wpDiscuz Comment Search Addon

A post's search does not reach the others

A reader arrives with a specific question and sees a post with many comments. Chances are they will not read them all. If the answer they want sits in a comment, they need a way to reach it without scrolling the whole list.

The post's search box only looks at that post's comments; to reach what was said on any other you need the widget, and it is worth deciding which of the two your site needs.

wpDiscuz Comment Search adds a frontend comment search to wpDiscuz. The search button above the list searches only the current post. The add-on's widget, on the other hand, searches all the comments on the site. They are two different uses: finding something inside a conversation, or finding which conversation covered a topic.

A search that responds as you type

• AJAX search: starts while the reader types and does not reload the page.
• Search fields: all, content, author, email and custom fields.
• Result pagination: results are split into pages that also load with AJAX.
• Comment widget: lets people search the comments of the whole site.
• Guests: you can show or hide the search form for people who are not logged in.
• Look and text: frontend colors are customizable and phrases are translated with a quick setting.

A post with hundreds of comments and a frequent question

Imagine a question-and-answer post, the kind that collects comments over time. With content search, the reader types a word and the list narrows to the comments that contain it. If they are looking for what one specific person said, they use the author field. If they know that person's email, they can use the email field.

For a question that crosses posts, the route is different: place the widget in a sidebar or widget area and let the visitor search the whole site. This is a starting setup; modify it to what your site needs.

What it requires and what it does not include

The add-on needs wpDiscuz, the comments plugin distributed free in the WordPress directory. Without it the add-on does nothing, because the search relies on its comment list.

• The order of comments (newest, oldest, most voted) comes from wpDiscuz, not from this add-on.
• Among its functions there are no general filters by status, such as listing only comments without a reply.
• Among its functions there is no shortcode to list comments outside the page where they appear.

It is a search over comments, not a search of your posts and pages content.

Activating and adjusting it in five steps

1. Install and activate wpDiscuz if you do not have it yet.
2. Upload the add-on from Plugins, Add New, and activate it.
3. Open wpDiscuz, Settings, the Addons tab and go to the Comment Search subtab.
4. Decide whether the form is shown to guests and adjust colors and text.
5. Add the comment widget to a sidebar if you want to search the whole site.

wpDiscuz add-ons and site search tools

The base plugin is wpDiscuz. From the same ecosystem there is also wpDiscuz Widgets. To search the content of the entire site, and not the comments, the route is a content search tool such as Ajax Search Pro.

Answers about wpDiscuz Comment Search

Does it search only the post I am viewing?

The search button above the list does. To search the whole site you use the add-on's widget.

Can I search by author or by email?

Yes. The available fields are all, content, author, email and custom fields.

Can visitors without an account use it?

You decide: there is a setting to show or hide the search form for guests.

Does it work without wpDiscuz?

No. It is a wpDiscuz add-on and needs that plugin active.