# How to use Search function effectively



## IBM (3 Jan 2006)

No matter what I type in Search I keep getting this:

*Your query was not specific enough. Try using larger words, or less common phrases. *

Anyone know if there's a technical issue with the search function? I've tried putting in entire sentences so I'm pretty sure I can't get anymore specific than that.


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## Weiner (4 Jan 2006)

Same thing here.  I guess anyone can ask any question they want now and not get grilled for it...

I doubt it will be like this for long, the admin seem to do a really good job at fixing issues when they pop up.


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## old medic (4 Jan 2006)

Try using the advanced search feature.

When you place a sentance or full question into the search engine, it will try to return every message with any of those words in it. 
When there are too many hits, you will get that error message.

Try reducing your query to specific key words.


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## George Wallace (4 Jan 2006)

I have run into that problem a couple of times today.  I just resubmitted the same query and I got results.  So, just hit enter a second time.

If the problem persists, I am sure Mike will have picked up on this Thread very soon.


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## McG (4 Jan 2006)

IBM said:
			
		

> I've tried putting in entire sentences so I'm pretty sure I can't get anymore specific than that.


Have you put your sentences inside quatations? ("")


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## Mike Bobbitt (4 Jan 2006)

I can't reproduce the problem, what search terms are you using? I think the advice that every word in a sentence is searched for individually is key here. If you want to search for an exact phrase put quotes around it or else any post with any matching word will be included in the results.


Cheers
Mike


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## p_imbeault (4 Jan 2006)

I also get the same error, although it only seems to be when I search with the Search Bar that is up when your reading a post, so when I search using that bar I will get the error, but when I re-enter my query into the new search box, that appears on the "Try you search again" it will work. I hope that helps  ???


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## Mike Bobbitt (4 Jan 2006)

Ah, there's another key element here...

Search is context sensitive. That is, when you use the search bar when reading a message, it will only search that message. (Try entering 'question' in the bar above.) When you search using the search bar in a forum, it will search only posts in that board, not the entire site.

I've also made a change to the search engine which should help.


Cheers
Mike


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## p_imbeault (4 Jan 2006)

Thanks Mr. Bobbit, I wasn't aware of the top search bar was used for searching the specific post. I see that it now shows the Forum Section you are searching in.
Regards,


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## GAP (4 Dec 2006)

The search function here causes me no end of grief....I must not be doing something right...

Everytime I do a search, I get 22,000 hits for the, and, it, is, etc. etc.. So I single out one word that should limit it (this is on advanced search) to one word....and I get zip repeatedly. I have myself convinced that I am not a stupid man  (no I am  NOT female!  ;D), but I am getting to the point where I avoid using search. 

Suggestions are welcome.


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## Mithras (4 Dec 2006)

When doing searches in general you should never use words like "and", "the", "is".  Stick to the key words.  For instance if you wanted to do a search for Canadian Leopards in Afghanistan you should just use the words "Afghanistan", "Leopards", "Canadian".

The search function used by this software isn't as sophisticated as Googles or any of the other major search engines so I tend to use as few words as possible.


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## 241 (4 Dec 2006)

Some search programs will also search specificaly for what you type if you put it in quotation marks ie: "How to use Search function effectively", pretty sure it works on here as well


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## warspite (4 Dec 2006)

Also being selective where you search from can help....
i.e. If you search from the Radio Chatter Forum you will only get hits that are in the Radio Chatter Forum


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## Mike Bobbitt (4 Dec 2006)

GAP, if you want to drop an example maybe we can help "optimize" it for you. Searching shouldn't be rocket science, but there are some definite tricks to it.


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## GAP (4 Dec 2006)

Ok, I wanted to do a search for the "Put Leopards in Afghanistan stuff HERE " (approx-couldn't remember the exact title, but knew it contained Leo or Leopard).

When I did a search under leo or under leopard...I got no hits on the thread, but because it has been posted to today, it comes up now. 

Edited to add: I then went to advance search, selected 5 days (I knew it had been posted to within the last 2 days)....still nothing. 

It came up on the Recent Topics Menu, so I got to it that way.


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## Pearson (4 Dec 2006)

Always open home page in a new window to search.

For "leopard stuff" I get two pages of hits from the home page.

For "Put Leopards in Afghanistan stuff HERE" I get 1 page

Using the thread title on any page other than the sub-forum that it is on will yield bupkiss,
(not to be confused with pupkiss...that little smear you dog's nose leaves on the car window), unless it is the home page.

edit to remove link as it shows nothing when opened.
http://forums.army.ca/forums/index.php?action=search2


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## Mithras (4 Dec 2006)

Hey GAP, I used the following to search for the topic you needed - Leopards Afghanistan Stuff Here, and it showed up first.

I see someone beat me to it, anyways the trick is to remove the small words, anything =< 3 letters is probably a good rule.


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## McG (4 Dec 2006)

Google search of Army.ca - http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=+site%3Aarmy.ca+%22search+term%22&btnG=Search&meta= 
(follow the link then replace "search term" with what you are looking for)

Your specific search would be: http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=+site%3Aarmy.ca+Leopard+Afghanistan&meta=


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## Donut (20 Mar 2007)

Any way to improve the search function on here?  I've seen people post the thread to get a site-specific google search, which always seems to work when I can remember how it's done.

I've done several, through advanced search or forum specific, and then had Mods (rightly) merge the thread into an existing (but unfound) thread?

Is it just me, or could this be improved?

DF


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## p_imbeault (20 Mar 2007)

I've found this to be a problem for me sometimes. When you are browsing say the military history thread, and you do a search for say "2007 budget" you will not bring up any results because the search only pertains to the Military History threads. If you want to search all the threads at once you need to be at the main menu. I hope this helps, its something I've blundered myself more then a couple times.


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## Donut (20 Mar 2007)

Even from the main menu, or the Advanced Search page, I seem to get no replies, even when I know the subject is out there, I'm just not sure which forum (fora?) it's in.


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## George Wallace (20 Mar 2007)

This is also a reason we so often harp on correct Spelling and Grammar.  So that people doing a SEARCH will be able to find what they are looking for.  Now people also have to try to figure out how someone else may have spelled words wrong, when doing their search.


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## 3rd Herd (20 Mar 2007)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> This is also a reason we so often harp on correct Spelling and Grammar.  So that people doing a SEARCH will be able to find what they are looking for.  Now people also have to try to figure out how someone else may have spelled words wrong, when doing their search.



I have to agree with George here big time. But you can also learn to search "out of the box". Not all search engines are efficient as Google, try using the DND search engine to search out something from 1920 for a real ride in misery. To many have either forgotten how to look for information or have never been taught in this age of a couple of key strokes.


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## Yrys (20 Mar 2007)

Somebody made a post asking for information a few days ago about the
_Canadain_ army. A mod answer with the rainbow post, and said that he could
also tried search, but doubt that he would have much luck with it.

I've tried _Canadain_, there is 5 pages    !

Édith : http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/58816.0.html


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## Mike Baker (20 Mar 2007)

Yrys said:
			
		

> I've tried _Canadain_, there is 5 pages    !


That is sad. +1 for George.


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## Mike Bobbitt (20 Mar 2007)

Yrys, to be fair, a good search ("life in the forces" or "life as a recruit") would likely yield more manageable results. 

The search function overall can be improved, in fact there are features built in to the software to raise it's accuracy. The problem is that requires us to build (and maintain) an index of all searchable terms, and that takes a lot of horsepower. We used to have an index, but it simply grew too large, causing the odd site problem.

I'm going to soon gear up a project to get us on completely new hardware, and that increased capacity will allow us to enable a few more features, such as search indexes.


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## Mike Baker (20 Mar 2007)

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> I'm going to soon gear up a project to get us on completely new hardware, and that increased capacity will allow us to enable a few more features, such as search indexes.


For those of you who can't tell, that means subscribe and buy swag  ;D


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## warspite (20 Mar 2007)

Personally I've always liked the search function here once I figured out that it only searches a certain part of the forum.


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## brian_k (13 May 2008)

So I was hoping someone could pass on a few tips to help making using 'search' a little bit easier.

ex. 
Perform a seach for married in uniform and I get a bunch of results for the word "in". I then search again without the word "in" and get more unrelated topics. Then I tried military wedding, which gave some relevent results after about 20 unrelated topics.

This was just an example but you can see how it applies to other searches. Is there any way to search more efficiently?


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## Rodahn (13 May 2008)

Try placing the phrase what you are looking for in quotations ie: "married in uniform". That way it searches for the phrase rather than individual words.


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## McG (13 May 2008)

also ensure your search criteria is looking for all the words as opposed to any of the words.


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