This guide covers our old ProBoards v4 software. Click here for the ProBoards v5 Help Guide.
A key defining feature of online forums is the volumes of topic specific information made available by experts and enthusiasts. Here we'll explain how to locate information, threads or posts, using keywords and the powerful ProBoards forum search tool.
To begin a search, click the search button in the top navigation bar found on every page of the discussion forum. This will take you to the search page where you can define and target your search. On the search page, you'll be presented with the following options:
Search For: This is where you'll type in keywords that may exist in message board threads or posts. You can specify whether to match all words, some words, or exact phrase by using the drop-down menu to the right of the keywords box. By default, the option is set to Match all words.
More Options: This allows you to narrow your search by who made the post or, who posted in the thread you're searching. The default is set to Search all posts but can be changed to:
Search posts made by staff: This will only return search results for posts made by staff members of the discussion forum.
Search posts made by members: This will only return search results for posts made by a registered member of the discussion forum.
Search posts made by guests: This only returns results for posts made by forum guests.
Search posts made by: This only returns results for posts made by a specific member. Specify which member by typing their username in the box to the right of the drop-down menu.
Search for threads posted in by: This will only return results for threads posted in by a specific member you specify by typing their username in the provided box.
Boards to Search: This section will provide you with a list of all the boards you currently have access to. To narrow the results, check the boxes next to the boards you'd like to search. By default, all boards will be selected for you.
Search in: Here you're provided with two search options: Subject and Message. Check the Subject box if you want to search the subject of a thread for your keywords. To search the contents of a message board post, check the Message box. Both boxes are checked by default.
Posted within the last: This allows you to search within a specific time frame. By default, the search will cover the last 7 days but you can change the number of days to narrow the results to help find the content you are looking for.
Maximum Results: Allows you to specify a limit on the number of search results you receive back. By default, the limit is set to 10.
View results as: Provides you with two options to view search results: With posts (expanded), results will display expanded individual posts containing the terms you defined. With threads (collapsed), you'll receive a list of message board topics containing the keywords you're searching for.
ProBoards search tools also allow for more localized keyword searches that are useful when you're navigating within boards and threads on the discussion forum.
Search in a Board
You can search for specific information inside boards using the Search button on thread listing pages. First, choose a board of interest from the forums main page and click into it. Next, click the search button in the header or footer bar of the thread listings. Once clicked, the board search window will appear. Your search options are:
Search For: This is where you'll type the keyword(s) you're searching for.
Search in: By selecting the Subject and / or Message options, you can search for your keywords in the subject line of the post, the message body of the post, or both.
Number of Results: This limits the number of search results returned and can be set from 1 to 1,000.
Once the search options are set, click Search and you'll receive results for any posts that contain your keywords.
Search in a Thread
You can also search for information inside specific threads using the Search button found in the top and bottom left corner of post listings within a thread. When you click the search button, the Search Thread window will appear with the following search options:
Search For: Type the keywords you're searching for in this box.
Search in: By checking the Subject and/or Message options, you can search for your keywords in the subject line of the post, the message body of the post or, both.
Number of Results: This limits the number of search results returned and can be set from 1 to 1,000.
Once the search options are set, click Search and you'll receive results for any posts in the searched thread that contain your keywords.