How can I search for things on NSN?

NSN is a complex site with many different parts, and unfortunately right now this means there are many different search functions. Some are new with the site-wide upgrades launched in May, 2008. Almost all of the search functions work differently, and none of them search the entire site. Search functionality is going to get a lot more work in the future, to improve and tie together all of the pieces. But for now, here is a quick breakdown on the different search mechanisms and what they will do for you.

Nav bar search field: At the top of most pages on the site, in the navigation bar, you will see a search field. This field usually has a small text hint in it to tell you what it will search for, because its function changes depending on what section of the site you're in.

1. On the main Home page as well as in the News, Articles, Workshops and Events sections, using this field will search all editorial content (mostly the articles and news posts) for your keywords; but it won't search forum topics or the store.
2. In the Forums section, this field will search all forum articles for your keywords; but it won't search editorial content or the store.
3. In the Store section, this field will search all of the store items; but it won't search the editorial content or forum topics.

Articles search: At the bottom of the Home page, main News and Articles pages, and a few other places, you will see a button with a magnifying glass icon and the label "Can't find it? Search our articles...". This button will take you to the advanced editorial content search page. Right now this just lets you enter your keywords and a couple of other settings that control how to search the editorial content (which includes mostly the articles and news items).

Quick forum search: At the top left of each forum index page, you will see another search field between the buttons labeled "NEW TOPIC" and "Search". This search field will search for your keywords in the topics of the current forum, but not other forums.

Advanced forum search: At the top of the forum pages with other control links (such as "Logout", "User Control Panel", "View your posts", etc.), there is a link called "Search". (It's also at the bottom of the forum pages.) This link takes you to the advanced forum search page where you can enter keywords, specify an author's user ID, select the forums you wish to search, and other settings. This is similar the main search function on the old NSN site.

Search for your own forum posts: If you want to find posts that you have made yourself in the Forums section, there are a couple of ways to do it (aside from using the advanced forum search to search for yourself as the topic author).

1. You can use the link labeled "View your posts" at the top of the forums pages, in the line with other control links. This will take you to a list of all forum topics on the site where you started or replied to the topic. There is a quick search field at the top of the list of results, so you can refine your search by adding keywords. Clicking on one of the entries in the results will take you to the original post of the topic.
2. You can also access your posts via your profile. In the control links at the top of the forums pages, click the link labeled "User Control Panel". Then in the tab labeled "Overview", click the "Front page" link on the left. You'll see some basic information about yourself in the middle area, including a link called "Show your posts". This will show a summary of every post you have made in the forums, in a different format than the above list. You also have a quick search field so you can enter keywords to narrow the list of results. Clicking the link labeled "Jump to post >" on the far right hand side of each entry will take you to your own post in the thread.

Search for any member's posts:You can view posts from any member via their profile, the same way you can search for your own posts via your profile. While viewing a post from any member, on the right hand side you'll see an author information block with the member's name an avatar icon (if they have one). Click the name or avatar and you'll go to the profile for that member; from there you can click the link labeled "Search user's posts" to view their posts as described above.

Portfolio search: The NSN member Portfolios section also has its own search functions, and they work like they used to on the old NSN site. But for the sake of completeness, here they are.

1. On the main Portfolios page, there is a search field near the top that allows searching for part of a photographer's name.
2. At the top of the Portfolios page, in the list of control links, there is a link called "Search Portfolios". This takes you to the advanced portfolios search page, where you can enter keywords, parts of the photographer's name, and other settings.