http://www.geocities.com/janet313/pienet/tutorial/srch8.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 08: Frequently Asked Questions:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: My results say there are more matches, but only the first 100 are
listed. How do I list the others?
A: The new release of the search software gives you the neat "keyword
in context" for the matches, but to keep file length, resource time, and
your life manageable, there is a 100-match limit. Just send in your
search again with a modified time frame (use SINCE or FROM... TO...).
Q: I send back the GETPOST line that LISTSERV suggests, but I get only
some of the posts followed by an error message.
A: A GETPOST command can be no longer than one line. See 'how to
order posts' for a way around this.
Q: I'm searching for a set of isolated words. I get back an error
message, but I can't figure out what's wrong -- everything looks OK.
A: Certain words like 'since' are reserved words that belong to the
search language itself. Try putting each word in its own set of single
quote marks. Some reserved words are: FROM, IN, SINCE, TO, UNTIL, WHERE,
WITH, NEAR.
Q: I get back a list of matches, but no lines of "context".
A: You (logically) get no context back with the matches if you use
the "everything" symbol (*) or if you have a search expression consisting
of a single NOT phrase.
Q: I want all the posts sent by my friend, Mieze Maier, but I get
nothing when I use:
SEARCH * IN PARKINSN WHERE SENDER CONTAINS mieze.
A: SENDER is the e-mail address only. Her e-mail address may be,
e.g., [log in to unmask] and may not contain "Mieze".
SEARCH * IN PARKINSN WHERE SENDER CONTAINS maier
would work in this case.
Q: The manual mentions that you can narrow matches from a search with
a second search that omits the IN expression: the second search will be
performed on the results of the first, as in:
SEARCH tosca OR butterfly IN PARKINSN
SEARCH summer
A: Don't believe everything you read. This was possible in earlier
releases of the software, but does not appear to be true any longer.
There is nothing you can do with this technique that you can't do in
a single search. In this example, use:
SEARCH (tosca OR butterfly) AND summer IN PARKINSN
Q: To see the messages posted on July 8, 1997, I sent the following:
SEARCH * IN PARKINSN from 97/07/08 to 97/07/08
Why are there breaks in item numbers in this GETPOST command that came back?
GETPOST PARKINSN 42710-42738 42740-42744 42746-42748
A: Breaks in the numeric sequence occur because the dates are based not
upon when the list receives the message, but whatever the poster's e-mail
software inserts. In this case, messages 42739 and 42745 were dated July 9.
Similarly "errors" can occur when limiting by dates, because some people
have configured their e-mail software incorrectly.
Q: When I do a search with * (everything), the list returned includes
the item #, date and subject. Is there any way to list the sender also?
A: Unfortunately not at present. I was told that this may be included
in a future release of the software.
Q: I've searched the archive high and low, front to back, but can't find
the answers to my question.
A: You may have stumbled upon the Fundamental Question, to which there
is no answer. Then again, you might try posting the list -- it's full of
fundamentalists.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
