PFIC Search Engine Help

Basic Searching

Enter word or words to perform a basic search. The PFIC search engine will return posts containing ALL of the words entered. There is no need to put an "AND" in your queries. You can refine or narrow your search results by entering additional words to the ones you've already entered. Entering more words should return a smaller and more relevant set of results.

Common Words

Common words such as "where" and "how" are usually non-informational and appear too frequently to be included in an effective search. As such, these words are automatically ignored.

Advanced Searching

You can further refine your search results by forming complex expressions. The PFIC search engine supports the following:

"AND" Searches

"AND" searches finds posts containing all of the words. By default the PFIC search engine uses AND queries when words are entered in the search box separated by a space. Using AND and + between words also performs an "AND" search.

Example:

The following 3 queries yields the same results

coronado ferry landing
coronado + ferry + landing
coronado AND ferry AND landing

"OR" Searches

You can use the "OR" operator to search pages that containing either of the words entered. Use an uppercase OR or | symbol (pipe) to indicate an "OR" query.

Example:

The following query finds posts that contain either "anchovy" or "smelt"

anchovy | smelt

Phrase Searches

You can search for a exact phrase by enclosing them in double quotes.

Example:

"Palomar Knot"

Word Exclusion

You can exclude results that contain certain words or phrases. A minus sign immediately before a word of phrase will exclude any posts containing them.

Example:

The following query searches for posts that contain "Balboa" and "Pier" and doesn't contain the word "skunk"

Balboa Pier -skunk

Limiting Scope

You can limit your searches to a specific element of a post.

Example:

The following searches for "perch" and "grubs" only in the message body:

body:perch grubs

The following searches for the phrase "green pleasure pier" only in the message title:

title:"green pleasure pier"

Complex Expressions

You can combine the above search operators to form complex expressions to further refine your searches. You can also use parenthesis to group expressions.

Examples:

(calico OR kelp) AND bass AND bait

("Crystal Pier" OR "Ocean Beach Pier") AND lobster

General Notes

• Search words are case-insensitive
• AND and OR operators are case-sensitive, otherwise they will be treated as stop words (read: ignored)

Useful Queries

To limit results to a specific poster, you can do the following:

corbina + "Posted by Mola Joe"

The above query will find all posts by Mola Joe containing the word "corbina"

To exclude posts by a specific poster, you can do the following:

Croaker -"Posted by Whitecroakercommandr"

The above query will find all posts with "croaker" except if posted by Whitecroakercommandr