Although navigating within a forum is fairly easy and quick, at times, it is faster to locate a message or a thread by using FuseTalk’s built-in search function.
There are two methods in which you can perform searches within the forum. You can choose to perform a basic search or an advanced search.
The basic search function requires a single keyword to be entered into the Search field, which appears in the personal navigation pane (left sidebar) and at the top of the forum when you have entered a category. If using the search field in the personal navigation pane, click the “Go” button after entering the keyword. Any results that match exactly how the keyword was entered will be displayed. Similarly, if using the search field within a category, click on the “Search!” button after entering the keyword, and search results will be displayed.
If the full-text search function has been disabled, the search function will only look for results in the titles of topics. If the full-text search is enabled, the search function will search for the keyword as it is entered in both the title of topics and in the body of messages.
If the full-text search function has not been enabled, the advanced search capability is restricted to finding the results of the keyword as entered only with the title of the topics. The screen that will be displayed looks like the following:
The user enters his/her keyword in the “search phrase” field, selects how the results should be displayed (topic or message view), by what order (topic rating ascending or descending), by a specific author, or messages posted by the user himself. The user can also filter the results by entering a date range.
However, if the full-text search is enabled, the advanced search function allows users to specify other search criteria, and users will be able to search for results matching their keyword within the body of messages as well as topic titles.
To perform an advanced search, click on the “advanced search” link, which appears directly below the search field in the personal navigation pane (left sidebar) or the link to the right of the search bar, if accessing it within a category.
The user will be able to specify a word or multiple words in their search. Use the “all of these words” field if the result of a search should contain all key words entered in the topic title/message body. Use “any of these words” field if the result of a search should contain any one of the key words entered in the topic title/message body. Use the wild key (*) to broaden the search results. Use “these exact words” if the result of a search should contain the exact phrase as entered. Use “none of these words” if the result of a search should exclude the key words entered. (Note: to filter the search in this case, it is recommended to select messages to be displayed.) Users can also filter their searches by specifying a date range. Select the number of days prior to the current date or enter a specific date range by clicking on the calendars.
Additionally, users can specify which categories to include in the search. All categories to which the user has access will be highlighted by default.