Narrowing help searches to a subset of topics

Searching a subset of help topics is useful if you consistently use a particular section of the online help (and not other sections), or if you are confident that the information you need is in a particular section.

About this task

By default, when you search in the information center, all the topics in the contents view are searched.
Fast path: If you are confident that the information that you seek is in a particular branch of the navigation tree, select the topic at the top of the branch, click Search topics Search topics, and select Search this topic and all subtopics.
Alternatively, you can narrow your search to a particular set of topics by creating a search list, which defines a limited scope for the search. You can then search within that scope.

Procedure

  1. Click Search scope at the top of the information center near the Search field.
  2. Select Search only the following topics and click New.
  3. In List name, enter a name for your new search list.
  4. In the Topics to search list, select the topic sections to include in your search. To select subtopics, expand the branches.
  5. Click OK. Your new search list is displayed in the Search only the following topics list. To apply this search list to subsequent searches, click OK.
    Restriction: In some browsers, such as Konqueror and Safari, the save search lists function is not supported.

Results

The current active search list is displayed next to the Search scope link. The search list that you last used persists each time that you use the help system. Searches return hits only within the defined search scope.

What to do next

To return the search scope to cover all topics, click Search scope, select Search all topics, and click OK.

Feedback