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How Do I Search on Two Words
https://computerhaven.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1419		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  bbarry [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 2:58 pm ]
Post subject:  How Do I Search on Two Words
I want to do a search on two words together. For example, I want to search on 'wireless keyboard'. I don't want to see the postings that contain one or the other words. I want to see only those postings that show both words together.

How do I do that? Thanks in advance........
Author:  MacDuffie [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 4:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Do I Search on Two Words
Search for "wireless keyboard" in quotes. This is the best you can do. You will get some hits for wireless, but you will also get hits on things like "wireless mouse and keyboard" which, in fact, you would want to see results for. In these forums, this search only gives 41 results, several are in the same post, so it really isn't difficult to find what you are looking for.

What you are really trying to do is an old Boolean Search, and frankly, I don't know of any search engine available today that does Boolean Search. :( Wish I did.

This is primarily what I mean when I say that Google first improved Search, and then destroyed it. Everyone pretty much follows Google.
Author:  Doddie [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 5:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Do I Search on Two Words
Assuming you're talking about Google etc and not the CH Forum search function... I know its not ideal but click on the "Settings" link at the bottom of the Google homepage then "Advanced Search" from the popup list, that likely has what you're looking for.
Author:  bbarry [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 6:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Do I Search on Two Words
@Patty - I had already tried that. For example, when I entered "virtual desktop", here are the results I got on Computer Haven:
Search found 258 matches. Search term used: "virtual desktop" ignored: desktop.
The 258 matches were spread over 11 pages.

Oddly, if I entered just "desktop" (with or without quotes), then here are the results I got:
The following words in your search query were ignored because they are too common words: desktop. You must specify at least one word to search for. Each word must consist of at least 3 characters and must not contain more than 14 characters excluding wildcards.
I don't know who gets to decide on whether a word is too common? Just asking.........

@Doddie - No, I was talking about the CH Forum. Sorry for the confusion.
Author:  jaylach [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 6:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Do I Search on Two Words
The CH search is very basic without that many options.

As to what is common I BELIEVE that it looks at the word index and uses a threshold point as to how many posts can contain that word before it becomes common. Thinking about it I would imagine if it fulfilled the search for desktop you would literally get hundreds if not a thousand or more hits considering that this is a computer forum and there are 14,462 posts once I send this one.

Now there ARE ways around some of this. Patty is correct that putting a phrase in quotes is the norm but I don't see it in the CH software. The CH software seems to use the plus sign instead. I haven't really messed with the search function much but here is how it seems.

I do the following search and get WAAY too many hits to deal with:
word1 word2 word3 word4
So I change the search to:
+word1 +word2 +word3 +word4
In theory the plus sign means that the word MUST be found. In this case all four of our words must be found but it may well be that they are not sequential. We execute our search and still have way too many results due to an associated word that seems to also be common to our search but not what we want. We will call this 'word5'. Here is the new search:
+word1 +word2 +word3 +word4 -word5
The minus sign denotes that the word must NOT be found. Suddenly the results are workable... I haven't played with this a lot but it is how the search is supposed to work.
Author:  MacDuffie [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 6:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Do I Search on Two Words
I searched for virtual+desktop. The first result was the only result that had "virtual desktop" as a phrase. Everything after that had one or the other, or both words in the same post, but not together as a phrase. So the way that the search results are returned pretty much gives you what you want. It doesn't look like there were any posts on virtual desktops.
Author:  jaylach [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 6:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Do I Search on Two Words
Sadly it seems that the plus sign will not over ride a situation where a word has been declared as 'common'.

This, I believe, is actually a safety feature within the software. Of course the software has to be on a server and in almost all cases that server is going to be owned by a hosting company. All hosting companies put limits on usage in one way or another. Such limits include things such as how much CPU time you can use and how much physical memory on the server can be used.

Now let's say that we enter a search of 'the'. It meets the three letter minimum for a search word but would be denied as a common word. If this were not the case the search would shut down the site due to exceeding the physical memory allotment on the server.
Author:  bbarry [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 8:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Do I Search on Two Words
OK, I am going to give up on the search capability of CH and ask my question directly.

Is anyone using the virtual desktop capability of Win 10? If so, how do you use it? I know how to set them up, but I am trying to understand the advantage of having multiple desktops over simply having multiple task views using one desktop.

Thanks in advance........
Author:  bbarry [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 9:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Do I Search on Two Words
jaylach wrote:
Now let's say that we enter a search of 'the'. It meets the three letter minimum for a search word but would be denied as a common word. If this were not the case the search would shut down the site due to exceeding the physical memory allotment on the server.

Jay, I understand what you are saying. But couldn't the hosting company server put a limit on the number of hits or finds, thereby controlling the memory allotment for that search? Patty hints at a limit of 41 on CH.

For example, on CH the word 'desktop' is deemed to be too common. To me that is ludicrous for a computer forum, especially one that caters to novices. Don't misunderstand, I'm not really criticizing CH, but only the hosting company we use. :dunno:
Author:  jaylach [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 9:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Do I Search on Two Words
I have not played with the virtual desktop aspect of Windows 10 as of yet but have a basic understanding of what it does. I'm not surprised that your search attempts failed as this topic has not been touched.

By default your desktop is your desktop and is what it is. With virtual desktops you can change this. Let's say that you use your system for three different purposes; A business, playing media and you have a band. You could set up three totally different desktops, one for each aspect.
Author:  jaylach [ Sat Aug 13, 2016 9:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: How Do I Search on Two Words
bbarry wrote:
jaylach wrote:
Now let's say that we enter a search of 'the'. It meets the three letter minimum for a search word but would be denied as a common word. If this were not the case the search would shut down the site due to exceeding the physical memory allotment on the server.

Jay, I understand what you are saying. But couldn't the hosting company server put a limit on the number of hits or finds, thereby controlling the memory allotment for that search? Patty hints at a limit of 41 on CH.

For example, on CH the word 'desktop' is deemed to be too common. To me that is ludicrous for a computer forum, especially one that caters to novices. Don't misunderstand, I'm not really criticizing CH, but only the hosting company we use. :dunno:

Sorry but the hosting can't really do what you suggest. Such queries as a search are controlled by the site software not the hosting. It is not the job of the hosting to do anything but to provide resources to allow a site to run while, at the same time, setting restrictions to where one site cannot interfere with another site on the same server.

Could all the above be overcome? Absolutely it could but it's not going to happen. The solution would be for me to run a server. The initial 'fund raiser' for that would be in the area of $1500.00. Then there would be the annual fund raisers of, I'm guessing, to pay for the business level internet access to be able to handle bandwidth of around $1000.00.

Oh, we have to add another $500.00 as a minimum for a programmer to re-write the entire search engine for the forum software. Such code changes are WAY over my head.
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