Guidance on using the advanced search functions

[Chris Eyre]

There are two types of search within the Club GTI forum:


1) Using search words to find threads

a) Basic 'Search' function

This is in the blue header bar at the top of each page.

To use it effectively, especially if the word is common, it is best to 'trap' threads with as tight a search as possible, just the same as Google.

Searching on 'schrick' will reveal 20 pages of results, which means there were too many results for the search function (so it returns the first 20 only).

Searching on 'schrick cam' reduces this to 15 pages of results, because this is an inclusive 'AND' search. And 'schrick cams' will reveal similar results, with some crossover to the previous search results, and some being different

This clearly needs more trapping with another word to reduce the results further

Same as Google, the more unique your search, the better the results.


Hopefully nothing too new here so far. So what's my point


b) Advanced search function

Using this you can further cut down results, using the same technique in a), but by you have the option to:

• enter the author's name

OR

• highlight one section only to search in, including OR excluding "child" sub-sections (see tick box)

OR

• the author's name AND the section to search in

This really helps find what you are looking for.


And the really useful bit


2) Using Search words within threads

At the top of each thread, you can click "Search this Thread" for a particlar word or words (same as in a, above).

This is usually irrelevant to 1 or 2 page threads, because a scan of both pages isn't daunting and can also be got round using 'Ctrl-F' on your keyboard, and then typing the search word(s) in the dialogue box which appears ('Cmd+F' on a Mac).

However, for huge threads, this search is invaluable.

For example, here's a 44 page thread:

http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72936

Somewhere tucked in there is 'schrick', and there's no time to check all 44 pages.

So...

* Click 'Search in Thread' at the top of the thread
=> Enter 'schrick'
=> Cue 8 results, complete with post previews

On each result, don't click on the thread name: click below it, on the highlighted writing at the start of the posts. This will take you straight to each post which has 'schrick' within to it.

If the first one is no good, press the back button, and click the next one down.

=> leaving enough time to do a belt-and-braces search on 'schricks'


For those who haven't used any of these advanced search types before, hope they're useful. Club GTI is stacked with 6 years' worth of collective VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda information and plenty more besides, so if you find a gem of an FAQ-style thread tucked away in a non-FAQ section, please flag it to a moderator


If this summary is copied onto other forums, be good, and credit clubgti.com

[EZ does it]

Nice guide Chris, might want to add that it's 'Cmd+F' on a Mac, they just have to be different

[Chris Eyre]

Thanks Pete - added in above now

[EZ does it]

Hehe, Pete is the other EZ, I'm Simon!

Should really have lurked for longer before choosing a username!

[Chris Eyre]

My apologies

[Raider]

Handy tool is the search