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[RedJ]

[EDIT] I just decided to test the general search next to the magnifying glass and it seems like it already may be context sensitive, just unannounced.  Please let me know if that's the case and this becomes just a question of obviousness rather than functionality.

One of my frustrations with finding answers to questions in these forums has been the inability to locate specific information, especially within a post with multiple pages.  For instance, I have been trying to find a reference to a specific error I'm getting using MC iTunes Synchronizer.  I would really like to avoid double posting, but it is extremely time-consuming to find specific references to my problem within the 12 pages of posts to this topic.  

Most forums I frequent include this feature. I've searched through the SMF (this forum runs on it) documentation and find that Topic/Thread Search is a listed feature http://www.simplemachines.org/about/features.php (and it is available as a context-sensitive search mode in a dropdown on their own forums), but not enabled on this site (please let me know if I've missed something).  Can this be enabled for the J.R. forums?

Here's some references to ways it could be enabled:
As a Mod http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=293057.0
As Code http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=205299.0

The implementation on Simple Machines' forums is actually pretty nice because it's default search type is contextually appropriate for the current forum level.  I'd prefer that the dropdown be located lower on the page than SM's, to be more convenient.

[rick.ca]

The other SMF I frequent does this, but it seems to be included the ZillaRank search mod. This mod dramatically improves all aspects of the search function. It greatly improves the relevance of results, allows searches to be modified, and provides some very useful enhancements to the results page. Given the critical importance of the search function here, I find it disappointing the same capabilities are not available.

Sadly, ZillaRank is probably not the answer. It doesn't appear to be supported, and it won't work in the soon-to-be-released SMF 2.0. But I hope enhancements like this are considered in the future. A board like this needs the best available search capability.