searchintro modification - show users what the minimum word length is

This is an embarassingly simple template modification but one that has proven useful on my site. What it does is simply tell the user what the minimum character length for a search term is before they ever submit a search query.

It reduces frustration that arises when a user searches for something under the administrator-defined search length only to be told that their search is under the minumum requirement.

Anyway, here it is...


Open your searchintro template and make the following changes

Change this...

	<b>Advanced query:</b>
	Join words with AND, OR and NOT to control your search in more detail.<br>
	Add asterisks (*) to use wild cards in your search
	(<i>*bullet*</i> matches <i>vBulletin</i> etc.)
	</smallfont></td>

To this...

	<b>Advanced query:</b>
	Join words with AND, OR and NOT to control your search in more detail.<br>
	Add asterisks (*) to use wild cards in your search
	(<i>*bullet*</i> matches <i>vBulletin</i> etc.)
	<br><br>
	Searches must use words of <b>$minsearchlength characters</b> or longer.
	</smallfont></td>

Screen shots would be pointless as this is just a simple text add-on in the search screen. Apologies if this has already been suggested by someone else here. I did a cursory search of my own and didn't see anything like this listed.

[Tony G]

May be simple, but it's a useful modification.