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Search is not working
Posted: November 7th, 2025, 1:49 pm
by Loop Rage
Is the advanced search different in phpBB forums compared to search engines like Google
Searching for two words etc in same post is not working if I search using & . It keeps returning a lot of posts with only one of the two or three words.
And that is too many posts . It is very frustrating
Re: Search is not working
Posted: November 8th, 2025, 12:22 am
by Maksimuy
Different versions of phpBB or other software seem to implement search differently .
For this software here you want to use Advanced Search , which can be launched by
1. Quick links drop down on top left or
2. Clicking on wheel on far right top of screen or
2. Use this link >
Advanced search
The screen that opens next explains how you can search better
Place + in front of a word which must be found and - in front of a word which must not be found. Put a list of words separated by | into brackets if only one of the words must be found. Use * as a wildcard for partial matches.
Re: Search is not working
Posted: November 8th, 2025, 12:35 am
by 1918 2
Try searching for long pimples
versus
Searching for "Long pimples"
It will show
Search found 117 matches: long pimples
Searched query: +long +pimples
versus
Search found 74 matches: "long pimples"
Searched query: +"long pimples"
-------------
Search found 10 matches: aspect -ratio
Searched query: +aspect -ratio
versus
Search found 293 matches: aspect ratio
Searched query: +aspect +ratio
versus
Search found 6 matches: -aspect +ratio
Searched query: -aspect +ratio
Re: Search is not working
Posted: November 8th, 2025, 12:46 am
by MurakW
If you go to FAQs in the drop down on top left , you will see a section about
Searching the forum
How can I search a forum or forums?
Enter a search term in the search box located on the index, forum or topic pages. Advanced search can be accessed by clicking the “Advance Search” link which is available on all pages on the forum. How to access the search may depend on the style used.
Why does my search return no results?
Your search was probably too vague and included many common terms which are not indexed by phpBB. Be more specific and use the options available within Advanced search.
Why does my search return a blank page!?
Your search returned too many results for the webserver to handle. Use “Advanced search” and be more specific in the terms used and forums that are to be searched.
How do I search for members?
Visit to the “Members” page and click the “Find a member” link.
How can I find my own posts and topics?
Your own posts can be retrieved either by clicking the “Show your posts” link within the User Control Panel or by clicking the “Search user’s posts” link via your own profile page or by clicking the “Quick links” menu at the top of the board. To search for your topics, use the Advanced search page and fill in the various options appropriately.
Re: Search is not working
Posted: February 16th, 2026, 4:22 am
by 1918 2
Tips & tricks
If you are searching for a phrase such as "Dumb Rackets" using forum search , it may return all items for both Dumb & rackets separately
But after that you can use a browser search on the results page shown by clicking (Control F) searching for any search word you want
So it is kind of a nested search
There are still some issue with phpBB forum search that they have not addressed for so many versions