Minimum search term length

Dorcas · August 26, 2001, 12:41 AM

Is it possible to adjust the minimum search term length from 3 letters to 2? I'm considering buying a new handgun and logged on today to do a little research. Unfortunately I wanted to research S&W model 66's, Cz's and Kimbers (especially type II Kimbers), because each of these had a term less then three letters, I couldn't do a search on them.

Thanks.

bkm..

**Rich Lucibella** · August 27, 2001, 07:30 PM

Dorcas-
Not possible-
The TFL Search is real efficient because of the way it's designed. The drawback is the size of the files. They're enormous. Default for the search function is 4 letters. We lowered it to 3. If we drop it to 2, the files just become unwieldy.

This has come up before and it's been demonstrated that, with a bit of ingenuity, one can generally focus down on almost any topic.
Sorry for the hassle.
Rich

August 27, 2001, 11:15 PM

This may be the previous thread that Rich mentioned.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...threadid=73256
Hope it helps!

Dorcas · August 28, 2001, 10:23 PM

Thanks Rich and PF, I appreciate the response. I read the other thread and see the problems associated with shorter terms.

Thanks again.

bkm...

Gene Beasley · August 29, 2001, 12:55 PM

I understand the reason on the indexing, so I guess I'm looking for a work-around from greater minds than mine.

Sometimes I am trying to find a thread that I remember something about or want to make sure that I'm not starting a duplicate (usually on a slightly out of date topic). I find that I am frustrated in my attempts to search for states. A lot of subject lines include states in parenthesis or brackets. This would make the search 4 characters, but those special characters appear to be excluded from the search string. Any ideas?

August 29, 2001, 11:14 PM

Gene -
In that case, I would either search for the full name of the state, the city, or the county.

August 26, 2001, 12:41 AM	#1
Dorcas Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 1999 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 194	Minimum search term length Is it possible to adjust the minimum search term length from 3 letters to 2? I'm considering buying a new handgun and logged on today to do a little research. Unfortunately I wanted to research S&W model 66's, Cz's and Kimbers (especially type II Kimbers), because each of these had a term less then three letters, I couldn't do a search on them. Thanks. bkm.. __________________ Anyone worth shooting, is worth shooting twice...

August 27, 2001, 07:30 PM	#2
Rich Lucibella Staff Join Date: October 6, 1998 Location: South Florida Posts: 10,229	Dorcas- Not possible- The TFL Search is real efficient because of the way it's designed. The drawback is the size of the files. They're enormous. Default for the search function is 4 letters. We lowered it to 3. If we drop it to 2, the files just become unwieldy. This has come up before and it's been demonstrated that, with a bit of ingenuity, one can generally focus down on almost any topic. Sorry for the hassle. Rich __________________ S.W.A.T. Magazine Weapons, Training and Tactics for the Real World Join us at TFL or at AR15.com or on Facebook

August 28, 2001, 10:23 PM	#4
Dorcas Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 1999 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 194	Thanks Rich and PF, I appreciate the response. I read the other thread and see the problems associated with shorter terms. Thanks again. bkm... __________________ Anyone worth shooting, is worth shooting twice...

August 29, 2001, 12:55 PM	#5
Gene Beasley Senior Member Join Date: June 5, 1999 Location: Federal Way, WA USA Posts: 161	States - like [WA] or (WA) I understand the reason on the indexing, so I guess I'm looking for a work-around from greater minds than mine. Sometimes I am trying to find a thread that I remember something about or want to make sure that I'm not starting a duplicate (usually on a slightly out of date topic). I find that I am frustrated in my attempts to search for states. A lot of subject lines include states in parenthesis or brackets. This would make the search 4 characters, but those special characters appear to be excluded from the search string. Any ideas? __________________ "A right delayed is a right denied." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

August 27, 2001, 11:15 PM	#3
PreserveFreedom Guest Posts: n/a	This may be the previous thread that Rich mentioned. http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...threadid=73256 Hope it helps!

August 29, 2001, 11:14 PM	#6
PreserveFreedom Guest Posts: n/a	Gene - In that case, I would either search for the full name of the state, the city, or the county.