Difference between revisions of "Help:Searching"

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'''Searching A.W.E.''' isn't difficult - though the project would be glad to hear of the difficulties you have.  Suggestions for improving the way to search the guide are welcome.  (See how to [[contribute to AWE]].)  Start by entering a term you want to find in the '''search''' box in the column on the left of the screen. It is best to start with a single word, but you may also search for phrases.
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The '''search box''' appears down the left hand side of every page. You can type in a single word you want help on or several words to search for.
  
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You may want a quick answer to an immediate question, perhaps as a result of proof-reading an assignment, or a question about a particular word. Start by entering what you are looking for in the 'search' box to the left.  Sometimes the article that might help you best would be about the [[prefix]] or [[suffix]] of the word, such as [[-ing]].
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You may want a quick answer to an immediate question, perhaps as a result of proof-reading an assignment, or a question about a particular word. Sometimes the article that might help you best would be about the [[prefix]] or [[suffix]] of the word, such as [[-ing]].
  
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The word you are looking for may not be in the guide as an individual entry: it could be dealt with by a more general article.  Or you may be looking for an answer to a more general question, such as the [[spelling rule]] for a particular sound or set of letters ('I before E', for example.)  In this case, use your imagination to search the database.  If you cannot find it, look in the list of '''categories'''.  But the most important aid is that there is no specific article with the name that you have searched for, you will see a list of articles in which the word appears.  You may have to scroll through a long list.  It may be worth trying to search for a two word - or longer - [[phrase]], which should result in a shorter list.
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The search box has two buttons:
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* Click the '''Go''' button or press '''Enter''' to go directly to the article whose title matches what you've typed, if it exists. (If not, you'll get search results.)
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* Click the '''Search''' button to search for all instances of the search terms you've typed. (For example, you may want to see all articles containing the word 'pronoun' rather than go straight to the '[[pronoun]]' article; or indeed, the '[[article]]' article.)
  
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A '''category''' in AWE is a group of articles on a linked idea.   To see if one suits the purpose of your search, click on the '''Special pages''' link towards the bottom of the left-hand column, and then click on '''Categories''' in the list. You should see two lists. One is a list of '''subcategories''', and the other a list of '''articles''' in the category you are looking at. Either may give you hints about where to look.
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Search results show pages whose titles contain the search words, followed by pages whose text contains them.
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== What to search for ==
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Pages are usually titled in the same way a dictionary would classify an article. For example, the page about nouns is '[[noun]]', and '[[malapropism]]' will tell you what one is.
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Pages about several words (these usually clarify common confusions) can be reached by searching for any of the individual words. You'll find help on the difference between [[Flaunt - flout|flaut and flout]] whether you search for 'flaut' or 'flout'.
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== Limitations ==
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The search engine deliberately ignores common words that occur very frequently. These include short words and words like "have" or "from".
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However, these short or common words are often precisely the ones that readers may be interested in! (There's a lot to be said about '[[and]]' or '[[its]]'.)
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Because pages exist with precisely these titles, you can jump straight to them with the '''Go''' button. However, using the Search button will give no results.
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== More help ==
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See [[Help:Contents]].

Revision as of 16:36, 16 June 2007

The search box appears down the left hand side of every page. You can type in a single word you want help on or several words to search for.

You may want a quick answer to an immediate question, perhaps as a result of proof-reading an assignment, or a question about a particular word. Sometimes the article that might help you best would be about the prefix or suffix of the word, such as -ing.

The search box has two buttons:

  • Click the Go button or press Enter to go directly to the article whose title matches what you've typed, if it exists. (If not, you'll get search results.)
  • Click the Search button to search for all instances of the search terms you've typed. (For example, you may want to see all articles containing the word 'pronoun' rather than go straight to the 'pronoun' article; or indeed, the 'article' article.)

Search results show pages whose titles contain the search words, followed by pages whose text contains them.

What to search for

Pages are usually titled in the same way a dictionary would classify an article. For example, the page about nouns is 'noun', and 'malapropism' will tell you what one is.

Pages about several words (these usually clarify common confusions) can be reached by searching for any of the individual words. You'll find help on the difference between flaut and flout whether you search for 'flaut' or 'flout'.

Limitations

The search engine deliberately ignores common words that occur very frequently. These include short words and words like "have" or "from".

However, these short or common words are often precisely the ones that readers may be interested in! (There's a lot to be said about 'and' or 'its'.)

Because pages exist with precisely these titles, you can jump straight to them with the Go button. However, using the Search button will give no results.

More help

See Help:Contents.

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