How To Use Search and Navigate Threads

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Tips and tricks for finding posts and navigating threads

Search Engine Tips

If you search for --> air vents the results list will include all posts with air or vent in the text.

If you search for "air vents" (with quotes) the result will show all posts with the exact phrase between the quotes

If you search for +air +vents the result will show all posts with those words somewhere in the post.

If you search for +vents the result will only show posts with vents plural. If you search for +vent the list will have singular and plural. If you want a word but not all the references that are part of another word look for a pattern that fits your goal. "air " (with the space) will return air but exclude airplane, aircraft, airman, airshow, etc.

The "+" option can be very handy because you can zero in with very specific words. You can also use "-" to suppress words.

The time window is very important. The maximum is 5 years and returning 200 posts. Sometimes you may need to run a search "in the last 5 years" and "older than 5 years". If there are too many posts in the results either narrow the time window "between x and x" or narrow your search term to produce less results.

Be creative since a hit on a single post will often lead you to the entire thread.

+vent +rear +sporty

Will likely bring up less posts but get you into the threads of interest.

Sometimes you have to be creative and try multiple variations. It is not a "smart" search engine. More like a simple pattern matching engine with date ranges.

All the options can be combined

+"air " -work vent

must have air with space AND can't have work or can have vent as long as "air " and no "work" is somewhere in the post.

Navigation Tips

Is there a way to get to a specific post by number in a LOOOOONG thread? For example, JOKES has >500 posts. If I want to go to post #75, is there a faster way to do it than having to scroll through 2 pages at a time

If you go to the tread/topic listing and right-click on a page number you can select copy shortcut. Then past it into the URL and modify the "fpart=" to the page number within the thread where you wish to land. In this example I right clicked the page 3 number below the thread and then change the 3 to 26 before hitting the Enter key. When I hit enter I go directly to page 26. I can then click the URL and edit the "fpart=" number to jump to another page.

You can also click on the page "3" number and then go to the URL line and edit the "fpart=" entry.

Code:

http://www.cessna-pilots.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=542&page=1&fpart=3