Reddit Has Hidden Search Tools
Reddit is an invaluable online community, but when it comes to search, it’s far from perfect. This community network is full of useful information, trending memes, and interesting discussions, but trying to find the specific content you’re looking for is a lot harder than it should be (so much so that many users have become just Google their issue and add the word “Reddit”.) But search Reddit can be more accurate and helpful if you know how to unlock its potential.
Yes, Google’s method does work, especially if you add “site:reddit.com” to the top of your query, but using Reddit’s advanced search filters will also make your site search more productive. The tricks are similar to the ones you can use with Google to get better search results , so it might be worth remembering.
Reddit Filters Can Help Narrow Your Search
Filters are one of the most powerful search tools. These keywords allow you to tell Reddit to only search for certain things, rather than the entire Reddit. They are not menu-based, which means that you need to know what terms to enter into the search bar in order to get the results you want. There are eight in total, and you can use them in the following ways:
- author : This word filters by the username of the specified account. For example, typing author:PresidentObama only displays content published by u/PresidentObama.
- flair : This word filters the flair of the subreddit, which means that this filter will vary depending on the subreddit. Some subreddits use flair to categorize posts, so typing flair:discussion will only show results based on user conversations and debates, not, say, news.
- self : This word filters posts made by a single account, not posts linking to another site. Use self:true to search for text messages only, and self:false for all other types.
- selftext : This word searches for text messages for a specific query. Entering selftext:dogs , for example, will search text messages for the word dog.
- site : This word filters specific URLs. For example, use site:lifehacker.com to search Reddit posts that contain Lifehacker articles.
- subreddit : This word filters for the specific subreddit listed. Use subreddit:askreddit to only search for posts from r/askreddit. Alternatively, if you’re searching for something while browsing a subreddit, Reddit will automatically search only within that subreddit.
- title : This word filters specific titles of submitted content. If you search for the title: “broken keyboard”, you will only see posts containing a broken keyboard in the title. Note: Always enclose multiple-word searches in quotation marks.
- url : This word filters certain words in the website URL to narrow down the website search. You have to combine this with the site filter. For example, site:lifehacker.com url:iphone will only return Reddit posts with Lifehacker URLs containing the word iPhone.
By themselves, these filters can range from useful to useless. However, combining them will make your searches more accurate. If you’re trying to find the answer to why your iPhone is heating up, you can combine something like subreddit:iPhone title:overheating fan:question and find very specific posts on your question. There doesn’t seem to be a limit to the number of lines you can join, so go for it.
Use Boolean Operators for Even Better Reddit Search Results
You can also search using logical operators (AND, OR, and NOT). These operators are case sensitive and can be used like this:
- Placing AND between words in a search tells Reddit to look for posts with all the words listed. Searching for “iPhone AND Android” will return results containing only both words; searching for “iPhone AND Android AND comparison” will return results containing only all three words.
- Use OR between words to get results for at least one of the listed words. For example, you can search for “Mac OR Windows” to see results containing either Mac or Windows or both.
- NOT is used between words when you want the result for the first word but not the second. Searching for “iPhone NOT iPad” will show results containing iPhone but not iPad.
You can also use parentheses to change the search value when using multiple logical operators. For example, searching for “iPhone NOT iPad OR Android” will exclude posts with the word iPad, but will show posts that use either iPhone or Android, while an iPhone NOT (iPad OR Android) will only show posts with the word iPhone and excludes messages. which have the word iPad or Android.
Other Reddit Search Tools You Shouldn’t Ignore
Of course, we should not forget about the search tools, which are more transparent. When you search, you will be able to sort your search results by “Posts”, “Comments”, “Communities”, and “People”. In the Sort section, you have the option to sort the results by the usual options you have on Reddit: Relevance, Hot, Top, New, or Most Comments. However, perhaps more useful is the “Time” sorting option, which allows you to search by “All Time”, “Last Year”, “Month”, “Week”, “24 Hours”, and “Hour”, which can go a long way. to narrow down a specific result.
I hope these tools help you find exactly what you’re looking for in your next big search on Reddit. If the first search did not return the desired results, try adding additional filters to the string or removing filters that might interfere. It would be nice if Reddit eventually added these options to the “advanced search” field, but for now, we’ll have to make do with our own resources.
[ Like a Geek ]