EPTSo now the search is back and functions mostly like it did before. There are some small new visual and functional enhancements too though, so I'll just go ahead and explain how it all works.
Using the side search bar will default to searching the content of each post, in all forums. For more options, click the Search heading graphic of the side menu (or just click More options). From there you will be able to select for searching content only, topic title only, or run both searches at the same time. There's a menu which lets you limit your search to a certain forum. You can also enter a username, which will only bring back results from users who's names contain what you entered. Of course all of these options can be used simultaneously to return the desired results.
A couple caveats about word length: it will only return results for words that are 4 characters or more. Searching for did boxer win will bring back the same results as if you had only searched for boxer. Similarly, when entering a username, it will only work if you've entered 3 or more characters. When searching with Title Only, if you enter a username, it will return matches for topics where that user started the thread. You can also search for exact phrases by "putting your search in double quotes", and you can use any combination of quotes and words.
If you've searched in All Forums, results will be displayed grouped by forum. The forum name headings will be dispersed among the results to indicate which forum the below results are located in. There is a link to the topic title, as well as direct links to the specific posts in the thread that matched your search query. If you included part of a username, before the results will show "Matching names" with a little show/hide toggle link. Click show to display all of the different usernames that matched what you entered. You can click on one of the names to update the username box, then just run the search again to get more specific results.
The number of results on one page is still limited to 100 - but now there are multiple pages, so you can get to every result of the search. Although, it is advisable to try and make your searches as specific as possible, and you'll have less 'searching' through the search results to do. There's also a little "Open links in new window" checkbox on the page too. When you click on a result link, it will normally load in the current window. But if you check that box, the link will open in a new window, leaving all your search results right there. There were some complaints that IE acted strangely when hitting the Back button to go back to your search results. The form itself is different now so that should fix the problem. But if you do have any troubles, just use that checkbox.
Well, I think that about covers it. Any other questions are welcome. Oh, a quick link for using Google to search TL.net is on that side menu too. Hopefully the search stuff won't need to be reworked again for a long time. If it comes to it, just adding more RAM should solve any slowness problems.
Cheers
