Perform Effective Searches with Discussion Board Plus

About This Article:
When you install Discussion Board Plus for SharePoint, List Search Simple Web Part is also installed. List Search Simple Web Part lets you configure a search page for your Discussion Board Plus list so users can search discussion board posts for relevant content. The search page is not created automatically. This article provides instructions for configuring and using List Search Simple Web Part to search Discussion Board Plus for SharePoint lists.  

Configuring List Search Simple Web Part

To configure the List Search Simple Web Part:

1. Follow the instructions for Adding the List Search Simple Web Part to a Page. You can add the Web Part to any page in the same Web application as Discussion Board Plus for SharePoint.
2. Edit the Web Part and click the List Search Simple Web Part Settings button.

   

   

3. In the List Search Simple Web Part Settings page, click the Search Criteria Configuration tab.

   

4. In the Enter a SharePoint site URL box, type the path to the SharePoint site that contains the Discussion Board Plus list you want to search. The Discussion Board Plus list can reside in the same site, a different site, or a site in another site collection, as long as it is in the same Web application. Site URLs can be absolute (http://servername/site) or relative (./site). Bamboo recommends using a relative URL if the Web application has multiple access points using Alternative Access Mappings (AAM) or if the Web Part will be saved as part of a site template.
5. Click the View Lists and Libraries button to populate the Available Lists and Libraries drop-down list.
6. In the Select a list or library drop-down list, select the Discussion Board Plus list you want to search.

   

7. In the Search Columns section, select the following columns and click the > button to move them to the Selected Columns list. Hold down the CTRL key to select multiple columns. To reorder how the columns are displayed in the List Search Simple Web Part search page, click on a column name and click the up or down arrow. A suggested order is included in the list below.
   • Subject
   • Body
   • Created By
   • Rating Column (if a Bamboo Rating column was added to the Discussion Board Plus list)
   • Is Sticky
   • Mark as Answer
   • Suggest as Answer

   

8. Review the remaining settings in the Search Criteria Configuration tab. For more information about each setting, see the Search Criteria Configuration section of Configuring the List Search Simple Web Part.
9. Click the Search Results Configuration tab. The Search Results Display settings are preconfigured for optimal performance with Discussion Board Plus lists and cannot be changed. Review the Search Result Options and make any changes to options available when viewing search results. For more information about each setting, see the Search Results Configuration section of Configuring the List Search Simple Web Part.

   

10. When you have reviewed all settings, click Save & Close in the List Search Simple Web Part Settings page. Click OK in the Web Part tool pane.

The List Search Simple Web Part is now configured and ready to search the Discussion Board Plus list.

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Using List Search Simple Web Part to Search a Discussion Board List

After successfully configuring List Search Simple Web Part, you are now ready to begin searching your Discussion Board Plus list. To search the posts in a Discussion Board Plus list, enter search words or phrases or select options in the List Search Simple Web Part and click the Search button. If Print and Export to Excel options are enabled for the List Search Simple Web Part, these options are displayed below the search criteria.

The following information describes how to use individual Discussion Board Plus search fields to obtain effective search results. For general search tips, including tips for combining search terms and using search operators, see the Search String Tips and Tricks section of Using the List Search Simple Web Part.

Search Field	Search Tips
Subject	Searches the Subject field of discussion topics. A single result is returned for each matching topic; results are not repeated for individual replies in the thread. For search term tips, see Using the List Search Simple Web Part.
Body	Searches the Body field of all discussion posts. Results are returned for all posts that contain matches. For search term tips, see Using the List Search Simple Web Part.
Created By	Searches the Created By field of all discussion posts to identify topics and replies posted by a specific user. Enter a name and click the Check User button or use the Browse feature to search for a user.  Note: You can only search for one Created By user.
Rating Column	Available if a Bamboo Rating column was added to the Discussion Board Plus list and the column was added to the Search Columns in the List Search Simple Web Part Settings. Can match topics or replies with ratings Equal To, Less Than, Greater Than, or Between the specified rating.
Is Sticky	When Yes, matches posts that are marked as Sticky. When No, matches posts that are not Sticky.
Mark as Answer	When Yes, matches posts that are Verified Answers. When No, matches posts that are not Verified Answers.
Suggest as Answer	When Yes, matches posts that are marked as Suggested Answers. When No, matches posts that are not Suggested Answers.
Search in all columns for:	Available search option if the SharePoint Search service is configured and the option to Allow search in all columns is checked in the List Search Simple Web Part Settings. Search terms entered in the Search in all columns for field will be matched in any Discussion Board List column. Entering search terms here overrides any search criteria entered in other fields. For search term tips, see Using the List Search Simple Web Part. Note: For an item to be found using a Search in all columns for search, you must also be able to find it in SharePoint Search.

After you click Search, search results are displayed using a view optimized for Discussion Board Plus. 

The following columns are included in the search results:

Result Field	Description
Topic/Reply icon	Indicates whether the search result is a topic  or a reply . Clicking the Subject link for a topic will display the entire thread. Clicking the Subject link for a Reply will display only the reply post.
Subject	Click on a Subject link to display the entire discussion thread. If the result is a topic, hover over the Subject to view the Body of the topic post. If the result is a reply, hover over the Subject to view the reply, who entered it and when it was entered, and the Subject and Body of the original topic post. Click the item drop-down menu for the result to display additional options for the topic or post.
Status	Indicates whether the post has been Suggested as Answer, is a Verified Answer, or neither.
Created By	Displays who entered the topic or reply.
Last Posted	Displays when a reply was last posted for the topic (topic results only).
Last Posted By	Displays who posted the last reply to the topic (topic results only).