Simple Search Tips
The search function is very powerful, yet easy to use. You can search the entire world wide web, or you can search key areas of our site, including classifieds, businesses, restaurants, news stories, and local authors. Use the following instructions to make sure you get the best possible search results.

To use the search function, use the dropdown menu under the search box to select the area that you want to search. The following rules apply to all searches within the site:

  • Keywords are separated by commas
  • Results are based on any keyword entered
  • To search for a phrase, use
  • Searches look in both title and description
  • When searching classifieds, you can search using two letter state abbreviations. For example, if you're looking for a car in New York, you might use the following search string: "Ford, Mustang, NY"

    If you select a web search, you can search for ALL keywords by using a plus sign (+) between the keywords. You can also search for a specific phrase by using quotation marks (" ").

    You can also use commands in the simple search, although commands are normally used only in complex search expressions. Commands are normally surrounded by angle brackets < >, however you can use the AND, OR, and NOT commands in a simple search without using angle brackets. For example: "software AND (Microsoft OR Oracle)" will search for "software AND Microsoft" as well as "software AND Oracle". To search for a command word as part of a phrase, you surround it with double quotation marks: software "and" Microsoft. This searches for the phrase "software and Microsoft."

    • Advanced Search Tips
    The Advanced Search will allow you to enter comma-seperated string and use wildcard characters. By default, a advanced search looks for words, not strings. For example, entering the word "All" will find documents containing the word "all" but not "allegorical." You can use wildcards, however to broaden the scope of the search. "All*" will return documents containing both "all" and "alliterate." Case is ignored.

    You can enter multiple words separated by commas: software, Microsoft, Oracle. The comma in a Advanced Search is treated like an OR. If you omit the commas, the query expression is treated as a phrase, so documents would be searched for the phrase "software Microsoft Oracle."

    Ordinarily, commands are used only in complex search expressions. Commands are normally surrounded by angle brackets < >. However, you can use the AND, OR, and NOT commands in an advanced search without using angle brackets: software AND (Microsoft OR Oracle). To search for a command as part of a phrase, you surround it with double quotation marks: software "and" Microsoft. This searches for the phrase "software and Microsoft."

    With an advanced search, you can specify any or all of the three primary fields (title, author, and article) you wish to search in. Simple search automatically searches in all three of these fields. Advanced search also allows you to pick a date range in which to search, further narrowing your search results. You can also choose if you want to display all the results on one page or disperse them out and choose how many results to display on each page. The "show summary" option allows you to display the first 500 words of an article, from which you can determine relevancy.