# arrange search results by date/number of replies



## siares

Hello Mike,
would it be possible to enable sorting search results by some criteria, such as date?
Thanks.


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## mkellogg

Not easily, no. The system really isn't set up internally to sort results like that.


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## JamesM

That's a pity.  I'd like that feature, too.  (Just adding a vote for it.   )


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## siares

Thanks for answering.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

For what it's worth, I think date would be more useful than number of replies (if it were possible).


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## Peterdg

This is possible. In the forum search page (the page on which you enter the search criteria), at the bottom of the page, you can choose how your results have to be ordered: both "date" and "number of replies" are valid sorting options.


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## siares

Peterdg said:


> This is possible. In the forum search page, at the bottom of the page, you can choose how your results have to be ordered: both "date" and "number of replies" are valid sorting options.


Thanks Peterdg. I overlooked this because I don't use the advanced search cause it takes me a long time to find the correct forum in the scroll down list.


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## ain'ttranslationfun?

Hey, thanks, Peterdg, I wasn't aware of that. But it does seem to be a tedious and time-consuming procedure.


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## Loob

I don't think it's _particularly_ time-consuming, ain'tt - though I suppose it would be nice to be able to go straight to "Advanced Search" rather than having to click in the *Search* box then click again on *More...*


(Perhaps there is a way of going straight to "Advanced Search" and I just haven't found it?)

I've just found it: click on _Search Forums_!


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## mkellogg

Peterdg said:


> This is possible.


Thanks, Peter.  I was wondering if it really was possible, but didn't check it out.


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## Gemmenita

siares said:


> (...) I don't use the advanced search cause it *takes me a long time*(...)





ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> (...)But it does seem to be a tedious and *time-consuming* procedure.


Hi all,
If by 'ordering by date' you mean the box of 'Newer than' (which is the only box for date that I see in all pages designated for searching Forums and threads), there is already one of it inside the menu opened when clicking on the 'search box' which is at *the right-hand corner at the top of each page*, I mean this one:

 

Here you will have a _quick_ and _easy_ access to 'ordering by date' without going to the 'advanced search pages' or clicking on 'More'.


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## JamesM

Unfortunately, "newer than" doesn't order the results.  It just narrows the search.  The advanced feature is the way to go, I think.  I've started using it, now that it's been pointed out to me by this thread.


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## Gemmenita

Oh...I was just talking about 'the date' as in the question of _siares_ when she said: ... such as date.
And for date, I see everywhere only 'Newer than' box! Isn't it?
(Personnally I haven't used yet 'date ordering' for searching a thread, but I think the possibility of a more narrow search for date for example by entering the beginning and the ending date, would be better!)


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## siares

Thanks all.


Gemmenita said:


> And for date, I see everywhere only 'Newer than'! Isn't it?


Hi Gemmenita, in advanced search which Loob advised, there is Order by : Most recent.
Useful when I remember a post with a specific word and who wrote it, but it is too common a word to go through all the unordered results.


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## Gemmenita

Hi siares,
Yes, I have seen that option, but I think it offers a too large range of threads: what is the limit for 'most recent'?
I think 'Newer than' is more suitable for a more narrow search and at least in a more limited range of search:
for example when I chose 18th of february in 'Newer than' box, it gave me all the posts from 18 february _till today_ (a known and limited range of time)
So for a 'narrow, limited and well organized search' there is only 'Newer than'. Isn't it?


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## JamesM

I think we're talking about two different things here, Gemmenita.  "Newer than" limits _which_ threads or posts are selected.  "Most recent" changes the _order _in which the threads or posts are displayed.  For example, newer than 1 month will show all threads or posts 1 month old or newer but they will be in random order.  The first one might be from 3 weeks ago, the next one from yesterday.

"Most recent" will show you everything in reverse age order, the newest one on top followed by the next older one, etc.


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## JamesM

For those who are new to using this Advanced Search to filter and order things (as I am), here's a quick visual tutorial:

Click on the Search box in the upper right-hand corner of the page.  Then click on the More button at the bottom of the search box:



 

You will see a page with tabs on it that look like this:



 

Select the second tab.  To limit the number of items shown, add a "newer than" search filter.  Give it a date and nothing older than that date will appear.  You can also select threads with a certain number of responses.   Then, to order them by newest first, Select the "Most recent" option in the radio buttons at the bottom of the page.


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## siares

JamesM said:


> (amended)1)Click on the Search box in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
> 2)Then click on the More button at the bottom of the search box...You will see a page with tabs on it that look like this:
> 3)Select the second tab.


These 3 steps are avoidable using the 'Search forums' button Loob described in post 9.
This is very good cause when one forgets to switch tabs from the first to the second one, the options are not there, but I only noticed after stating my query and then had to re-write the search query and re-tick the forum in the second tab.


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## Gemmenita

JamesM said:


> I think we're talking about two different things here, Gemmenita.  "Newer than" limits _which_ threads or posts are selected.  "Most recent" changes the _order _in which the threads or posts are displayed.  For example, newer than 1 month will show all threads or posts 1 month old or newer but they will be in random order.  The first one might be from 3 weeks ago, the next one from yesterday.
> "Most recent" will show you everything in reverse age order, the newest one on top followed by the next older one, etc.



Oh, James, I don't know whether you have tested the two options or not (or maybe our other criterias for searching were different hence different ideas!),
but let me tell my experience:

When I clicked in 'Newer that' box a calendar opened and when I chose 18th february with the name of 'a member' (my criteria for searching), it gave me 12 results with the newest post at the top (which was 'yesterday') >>> a limited and narrow search result, with 'recent posts at the top' and not at all in random!

But when I clicked on the 'most recent', for the same 'member', 10 long pages  and even with a 'more option'  opened with always the newest post of that member at the top ('yesterday'). >>> an unlimited search (I don't know this 'most recent' would end when and where?)

Voilà! The only difference between these two options for me: The number of results >>> one well organized and limited and the other one indefinite !!!


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## siares

Gemmenita said:


> 'recent posts at the top


Must be a coincidence.
Can search results be posted? I just searched for 'search' posted by Mike, newer than May 2015, the results are not sorted
Search Results for Query: search | WordReference Forums[date]=1430953200&c[node]=7&c[user][0]=1


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## Loob

siares said:


> These 3 steps are avoidable using the 'Search forums' button Loob described in post 9.


Yes, using the _Search Forums_ button saves you a couple of clicks ... as I discovered in the middle of post 9.

I'd somehow never noticed the _Search Forums_ button before this thread - but there it is, bold as brass, sitting there on the blue header line near the top of the page: the header line that reads _Mark Forums Read ~ Search Forums ~ Watched Forums ~ My Threads ~ New Posts._

I'm grateful to siares for starting this thread, and to Peter for prompting me to go looking.  I'm always happy when I learn something!


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## JamesM

Try another search, Gemmenita.  Let's say I am researching a word and have no member name to relate to that word.  I  want the most recent threads related to that word because I know I've seen it sometime in my ten years on the board but I can't remember when.  I think it's probably fairly recent... in the last couple of years.

Here's what I get when searching for "pickle", for example, using the simple search and cutting it off at  January 1st, 2014, to be safe.

The first thread is in Spanish from October 2015.  The second one is in German from December 2015.  I don't frequent either forum, so that's not very helpful.  The third thread is in English but is from 2014 and isn't the one I want.  The next is November 2015, after that March 2014 in Spanish.  Do you see the problem?

Using the advanced search and limiting to just English Only newer than 1/1/2014, I get April 2015 followed by April 2014 followed by May 2015 followed by April, November, March 2015. No order at all.

If I use advanced search English Only I can research backwards in time without a "newer than" date by clicking "Order by Most Recent".   Now I get a group of posts on November 12, 2015 from one thread followed by a group of posts from October 8th and 7th from another thread, and so on.

I suppose it depends on what you're searching for and what information you have to start with.


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## Gemmenita

siares said:


> Must be a coincidence.
> Can search results be posted? I just searched for 'search' posted by Mike, newer than May 2015, the results are not sorted
> Search Results for Query: search | WordReference Forums[date]=1430953200&c[node]=7&c[user][0]=1



But I just searched for 'siares' posts newer that 14th January 2016: look at here, as exact and ordered as a Swiss watch!


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## siares

Gemmenita said:


> look at here


There's an error message when i click on it, so searches cannot be posted then.
I did the same search myself, and you are right, it is ordered. I must be more organised than other members!

Funny thing is I tried out Advanced Search before but abandoned it because I don't like the scrolling to a specific forum, I searched from within a forum instead. So I was missing out on the features. Now I can get search results with most replies first, without checking the numbers. Short threads can be very informative, but sometimes opening them they go post1) did I use the word correctly? post 2)yes, so I prefer to start with longer ones.


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## JamesM

Gemmenita, it may be that you are searching only by person and that brings them up in order.

Try this search for a particular word from siares.  Note that it looks like it's in chronological order back to 2015 but the last two items are from the last couple of weeks:


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## Gemmenita

Yes, James, I was searching only by person because I thought that there should be logically no difference between the arrangement of search results
via_ different criterias,_ therefore - just for a simple test - and since I found easier and _faster_ to enter the name of a member than a word or expression, I chose this criteria! But seems there are differences between criterias! 

I tried what you suggested ( perform/siares). Yes, the beginning of the list looks very ordered but nearing the last items there is a disorder.
I don't know whether you have tried my way but when the only criteria is 'member', from the beginning till the end of the list (no matter we are in the first or in the 10th page) it is always chronogically sorted! That's why in my post #11, I suggested to our friends to use 'quick access search box' if they wouldn't like to go a long way through 'advanced search' for sorting their results via 'most recent' option ! (But now I see this was an exception among criterias!)

Then... I just tested other ways too in 'French only' Forum, once with giving date and once without giving date, both via 'advanced search' option (in the blue line above each page) and 'quick access' search (in the top right-hand corner of the page) and here is the result: in both cases the results were not sorted, but the degree of disorder in the results via 'quick access' was _less_ (as you have also found in your search perform/siares) and at least there was an advantage in that: the _first_ result was always the post where I had participated myself!

Thanks a lot James for the fruitful discussion we had!
and
Good searches, siares!


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## siares

I've just realised search results are maximum 500 (threads+posts, or threads only). I was looking for a very common word I saw discussed last year, but in the meantime it was mentioned in 500 or more threads so the result never came up. I used the "newer than"; I would have needed an added "older than" to narrow down. Or I needed to know other criteria, such as the name of the person who said that word.


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