If you have a link to an old website that's no longer online, you can also use the search feature at http://www.archive.org to pull up those old webpages!  Note 2:  If Google has no "cached" page, the >> will appear next to the results, BUT there will be NO cached link visible where #2 arrow shows)

Jason,

I am really torn on the issue of sticky threads. I have always hated forums that had a hundred sticky items, where you scrolled through pages to get to the "new" items, so have really tried to keep them to the absolute minimum.

I think I'll meet it half way, and sticky it for a while, so more people will see it, and then, in time, un-sticky it.

Maybe when the time comes to upgrade to a better platform, we'll have a place for FAQ type items such as this.

This was an excellent post, and I do agree it's a bummer to scroll through so many sticky'd posts.  I like that you would sticky it for a while then un-sticky it later.  Me?  I printed my screen, made a PDF out of it, and put it in my fig file.  My computer gets backed up daily with a service I pay for, and now I'll never lose it.

I often use Google and it often brings me here, but Jason has made it a sure thing!  Jason even taught us how to search other sites.  Amazing!

Thanks Jason!
Suzi

I like that suggestion, Gina!  I wish we could each have "clip this Post" page which contains posts of interest to us specifically, like they have on GardenWeb...  But with that comes advertising by the gazillions, so I think consolidating like you suggest is a great idea!

Suzi

Suzi, that feature exists here too, sort of, only they call it "subscriptions" instead of "clippings". 

With "subscriptions", you can bookmark any informative post you want in three easy steps.

Step 1:  Save the post to your subscription list by clicking the Subscribe button in the bottom left-hand corner of the thread, shown here -



Step 2:  Go into the control panel to look at your list of saved threads.  This is done by first clicking the Control panel link in the top right-hand corner of the forum as shown here



Then clicking on the Subscription tab, as shown here:



You can also remove a thread subscription by putting a checkmark next to the thread in the list shown in that last picture and choosing "Unsubscribe" from the 'select an action' dropdown at the bottom of the list.

Does this help solve your dilemma?

Suzi, You can also create a folder in your browser's favorites or bookmarks for you favorite threads.

Gina, That is a good idea. Let me see what can be done.

I have kept the 3 threads, Ripening, Brebas, and Figs for your location on top because I refer people to them almost every day when they ask questions that fit those categories through the website. That makes them easy for new people to find, and introduces them to the wider fig community.

Cool. I feel empowered.  Now I can search the VdBs and BTs.  Thanks, Jason.

Thank-you for posting instructional answers, and for the help.

Frank

EXCELLENT!

Also works with Yahoo!

Use the same text plus your search word.

It doesn't work for garden web, but for this one, it does.  I use this tip a lot!!  Happy you shared it with us, Jason!

Suzi

Jon,
Another option for site management, (in the absence of a FAQ capability in the platform) would be something like this:   if you have the option under the current platform to put a link on the Search page, you could link this topic somewhere off to the right of the search pane, with some LinkText saying something like "Search Tips and Techniques (including short search terms)".  Then you could "unsticky" the thread, without removing users' ability to find it.

Just a thought.  Your call and as always thanks for all you do for this community.

Mike

Thank-you

Thanks for information

Thank you for sharing this easy to understand lesson, satellitehead!