NEW: Paint.NET Search Engine

[Rick Brewster]

This is something I set up using Google Custom Search Engine. It will let you search through the Paint.NET help file and this forum here from one page. I'll bet it even works better than the forum's built-in search.

http://searchpaint.net

For example, if you search for "crop" then it takes you to exactly what you're looking for:

[usedHONDA]

Sweet! It'll be of great help to all.

Suggestion: How about adding a little search bar in Paint.NET? I think it'll be great addition for the next release.

[BoltBait]

Well, I tried it out. It got me much closer to the post I was looking for. The built-in forum search got me to the thread, this got me to the page withing the thread where the post was located. This is really handy for finding things in the Pictorium, for example where the thread is over 400 pages long.

Nice.

[Rick Brewster]

Sweet! It'll be of great help to all.

Suggestion: How about adding a little search bar in Paint.NET? I think it'll be great addition for the next release.

I'm hoping to squeeze in a menu item for 3.10, and hopefully something more elaborate for the next version. Something like the "Search..." box in IE7 and FF, but it'd be next to the Help menu at the top, maybe.

[Rick Brewster]

The question is whether "Paint.NET Search" or "Paint.NET Search Engine" is going to get more people to use it.

Also, does anyone know how I can make it so that the input is automatically set to the search text box when the search.html page loads?

[Aron]

this is great! i have never liked the forum search tool...

good job.

[Mr Frojo]

Nice! Great way to find tutorials on stuff you want to do. Something like this has been needed for a while.

[BoltBait]

Ctrl-E? Nice. Matches IE7's jump to search box.

Here is some javascript for you:

<br />var has_input = document.URL.indexOf('?');<br />if (has_input != -1)<br />{<br />  addr_str = document.URL.substring(has_input+1, document.URL.length);<br />  document.getElementById('q').value = unescape(addr_str);<br />}<br />document.getElementById('q').focus();<br />

Just put that at the bottom of your page (at least below the text box).

Totally untested and entered directly into this Quick Reply box.

[moc426]

this is cool

the page is html, if you can make it php or something else you can get the query string in the url. you can also use some javascript like bb said.

or you can link to the search direct, replace keyword with whatever search term

http://www.google.com/cse?cx=0178119197 ... &q=keyword

[Myrddin]

Nice, I'll put this into my signature to replace the one already present.

[usedHONDA]

@Rick's last post: Try something like "Search the Paint.NET Database" or "Search Paint.NET-related web content".

Also, I just had a radical idea that will set Paint.NET apart from the rest, but my idea is still "in Alpha 1".

[Crazy Man Dan]

Also, does anyone know how I can make it so that the input is automatically set to the search text box when the search.html page loads?

*raises hand*

If you want to pass a search term to the Search page on GetPaint.NET, you have several options. You'd pass the keywords to the URL (search.php?q=crop), then use PHP (whois says you're running Apache) to grab the querystring data and output it in the value="" attribute of the search text box. You could also use Javascript, but Javascript can be disabled on the user end, so using PHP on the server's end is more fool-proof.

Now, if you put a search box straight in PDN, you'll probably want to send them straight to the custom search page with that query as moc posted above.

[Rick Brewster]

BoltBait, looks like it was even simpler, although your code led me down the right path ...

CMD, for search queries generated from within Paint.NET I mainly need to check the TOS for Google Custom Search to see if it is permitted. They might treat it as an automated query, and kick me to the curb.

[BoltBait]

Sorry, I thought you wanted to pass a default search string into the form text box.

[Crazy Man Dan]

Yeah, that's what I thought as well. If you just want focus set to the text box when the user enters the page, then yeah, you've got it.

[Rick Brewster]

Cool.

I added it to the main site as well. That should get some extra traffic to it, although so far it isn't really apparent what the search box at the top of the page is for.

[Myrddin]

May I offer a suggestion for that then. Much like the Search Engine box in Firefox and IE7, couldn't you place unobtrusive text in the field prior to typing, along the lines of 'Search Paint.NET Forums and Help' or something like that.

[Crazy Man Dan]

Well, right now it does say Google Custom Search until you click in it, but that's just a background image so it'd be easy enough to change. I'm not sure if changing it would violate the Terms of Service, though...

[Rick Brewster]

May I offer a suggestion for that then. Much like the Search Engine box in Firefox and IE7, couldn't you place unobtrusive text in the field prior to typing, along the lines of 'Search Paint.NET Forums and Help' or something like that.

It doesn't look like the TOS allows for that.

[Myrddin]

Oh well, just a thought. Thanks for replying.

[BuzzKill]

This new search is very much needed and appreciated.

No more searching through the tons of threads you get after using the old forum search.

It's like having a bigger and better flashlight.

Thanks, Rick!

[Rick Brewster]

List of URL's the search engine covers:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Paint.net/* (just added)

http://blog.getpaint.net/* (just added)

http://www.getpaint.net/*

http://paintdotnet.12.forumer.com/*

http://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/*

Excluded:

http://paintdotnet.12.forumer.com/a/* (Paint.NET "forum archives" ... ugly and weird)

Let me know of any other sites that should be included, or excluded. (exclusion should cover subsets of included sites, like the 'forum archives' above)

[Rick Brewster]

Added:

http://www.BoltBait.com/pdn/*

[usedHONDA]

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Paint.net/* (just added)

Thanks! I knew the Wikibook I started would one day be used for something!

[pyrochild]

Added:

http://www.BoltBait.com/pdn/*

Maybe http://cmdsketchpad.com/ as well?