Search Instructions
A search on our forum can be slightly difficult because of the model numbering system that S&W uses. A search engine is not normally asked to find a one, two, or three digit number. If you enter
27 into a Google search, you will get
billions of results.
So, our internal search tends to ignore short numbers and two and three letter words. The reason is a two letter word like
to or
as would be found in thousands of posts on different subjects.
In essence, what is designed to help us by being specific enough to ignore Non-specific short words is actually hurting us.
If you follow the
exact instructions below, you will be able to search the forum with what is usually satisfactory results.
How do I search a specific forum or thread?
If you are browsing a forum, you can quickly search for a thread or post within it by clicking on the 'Search this forum' link near the top of the page (it's above the list of threads). You can also search for individual posts within a thread by clicking on the 'Search this Thread' link at the top of any thread view page.
There are FOUR ways to search the whole board:
1. To find YOUR threads or individual posts:
Click
Search\/ in the blue navigation bar at the top of any page. At the bottom of the drop-down menu, you will see:
My Threads
My Posts
2. Google Search-
Click
Search\/ in the blue navigation bar at the top of any page. Use
Search Site / Google at the top of the list, and type in your search words. You do
NOT need to use quotation marks
" X " in the Google search. You
DO need to imagine all the ways a poster might post.
M627, M-627, Model 627, Model-627, M627-0, M 627-0, Model 627-0, and
627 Model of 1989 all refer to the same gun, but may not come up in a generic
Model 627 search. You would need to search each one of those individually. The search will search for your
specific wording.
This form of Google Search is only searching our pages here at
smith-wessonforum.com
3. Internal Search
Another choice is
Search Forums.
To quickly find a thread or post of interest anywhere on the bulletin board, click on the 'Search' link in the navigation bar at the top of most forum pages. Then, type in the keyword or phrase you wish to search for, and select either 'Show Threads' or 'Show Posts' to view the results. By selecting posts, you will be shown only the actual post in which the search word appears.
If searching for a model number,
use quotes, like
"Model 27-2". Note that you can search for threads OR posts by clicking the buttons below the text window. Again, you
DO need to imagine all the ways a poster might post.
"M27-2" and
"Mod27-2" won't come up on a search for
"Model 27-2". While we know they are all the same, they are DIFFERENT words to a computer program.
The
Advanced Search is just that-you will notice that you can search for posts or threads by a specific user, or in a specific forum, or in a specific time frame, or any COMBINATION of these.
4. Tag Search
Halfway down the search menu, you will see
Tag Search. Click it, and you will be presented with a list of tags. IF what you are searching for is in that list,
CLICK it. If it is not in that list, you cannot do a tag search on that item.
The various search functions will work rather well if you will spend a little time experimenting with them, and realize that the program will not read your mind.
You will have to
think for the program, and
think like other posters think to find all results for a subject.