Searching M204wiki

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As described in the following subsections, M204wiki offers several alternative ways to find the information you want.

Note: If you merely are trying to find something on the page you are viewing, press Ctrl+F to invoke the browser page search.


Your browser's Google search

This might be the best of the search options, though very recently created pages might not yet be indexed.

Precede or follow your search term with the word M204wiki. (Ignore Google's message: "Did you mean M204 Wiki?" M204wiki as one word yields better search results.)

The search is not case-sensitive. Enclose multiple-word search terms in quotation marks for the most precise results.


The M204wiki search

This is a search box located above the article text or in the left sidebar.

Under the default ("Vector") "skin" (wiki interface presentation):

  • The Vector search tool uses what you type in the search box as a stem, and it suggests auto-completions for existing wiki page names (after capitalizing the first character). Selecting the name of a page then brings up the page.
  • If you search for a non-existing page name (case not important), you get a list of pages that contain or approximately contain your search string. Enclose multiple-word search terms in double quotation marks for the most precise results.

    Note: You receive two sets of results: the first ("Google site results") is the list from the M204wiki built-in Google site-search, and the second ("Wiki results") is from the M204wiki native search tool.

An advantage of using the M204wiki search box is quick creation of a new page:

  1. Specify the page name, exactly as you want it.
  2. Click the "magnifying glass" icon.
  3. In the "Wiki results" section of the "Search results" page, click the page name (red) in the prompt to create a new page:

Notes:

  • To search for a phrase, enclose it in double quotation marks.
  • Wildcard searches do not work.
  • Your results may include wiki or HTML formatting characters, because the search uses the source text of the wiki pages (what you see if you edit a page).

Fast path to wiki search box: Alt-Shift-F

On some browsers, you can use keyboard shortcuts rather than certain mouse operations to work with the wiki pages. Generally, these shortcuts pop up as tool tips when you let the mouse hover over some clickable area.

An important shortcut enables you to immediately jump to the wiki Search box with focus there, so that you can immediately type your search terms and then press Enter:

Alt-Shift-F

That is, simultaneously hold down the Alt, Shift, and F keys.

The Method search tool

This is found in the sidebar Help/Editing area.

This is for SOUL OO system class methods only. In addition to being very fast, this tool provides wildcard searching, so you don't have to know the exact method name.


Browsing a category page

Most M204wiki pages belong to one or more categories, which are named collections of similar topics. A category page contains links to each of its member topics. Category page names are prefixed by Category: and are collected themselves on the Categories page.