# [How to] Use the BBS Search capabilities



## Makai Guy (Dec 2, 2016)

To search for posts on the BBS, start by clicking in the *Search* box near the upper right corner of the page:

This will bring up the XenForo search dialog.  To search for normal bbs posts, click the *Search Threads* link.



The fields below are shown for "Search everything", "Search threads", and "Search profile posts" searches. None of them are shown for "Search tags" searches which have their own display for choosing tags to search.

Enter your search term(s), if any, in the *Keywords* box.


Check the _*Search titles only*_ box if you only want to search thread titles and not text of individual posts.


If you wish to search for posts by the author(s) of the post(s), enter the username(s) in the _*Posted by Member*_ box.  Note that if you leave the _Keywords_ box blank, it will look for ALL posts by the entered username(s).


To search for only newer posts, enter a cutoff date in the _*Newer than*_ field.
The additional search refinement fields below are shown ONLY for "Search threads" searches.

The _*Minimum number of replies*_ field allows you to limit the search to threads with your specified number of replies.


The _*Search in forums*_ picklist enables to limit which forum(s) to search, otherwise all forums will be searched.   Hold the CTRL key down while clicking on multiple forums.   If you also want to search sub-forums of your selected forums, click the *Search sub-forums as well* box.


By default, *Order by: Date* is selected, and search returns are listed in chronological order.  You can change this to *Order by: Most replies* to order by this instead.


By default, the search returns a list of matching posts.  If you wish to return threads instead, click the *Display results as threads* box.


*Other BBS Help Topics*​


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