How To Search Better - Advanced Search and google (for this site)
 

Searching is mainly easy - almost as you expect - but you can improve your chances in a few ways.

If you know the forum (such as S-Type etc) you can restrict matches to just that forum by using Advanced Search (click on the Search menu near any page top). The list of forums is towards the bottom right of the Advanced Search page.

You can also find posts by a specific forum member via Advanced Search.

Both the forum Search and Advanced Search ignore short words (3 or fewer letters), so either think of longer ones or use this trick: in google search put something like
site:www.jaguarforums.com xxx
where the xxx is what you're looking for.

For example,
site:www.jaguarforums.com oil
may put you off asking which oil to use. Besides, it's in the handbook!

To try to find PDF files use:
site:www.jaguarforums.com pdf (or use PDF, but google ignores case)

(With many sites you can use the above with filetype:pdf but not this site.)

But "Why PDF?", you ask. Because brochures, technical guides and so on are all here as PDFs.

Similarly, to try to find image files (pictures) use:
site:www.jaguarforums.com jpg (or jpeg, but there aren't many)

This kind of thing can get you good results, sometimes:
site:www.jaguarforums.com bluetooth jpg
because google defaults to searching for all the listed terms.

However, that doesn't actually FORCE google to match on both. To do that use a "+" with each term:
site:www.jaguarforums.com +bluetooth +jpg

If you want to match a phrase rather than the separate words of the phrase, include it in quotes like this in google:
site:www.jaguarforums.com "phrase to match"

An example:
site:www.jaguarforums.com "Lincoln LS"

Use a "-" to get rid of unwanted matches:
site:www.jaguarforums.com +hose -PCV

To search for posts about IMT (intake manifold tuning) or VIS (variable intake system), in google use:
site:www.jaguarforums.com IMT OR VIS

If you want to use google in a particular forum, here's a way. I opened the forum in my browser and copied the forum's URL into google search, then added my search term (here, IMT):
site:www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s-type-s-type-r-supercharged-v8-15 IMT

In case you're looking for a DTC (diagnostic trouble code) such as P0123, it helps to know the letter O is not used; use zero!! (And remember to include the starting letter, which will be one of B C P or U.)

Example: if you have codes P0171 and P0174 you could use google with:
site:www.jaguarforums.com P0171 P0174
but they would work just fine in the forum Search or in Advanced Search.

Please comment on the above and add ideas, tips, whatever :)

Very useful thread, you should do sticky this and also post in Jaguar Forums Advice and Feedback Forum so that everyone can benefit from your post :)

I thought it might get useful improvements before that but good idea on the other forum - will do :)

How To Search Better - Advanced Search and google (for this site)
 

Searching is mainly easy - almost as you expect (see this great post https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/j...acility-25219/) - but you can improve your chances in a few ways.

If you know the forum (such as S-Type etc) you can restrict matches to just that forum by using Advanced Search (click on the Search menu near any page top). The list of forums is towards the bottom right of the Advanced Search page.

You can also find posts by a specific forum member via Advanced Search.

Both the forum Search and Advanced Search ignore short words (3 or fewer letters), so either think of longer ones or use this trick: in google search put something like
site:www.jaguarforums.com xxx
where the xxx is what you're looking for.

For example,
site:www.jaguarforums.com oil
may put you off asking which oil to use. Besides, it's in the handbook!

To try to find PDF files use:
site:www.jaguarforums.com pdf (or use PDF, but google ignores case)

(With many sites you can use the above with filetype:pdf but not this site.)

But "Why PDF?", you ask. Because brochures, technical guides and so on are all here as PDFs.

Similarly, to try to find image files (pictures) use:
site:www.jaguarforums.com jpg (or jpeg, but there aren't many)

This kind of thing can get you good results, sometimes:
site:www.jaguarforums.com bluetooth jpg
because google defaults to searching for all the listed terms.

However, that doesn't actually FORCE google to match on both. To do that use a "+" with each term:
site:www.jaguarforums.com +bluetooth +jpg

If you want to match a phrase rather than the separate words of the phrase, include it in quotes like this in google:
site:www.jaguarforums.com "phrase to match"

An example:
site:www.jaguarforums.com "Lincoln LS"

Use a "-" to get rid of unwanted matches:
site:www.jaguarforums.com +hose -PCV

To search for posts about IMT (intake manifold tuning) or VIS (variable intake system), in google use:
site:www.jaguarforums.com IMT OR VIS

If you want to use google in a particular forum, here's a way. I opened the forum in my browser and copied the forum's URL into google search, then added my search term (here, IMT):
site:http://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s-...rcharged-v8-15 IMT

In case you're looking for a DTC (diagnostic trouble code) such as P0123, it helps to know the letter O is not used; use zero!! (And remember to include the starting letter, which will be one of B C P or U.)

Example: if you have codes P0171 and P0174 you could use google with:
site:www.jaguarforums.com P0171 P0174
but they would work just fine in the forum Search or in Advanced Search.

This brings the awesome.....now if you can get people to actually use the search then you will really have something.

Good tips though, I forgot a few of those tricks and they will come in handy. Can't think of anything else to add....other than perhaps a warning that people will get 50 lashes with a rubber hose if they start a "what oil should I use thread".... :)

nice work JagV8!

Good info', clearly put together. Thanks JagV8

You can also use exact phrase match on google as below:

site:jaguarforums.com +"power steering hose"

Note the prepended "+" sign

On vbulletin site search, you can do wildcard word search as in one*two where the word "two" is preceded by the word "one" with any number of intervening words.

The google/bing equivalent is "one two"

plums - thanks. I didn't know vBulletin did that!

Hey John....is 500 returns the upper limit? I just tried *oil* after I posted some "sage advice" for one of our newer members (maybe I should try what I'm advising to see if it actually works?!?) and got 500 returns...then got curious, and searched for "Search" because I wondered how many threads might be out there asking, "tried search yet?" and also got "showing 1-25 of 500" - so now curious if that is all you ever get..what if the thread I'm seeking is 501st in the queue?

The best thing to do after reading a couple of the threads for relevance is to note what other key words can narrow the search and run the search again.

Even the chocolate factory won't return more than 1000 "readable" results.

I'm very late on this - but yes 500 seems to be the limit. (My patience runs out sooner lol)

Congratulations & thanks - a brilliant resource.
 

Not as late as me! . . . this was a well buried 6yo thread.
But hey, John, I just had to add my thanks also.
Brilliant . Now, instead of just telling newbies to search, I can point them to how.

so thank you for infos

Someone recently bumped this ancient thread: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...9/#post2087566
and before noting how old it was, I noted the recurring complaint about the three-letter limitation. Perhaps things have changed since I reported getting 500 returns on *oil* in 2011 above in post #10. Out of curiosity, I searched "*STR* yesterday and got naught. Likewise for "*STR"
however, "* STR" and " STR" both returned 499 results on the SType forum. So if you don't often have need for such searches, can't remember the exact syntax to use to direct google searches to this forum, and are lazy, such as myself, and can't be bothered to come here and look it up, Try adding a leading space to your 3 letter target. Trailing spaces may work, too, but I have not verified that.