search is only half fixed?

[Furball]

you can now choose your topics but then the results show all topics anyway

Oh no - and I was just about to post that we'd fixed it all!

The choose topics thang is working from here: would you mind having another go, furball?

What furball said, excitement level raised at being able to choose topics, then hopes dashed as 6 billions threads from obscure topics also appear.

After selecting your topics, are you clicking the Search button right at the bottom - rather than the one halfway down the page?

I am clicking the one under the 'Choose topic' thingy. The one further down is for searching by time, which I am not doing. I just tried selecting topics as normal then instead clicking the button under the 'find by time' section, and it claimed I hadn't selected topics.

flowery: are you choosing your topics by clicking on the Choose Topics button (next to the Search All button) within the Find Messages box?

This should then give you a pop-up window within which to select your Topics.

Are you getting that?

It is working for me (In classic, on IE) but the buttons in the middle are still not in the middle (I know - picky picky!). I had forgotten to check until I saw this so thank you!

I choose the topics and put them in the box on the right, then press search and voila! 4 million threads.

yes, am perfectly able to choose topics now, but as furball said, the result just shows all topics anyway.

any news?

Is it still not working for you then, flowerybeanbag?

No, the same thing, I can select topics but the search produces results for all topics.

Oh dear, we're so sorry.

I shall try to find out what's going wrong for you.

There are TWO search buttons. One at the bottom of the first blue section named "Find Messages" and one at the bottom of the second blue area named "Find Messages by time".

You cannot use the search button at the bottom of the second blue area "Find Messages by time" when you are trying to search for messages in the first blue area "Find Messages".

Please test and let me know.

Yes. I realise that. As mentioned by me 19 March 11.24am. As I am not searching by time, I am not using the button to search by time I am using the one to search by topic.

Come on Tech, get it right will you.!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

hehe

flowerybeanbag (and anyone else who's having problems with this): it's becoming clear that the Advanced Search function is not as user-friendly as we'd like it to be.

We've probably got too many buttons/options/pop-up windows going on altogether.

We're going to work on making it more intuitive - without losing any of the nice little twiddly bits that make it useful (when it works).

Please bear with us for a little while longer while we tinker about.

I have obviously misunderstood your previous post.

I am in the process of changing the search function so it is easier to understand so hopefully this will work better for you.

Oh, and thank you FelineOkay for your "irresistible" comments.

No probs Big tech.

constructive critism, irrestible comments.

yes that's me.

Now you are going to log me off for a week or something, no doubt. Yikes no access to mumsnet.

I am very very very sorry. I realise you are a very very hard working indivdual and you will take care of this very minor search problem.

Better?

sorry I name changed, just to add to the confusion.

Feline

I am leaving now, honest.

irrestible ? WTF okay brain tired must leave.

While I have your attention bigtech would it be possible to fix a weensy problem for me?

I have to log in every time I come on Mumsnet due to some cookie thing but if I enter my details incorrectly (happens a lot ) then the error message in the log-in window pushes the 'submit' box off the screen. This means I have to exit the log-in window and come back and hit the log-in box to open the log-in window again. Takes all of 5 seconds but nonetheless ANNOYING. Have I made sense? Can you fix it?

Change the search function if you like.

Personally I find it perfectly easy to understand, I would just like it to work. I'm not overly happy about the implication that the reason it isn't working is because it isn't user-friendly enough for people to cope with.

There is no point being able to select topics if the resulting search takes no notice of the selection made and searches all topics anyway. That's nothing to do with it not being user friendly, that's it not working. I'm not using the new fancy search by time facility, I'm just trying to use the same search by topic facility we used to have which is no longer functioning.

I would say getting it to actually work is probably more important than a redesign.

flowerybeanbag: sorry, we honestly didn't mean to upset you or imply anything about your Search abilities.

We realise Search is not working for you as it used to and that this must be incredibly annoying.

We've been trying to find out what's causing the problem for you (because it's working fine for us at MNHQ) and, in the course of doing so, have realised that we really ought to make Search more user-friendly - NOT because we think you can't cope with it but because we don't think that anyone should have to use something that's not very intuitive.

Your problem with Search is quite specific (and nothing to do with how you're using it) but we do know that other posters do have problems finding their way around all the different functions within it.

So, the plan is to work on making the Search functions more intuitive and, in the course of doing so, try to fix the problem you're having with making the choice of Topics stick.

Hope that's a bit clearer - and sorry for all the confusion.

Is the Advanced Search button not working ?