minniemex
6th February 2008, 08:37 AM
Search Function 101
Ok, I plagiarzed this from the Playa Info board - seemed a quicker way to do it than to do it all over again - so just remember your search will show "Tulum Info" and not "Playa Info" At some later time, I may work on changing it but decided to get this up and running.....
First...the legal mumbo jumbo that we all read when we signed up for this puppy.
Quote:
Terms of Use
If you have a common question like:
Should I use pesos or dollars?
Are my old pesos worth anything?
Can you help with car rental info?
Best options on airport ground transportation?
Any advice on Hotel so and so?
What's the weather like?
Can I get internet access in Playa?
Advice on snorkel equipment...?
Do I need a passport?
Can I drink the water?try a search first. If you don't find a related thread that is helpful, by all means start a new post! If the related thread is a bit old, you might also want to start a new post if you have follow-up questions. The link to make a search is on the top right. Make sure and read the options for the search function. You can search for multiple words and specific phrases.
There are good ways and bad ways to perform a search.
Most of us have probably used the bad way and have become frustrated with the whole process and many have become equally frustrated with those of us who suggest using the search function.
Well, we do tell people to search because it can be a great tool if used properly. It doesn’t always get the results we want but it’s worth trying - if tried correctly.
Okay, for starters...
I want to know about pesos. Should I use pesos or US dollars in Playa? Or can I use my old pesos? We’ll just narrow the question down to “pesos” and go from there.
First. Know where to begin:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/searchbarcopy1.jpg
Now if we click the Search “button” and type in “pesos”...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/searchpesoscopy1.jpg
...the frustration can begin. This will give us hundreds of hits (it tops out at 500) and the hits appear to be of little use to us:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/searchresultscopy1.jpg
So...we won’t do it that way.
Click on Advanced Search:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/AdvancedSearchcopy3.jpg
...and we are on the Advanced Search screen:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/AdvancedScreencopy3.jpg
...go to to the upper left and under Key Word(s), type in “pesos”:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/Keyword1.jpg
...below this will be a drop-down menu - choose Search Titles Only:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/SearchTitles2.jpg
From this point you are good to go, but there is one last step that is open to discussion.
In the lower left is the option to choose Show Results as Posts or Threads.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/ShowResults1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/searchbutton.jpg
Try both. This is the kind of result you can expect:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/threadresultscopy1.jpg
In this case, choosing Threads returned 72 hits while choosing Posts returned 97 hits. Both are much better than the 500+ from the general search.
Now, a few words about thread subjects which is nothing more than the title of the first post of a thread. This title is a key to creating a good search database. If the subject of your thread is “Questions” or “Help Me”, and your questions relate to pesos...well...this thread or post will not be returned in future searches (about pesos) - and there might just be great answers in that thread. So...be descriptive when naming your threads.
__________________
Ok, I plagiarzed this from the Playa Info board - seemed a quicker way to do it than to do it all over again - so just remember your search will show "Tulum Info" and not "Playa Info" At some later time, I may work on changing it but decided to get this up and running.....
First...the legal mumbo jumbo that we all read when we signed up for this puppy.
Quote:
Terms of Use
If you have a common question like:
Should I use pesos or dollars?
Are my old pesos worth anything?
Can you help with car rental info?
Best options on airport ground transportation?
Any advice on Hotel so and so?
What's the weather like?
Can I get internet access in Playa?
Advice on snorkel equipment...?
Do I need a passport?
Can I drink the water?try a search first. If you don't find a related thread that is helpful, by all means start a new post! If the related thread is a bit old, you might also want to start a new post if you have follow-up questions. The link to make a search is on the top right. Make sure and read the options for the search function. You can search for multiple words and specific phrases.
There are good ways and bad ways to perform a search.
Most of us have probably used the bad way and have become frustrated with the whole process and many have become equally frustrated with those of us who suggest using the search function.
Well, we do tell people to search because it can be a great tool if used properly. It doesn’t always get the results we want but it’s worth trying - if tried correctly.
Okay, for starters...
I want to know about pesos. Should I use pesos or US dollars in Playa? Or can I use my old pesos? We’ll just narrow the question down to “pesos” and go from there.
First. Know where to begin:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/searchbarcopy1.jpg
Now if we click the Search “button” and type in “pesos”...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/searchpesoscopy1.jpg
...the frustration can begin. This will give us hundreds of hits (it tops out at 500) and the hits appear to be of little use to us:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/searchresultscopy1.jpg
So...we won’t do it that way.
Click on Advanced Search:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/AdvancedSearchcopy3.jpg
...and we are on the Advanced Search screen:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/AdvancedScreencopy3.jpg
...go to to the upper left and under Key Word(s), type in “pesos”:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/Keyword1.jpg
...below this will be a drop-down menu - choose Search Titles Only:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/SearchTitles2.jpg
From this point you are good to go, but there is one last step that is open to discussion.
In the lower left is the option to choose Show Results as Posts or Threads.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/ShowResults1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/searchbutton.jpg
Try both. This is the kind of result you can expect:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v666/recole/Search/threadresultscopy1.jpg
In this case, choosing Threads returned 72 hits while choosing Posts returned 97 hits. Both are much better than the 500+ from the general search.
Now, a few words about thread subjects which is nothing more than the title of the first post of a thread. This title is a key to creating a good search database. If the subject of your thread is “Questions” or “Help Me”, and your questions relate to pesos...well...this thread or post will not be returned in future searches (about pesos) - and there might just be great answers in that thread. So...be descriptive when naming your threads.
__________________