If you are inside a thread, you can type a word or phrase into that window, and the board's search engine will locate each post, within the thread, containing the same word or phrase, beginning with the most recent.
If you use the same Search window in a sub-forum (for instance, the General Discussion sub-forum), you will be taken to a window showing each and every thread within the sub-forum contains the same word or phrase, beginning with the most recent.
That particular Search window is only available in the sub-forums and threads.
2: Some searches, however, need to be a little more intensive. That's where the following Search window, located through the link at the top left of your screen, comes into play:
Unlike the first one, this is, by itself, more of a brute force search. If you keep the Search This Forum Only? box checked, it will conduct a search for the word or phrase throughout all sub-forums of the main "parent" forum. (In this case, the search would be conducted through each sub-forum of the Heroes forum.)
If you uncheck that box, however, the search will be conducted throughout the entirety of the NBC forums.
In both cases, the results page will show you each and every thread in which the word or phrase appears. (It will not, however, tell you which posts within those threads contain the word or phrase.)
3: Clicking on the More Search Options link will pull up the following window, which enables a far more specific search:
There are several options to enable you to restrict the parameters of your search within that window.
3a: The first is the Keyword Search:
This is where you type in the word or phrase for which you are searching. Keep in mind that, even though it claims to search for the key words, it still looks for the word or phrase you input. (For instance: keying in "Hiro stabs Sylar" will take you to a far different set of results than if you had input "Sylar Hiro stabs.")
3b: The next option is the Member Name filter:
This option allows one of two things to occur. You can combine it with the Keyword Search in order to locate the postings from a specific member containing a specific word or phrase, or you can use it by itself in order to locate every post by a specific member.
3c: The Search Where option is a little trickier:
This allows you to tell the search engine the precise forum or sub-forum in which you want the search conducted. However, it isn't a drop-down menu. You have to click in the window and scroll through the options. (Either the scroll-button on your mouse or with the arrow keys on your keyboard.)
3d: The next option allows you to search for posts from a particular date, or particular range of dates.
This menu allows you to look for posts either newer or older than the age you select. (For instance: if you click on "90 days ago and..." and then select the bullet point beside "Older," it would allow you to locate posts no more recent than 90 days ago.)
That window also allows you to decide if you want the search to include only the Thread Titles (if you were looking for a specific thread, but couldn't remember the exact title) or if you wanted the Search Engine to look through every post as well.
3e: The final option is the sorting option:
This option gives you control over how the results are shown to you. After deciding which (if any) option you want from the drop down menu, you can decide how you want them displayed.
If you choose to have the results displayed as Topics, you will be taken to a results page containing each and every thread that fits, or contains posts fitting, your selections. If you decide to have the results displayed as Posts, you will be taken to a results page containing each and every post that fits your selections.
4: The final step is to click on the Perform The Search option.
