Important:
File
content of text-based file types will only be searchable if file indexing
has been enabled for the site.CommunityZero®Help
Keyword searches can be conducted with ease across all communities through a single search interface. The full search capabilities can be accessed through the search button available in the Content Search section located on the main My Communities page. An advanced keyword search form is also included in this section, click on the "Advanced Search" link to access this form.
The search function offers a single interface to search across all content types stored in any community. Supported content types include:
|
|
Most searches will be conducted by matching user-inputted keywords. Multiple keywords and search phrases can be used together to refine or broaden a single search. Users can select whether "all" or "any" of the specified keyword/phrases should be included in a content item to be considered a match. The following table illustrates this keyword search flexibility:
|
User Input |
Actual Search Conducted |
|
|
Option: "Any" keyword |
Option: "All" keywords | |
|
red bicycle racing |
"red" or "bicycle" or "racing" |
"red" and "bicycle" and "racing" |
|
"red bicycle" racing |
"red bicycle" or racing |
"red bicycle" and racing |
Important:
File
content of text-based file types will only be searchable if file indexing
has been enabled for the site.
If file indexing has been enabled by administration, the text-based
content of certain files such as MS Word documents, MS Excel spreadsheets,
and text files may be searched for as well. Text-based
file content is searched by using the same procedures listed in the above
table. If
a text-based file contains the criteria entered into the search dialog
box, it will be presented in the list of results. In
the search results portion of the pop-up window, files that have been
indexed will have a preview option. If
you wish to view an HTML preview of the file, select the preview icon
to the left of the file's name. For
further information, see the section on file
previewing.
Any series of words that should appear together should be quoted to form a search phrase. In the second example above, a content item will have to contain "red bicycle" to be a match.
Do not type "and" or "or" into the keyword box unless you wish to search on those words.
All searches are case insensitive, therefore, a search for "Apple" and a search for "apple" will produce the same results.
Learn and use the advanced search options discussed below. Using these options to refine your search can save you time - shorter search times and fewer search results to review.
All searches can be refined through various additional criteria in addition to, or instead of, specifying keywords. The additional search criteria are listed below with a brief explanation on their usage.
To access all available search features, select the "Show more search options" link to expand the options list.
Updated Date Range
To search for content items based on their updated date, you mush first
check off one or both date filters. The
"After" date filter allows you to find items that have been
updated after the specified date. The
default is 1 year ago. The
date is not inclusive. The
"Before" date filter allows you to find items that were updated
prior to the specified date. The
default date is tomorrow. The date is not inclusive. Click
the calendar icon to quickly select a date using a calendar interface.
My Communities
Multiple communities may be searched simultaneously. By default, All My Communities are selected. Hold the control-key to make multiple selections.
Tools
Multiple content types may be searched simultaneously. By
default, all tools and content types are selected. When the Search button
is selected within a specific tool, the search is specific to the tool
content types (tool section box does not appear). If
the tool selection box does not appear, a link labeled "Select Tools"
will appear below the tool-specific selection box.
Stars of Excellence
All content items can be marked with a level of approval by content moderators,
administrators, or founders. These approval levels appear as one to three
"stars of excellence". Searches
can be refined to include content that has a minimum approval. For
example, if "two stars +" is
selected, it means any content item with less than two stars will not
be permitted to appear as a search result.
Content Ratings
Important:
This search option will only appear if content ratings have been enabled
by administrators at the site level.
Content items, which support User Content Ratings,
can be evaluated by community members and assigned a rating from 1 to
10. A value
of 10 indicates highly rated content, whereas a value of 1 indicates poor
quality content.
Searches can be refined to show only content that has been rated. Select
a "Minimum average rating" to return content items with at least
the selected average value. To
return content items rated by at least a certain number of members, enter
a value for "Minimum number of ratings" (the community default
will be suggested).
Include folders
By default all content including folders is included in a search result.
Users conducting searches can choose to exclude folders from their search
results by de-selecting the option "Include folders".
Include items from archived folders
Tool folders can be set as an archive folder. Content found in archived
folders are accessible but do not appear on the What's New page, in the
"Most Recent" listings or in automatic e-mail updates. These
items can be excluded from a search by de-selecting the option "Include
items from archived folders".
Include unmoderated content
All content posted by community members is not considered approved unless
it is explicitly approved by a moderator, administrator or founder. Once
approved or "moderated" a green check mark appears on the content's
detail screen (next to the stars of excellence). If
it is not yet approved, the check mark appears gray in color. When
full content moderation
enabled on a tool by administrators, unmoderated content items are hidden
from members until they are approved. When
content is not set to be hidden prior to approval, users conducting searches
can include or exclude unmoderated items in their search results by de-selecting
the option, "Include unmoderated content".
Include previous versions
By default only the most recent version of a revised content item will
be included in a search result - past versions are not displayed, unless
specifically indicated. To
include previous
versions of content select this option and the following information will
be included in the search results: "ex: 2 search results also found
in older versions of this content item, "View
list". Select
the view list link to display all versions of the content item in the
search results.
Posted by
Search results can be filtered to include only content owned by a specific
member belonging to one or more communities. To
search for content owned by a single member, enter the member's full user
name in the "Posted by" field. To
find a member's user name, refer to the community Member
List.
The presentation of search results can also be customized. The following two options also appear on the search form:
Show in Results
Search results can be made to include various additional information beyond
the name of the matching content item.
User Name: user name of content owner.
Date and Time: updated date and time value associated with an item.
Description: additional description associated to a content item (if provided by the content author).
Location: Folder or special category where the content item is located within its tool area.
Sort Order
Search results are sorted by "Last Updated date (descending)"
by default. This
means the most recently added or updated items will appear first. The
sort order can also be modified to be ascending/descending by date posted
or alphabetical.
If content ratings have been enabled by administrators, the option will
be provided to sort by highest or lowest average user rating. If
one of these sort options is applied, items that have not met the minimum
number of member ratings will appear at then end of the sort. These
items will be sorted together by "Last Updated (descending)".
If a view count sort option has
been selected, view counts for each content item will be displayed in
the search results, otherwise these values will be hidden. For
a complete description of each view count sort option, see the section
on view count intervals.
Note:
If the "Display
of Content View Counts" has been disabled, sorting based upon
these values will still continue, however view counts will be removed
from all locations of the community.
A search interface can also be accessed in the following areas of each online community:
Navigation Bar: A "Search" option appears in the main left-hand navigation bar at the bottom of the page. It will appear below the current "Explorer" option. Clicking the Search navigation option will open the search interface as a pop-up window. This option can be disabled by Founders and Administrators from within the Tool Configuration screen (community administration area).
What's New: A boxed area will appear on the top right-hand side of the What's New page. It offers users a simple version of the search form. Submitting the search form will open the search interface as a pop-up window. If no keyword criteria is specified, the search will return a list of the most recently updated content items across all content areas.
Explorer: The Explorer interface, which permits rapid tool and folder navigation, includes a toggle button to view the search interface using the same floating window. The search interface offers a toggle button to return to the Explorer interface. This helps to minimize the number of additional "pop-up" or floating windows required.
Community Tools: Within each tool area a Search button appears which will open the search interface as a pop-up window. The current tool will be pre-selected. If the search button is selected while viewing a specific folder, the folder and its sub-folders will be pre-selected in the search form as well. During a tool-specific search, an option will appear on the search form to "Select Tools" - click this option if you wish to search across multiple or different content types.