Search needs much improvement

[nylyon]

One of the most powerful parts of any community is to be able to reference historical posts and items. The search function is a very powerful tool, but the implementation on IPB needs revision. My community does not require an external search (Sphinx) but that is the only way for me to get a functional search.

In many technical areas, the hyphen "-" is an important part of an item. In my case, models of tractors are hyphenated such as C-160, or B-80 and such. There are also part numbers like 123-456 and the native search can not search for it. In a recent release, this functionality became part of the Forums with Sphinx. My members are VERY happy being able to search for the above. The issue is it doesn't work in other areas of the community, specifically downloads. It would be great to have a robust search which would allow for special characters AND be consistent across the community.

[Neil2]

I have to agree with you 100%, IPS new forum software is leaps and bounds above others, however the search function and gallery is less to be desired compared to the older versions.

Myself I upgraded huge, went from 2.3.6 to 3.4.2, the forum software is getting praises daily by the membership as well as how the search features are set-up, however there also are complaints daily with the search time it takes and results such as what you are having.

The gallery is also one application getting complaints now, the new gallery is missing many features you were able to have with the older gallery mainly the global moderation control over all IPS products should be changed back to admin discretion like it use to be.

[Andrej]