Google-powered PCF search tool

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A new search tool has been added to PCF, which harnesses the power of Google to search the vast wealth of information available on Planet Calypso Forum. This new forum tool employs Google's Custom Search Engine (CSE) technology, which allows members to make use of more detailed parameters in search queries, providing more targeted and useful search results.

Query Examples:
  • "hogglo loot" :: searches only for posts with the exact phrase inside the quotes
  • hogglo OR loot :: searches for posts with either of the terms
  • hogglo -loot :: searches for posts that contain the first term but not the second term
  • hogglo loot :: searches for one or both of the terms anywhere in a post
  • hogglo +loot :: searches only for posts that contain both the first term and the second term, anywhere in the post
  • hogglo * loot :: searches for the first term separated by one or more words from the second term

A link to the Google Custom Search is available just below the normal forum search box on every PCF page.

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Enjoy! :cool:
 
very nice!

Is there any chance you could put the search bar below the other one or just replace the other one with the Google search?

The forum search really sucks, but Google always works well, It would be nice if you didn't have to follow one extra link to access it.

narfi
 
Nice.

Does the Google search based on spidered pages, (the default 10 posts/page) or do they actually log via RSS feeds or something? That will alter what it'll find if the verbiage in 10 posts + poster details are combined to form the search base.

Though either way, it'll definitely help certain searches. :)
 
The forum search really sucks

I disagree, but then I most often use the advanced search. (And for various reasons I do a LOT of searching) Searching for "hogglo" simply wouldn't cut it to find a specific post with either reg. forum search or Google, unless I narrow down via poster, location, etc.
 
very nice!

Is there any chance you could put the search bar below the other one...

There is no easy way to fit in another search box without disrupting the existing forum layout.

or just replace the other one with the Google search?

The internal forum search is still needed, since it allows for searches of thread/posts by specific members, or within specific forums (neither of which is possible via the Google search tool).

I am usually reluctant to make modifications that directly interfere with or replace important and basic forum elements. It is usually better to use addons and modifications that extend and complement the base forum functionality, rather than replace it.

The internal forum search tool is one such element. As I explained above, the internal vBulletin search is still very important and useful, since it is able to query the forum database directly, and allows one to perform very detailed searches on specific members, within specific forums, and within blogs, member profiles, social groups, CMS articles, etc. The one area where the internal search is weak is with queries that contain multiple keywords, which is where Google's CSE excels, since it allows for more advanced query syntax (as described in the opening post).

Depending on the type of information you are looking for, each search tool has its relative benefits.
 
Nice.

Does the Google search based on spidered pages, (the default 10 posts/page) or do they actually log via RSS feeds or something? That will alter what it'll find if the verbiage in 10 posts + poster details are combined to form the search base.

Though either way, it'll definitely help certain searches. :)

Google does not have direct access to any content in the forum database, nor is there any kind of special syndication feed for search engine spiders (other than the usual XML sitemap that facilitates search engine indexing).

All results provided by the Google Custom Search tool come from Google's own index of forum pages (URLs) that Googlebot has spidered.
 
There is no easy way to fit in another search box without disrupting the existing forum layout.



The internal forum search is still needed, since it allows for searches of thread/posts by specific members, or within specific forums (neither of which is possible via the Google search tool).

A check box next to the forum search button that allows the user to choose to use the Google search instead? If the check box is active, it could take the text entered in the forum search box and reroute it through the Google search box, right?
 
A check box next to the forum search button that allows the user to choose to use the Google search instead? If the check box is active, it could take the text entered in the forum search box and reroute it through the Google search box, right?

Based on the way HTML forms work, the functionality you describe could only be accomplished with some tricky javascript (which might not work as intended on all browsers).
 
Based on the way HTML forms work, the functionality you describe could only be accomplished with some tricky javascript (which might not work as intended on all browsers).

Fair enough, and then the error message could be "please try a different Web browser." :laugh:

Hmm, at the risk of sounding retarded, couldn't Ajax or Aspx (forget which it is that is used to send data back to the server without refreshing the page) simply be used to toggle between the forum search box and the Google search box before the Search button is clicked?
 
great adition to the forum :thumbup:
 
Hmm, at the risk of sounding retarded, couldn't Ajax or Aspx (forget which it is that is used to send data back to the server without refreshing the page) simply be used to toggle between the forum search box and the Google search box before the Search button is clicked?

Neither AJAX or ASP would be well suited for achieving the functionality you describe. ASP is a scripting language that is primarily used in Windows hosting environments; PCF is coded in PHP and is hosted on Linux. AJAX is not really used to manipulate HTML forms, but rather for allowing queries to be made to the server without the need for full page refreshes or additional page loads (for example when paginating through a large number of search results).

A checkbox that uses javascript to dynamically change the target of the form (and the various hidden fields required for each of the target scripts) could be employed, like so:

  • checkbox unchecked - form is submitted to the internal forum search script
  • checkbox checked - form is submitted to the Google-powered search script

However, as I mentioned above, my standard policy is to avoid modifying basic elements of the forum interface, since they are such integral and familiar pieces of the website interface and many users are resistant to changes made to the fundamentals. Also, updates to the forum software will often break customizations of this sort, resulting in lots more work when maintenance is performed.

Overall, I don't think it's too much of an inconvenience to click the current text-link shortcut, and then simply perform the desired search on the dedicated Google Custom Search page.
 
A check box next to the forum search button that allows the user to choose to use the Google search instead? If the check box is active, it could take the text entered in the forum search box and reroute it through the Google search box, right?

Easy as pie... 2 mins of work for an underpaid russian script kiddie.

{removed}

Fair enough, and then the error message could be "please try a different Web browser." :laugh:

As i said above already, every modern browser supports enough javascript to achieve this.


Hmm, at the risk of sounding retarded, couldn't Ajax or Aspx (forget which it is that is used to send data back to the server without refreshing the page) simply be used to toggle between the forum search box and the Google search box before the Search button is clicked?

It's AJAX, but it's not needed here, a bit of javascript is all you need (dynamic html was available out there long before EU or vBulletin were invented...)
 
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Overall, I don't think it's too much of an inconvenience to click the current text-link shortcut, and then simply perform the desired search on the dedicated Google Custom Search page.

Very true. I hadn't actually tried the text link until now. It's just as simple as a checkbox anyhow :)
 
Easy as pie... 2 mins of work for an underpaid russian script kiddie.

I never said it was difficult to implement, nor that I was incapable of implementing it.
I simply said that I do not believe that it would be desirable to implement such a feature on PCF.

{removed}

Maybe the worst bullshit i've heard this year - there is nothing "tricky" and every modern browser supports enough javascript to achieve this.

Where did I say that modern browsers would not support 'enough javascript to achieve this' ?

I said 'all browsers' not 'modern browsers' or 'major browsers'.

My point was that members use a wide variety of devices to browse PCF (for example, many different types of mobile devices), not just the major browsers such as Firefox, IE and Chrome. Thus, it makes sense to use javascript sparingly and only where really necessary, and to avoid using it within areas of basic forum functionality (such as the default search box), so that important forum features work properly on as wide a range of devices and browser flavors as possible.

It's AJAX, but it's not needed here, a bit of javascript is all you need

Uhm {removed} a dynamic multi-target form field would use javascript, not AJAX. There is no callback to the server required, so how exactly would it be AJAX, as you claim?

{removed}
 
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Excellent

You are my hero 711!!!! :yup:

With this new feature, I could find in 5 sec that "Thorifoid Camp" was not the right term but "Thorifoid Temple" was.
(I was looking for these both words in previous search and could not find anything consistent.)

That's really great, thanks a lot!

:yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:



(You must spread blablabla, feel free to unlock a Rep from me to you.)
 
very very nice new feature....

But 1 small problem, it would be better that the search results we got back was date and time organized, so that the newest was first, and if you search for a specific post with image for example, that still gets priority over the rest of the date and time organized search results if that makes any sense :)

but nice job :)

RJ Rob
 
Dont worry I'll self edit since I see all the other posts are removed.
 
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