# Search needs help for all magic filters
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751
**Category:** Feature
**Created:** [October 4, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751 "2014-10-04T11:52:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/1 "2014-10-04T11:52:27Z")
We have quite a few “magic” directives in search like
`order:latest`
`status:open`
`category:bugs`
Though very handy they are impossible to discover.
We need something like keyboard shortcuts help to help discovering this. Visual mocks totally welcome.
* * *
Another rather interesting option would be to amend the syntax some and allow for autocomplete there. Eg: use `:order:latest` then after typing `:` we can pop tips somewhere.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/3 "2014-10-04T17:12:58Z")
I thought we already discussed this. Put a help link to the right of “show more” in the existing search interface. The help link pops a dialog just like ? does for keyboard shortcuts.
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### Author:  [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/5 "2014-10-04T21:31:48Z")
Yeah, I just did not want to lose this, and do not mind getting additional feedback
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### Author:  [@elberet](https://meta.discourse.org/u/elberet)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2014, 12:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/6 "2014-10-05T12:54:38Z")
To be honest, I could do with a little less magic in the search field, and a little more handholding, i.e. a nice, slim filter UI just above the input field… even if that only inserts magic into the search string. 🙂
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### Author:  [@cpradio](https://meta.discourse.org/u/cpradio)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/7 "2014-10-05T14:21:02Z")
Although, that seems like a good idea, it is too late in the game. I would have already had to enter a search to see the advanced options and what do you do if there aren’t more than 5 results?
Why not do this? (ignore the color of the text for now)
Clicking on it, would show a div beneath it showing the :order:latest, etc. (so the search container gets bigger and you can continue to type without having to close a modal.
Later on, when a “true” advanced search page is in place, the link can take you there instead.
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/8 "2014-10-06T04:13:31Z")
I had put a lot of though into Discourse seach this weekend but in the end pulled my comments. Had second thoughts about them. I felt like I was being critical of something I don’t have first hand development knowledge on…plus it feels too philosophical for a discourse administrator to get in the middle of.
But here is what I see…
The problem is data decay and the rate of this decay depending on the concept or module can be fast (here on meta). Other instances may be different.
Sam’s ‘order latest’ is one good all around combantant to this (if it can be discovered and used).
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/9 "2014-10-06T04:22:31Z")
Except this checkbox area does not appear when searching from the homepage, etc. We could just add arbitrary white space in that case though I guess.
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2014, 4:27am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/10 "2014-10-06T04:27:59Z")
I like this idea very much…but what do discourse developers think about this? They made search into a widget thing for a reason.
If all this is open through API then maybe someone will champion an advanced search plugin that makes a search page with all the bells and whistles.
I think they want to just add discoverables to the widget seach.
Also beyond meta.d …how much is seach a problem (for other discourse sites)?
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### Author:  [@Mittineague](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Mittineague)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2014, 8:46am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/11 "2014-10-06T08:46:05Z")
IMHO it is _very much better_ than it was last spring, but still has room for improvement. And I would like to see it extended to other areas as well. eg. Be able to Search my PMs, Notifications and private Staff areas.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/12 "2014-11-09T21:04:41Z")
This help is now present.
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/search-needs-help-for-all-magic-filters/20751/13 "2014-11-09T21:05:02Z")