I always use google; for example

"gardenweb home decorating conversations "tubing mascara"

BTW, IDK why but it works better for me if i search for gardenweb rather than Houzz

Well I found it because I knew KSWL was the original poster and I paged through her activity - certainly a roundabout way to get the info.

They ruined it.

We used to be able to search specific boards, which was very helpful.

I could go to the trees forum, for example, and search ’red oak’ for relevant threads about actual trees just on that forum. Now it searches every single board on Houzz dating back to 1972. You can imagine how many times red oak shows up.

And this board does not show up in any search results.

I have completely given up on ever trying to use the search on this site. It's hot garbage. I use google and type in the site like this:

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=mascara+tubing+site:houzz.com&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

I do remember when the search function was really pretty helpful. It has not been that way for months or even maybe a year or two. I am sometimes able to use google and maybe the poster's name along with a topic and houzz. I didn't realize but maybe I will hve better luck using gardenweb.

Whatever it is, I would say there IS no longer a decent way to search here.

Now that you can't search specific boards, I pretty much can't find anything, ever. Yes, Google.

No, there is no decent search function on this site ☹️

3katz, i sent the Thrive mascara back and am waiting for a replacement. In the meantime I purchased a tube of Benefit brand brown mascara primer that can also be used alone for a lighter look and I am very happy with it. No tubing action but it covers the lashes lightly and does not come off. For the bottom lashes I am using the Selena Gomez mascara hack of clamping tweezers around the mascara wand brush and then transferring the mascara to my lower lashes by clamping several of them at a time in the mascara-ed tweezers. No fall-off on the undereye area to clean up.

I don’t even have luck using Google. I look through my activity, and even though I’m not as active as some, it’s grueling!

I'm a bit puzzled - is this about using the mobile/tablet interface? Because I can still search the same way as always. This is what I see on my desktop:

And here are the search results:

I don't recall ever searching for anything on my phone, iPod or tablet.

Carol, I’m on my iPad and can’t search individual forums. Here’s what mine looks like:

Results:

Just ”Discussions”, which brings up all forums.

A website like this shouldn’t have so many differences among various interfaces.

I USED to get it where I could search by the forums, but now I get what Jilly has. The super frustrating thing is it invariably brings up posts from like 2008 when I KNOW there was a post from yesterday or last week.

I am using a chromebook mostly.

Are you using the App? I deleted the app and only use a bookmark of GW. My search results look like Carol’s. I do get better results in a specific board.

It’s so weird — if I try using the GW link, it won’t take my password. I can only use Houzz (not the app, but browser).

I so wish I could use the GW link!

Interesting--- I just "erased" houzz and entered gardenweb and it let me stay in here. When I tried searching though, it was the same as before. No option to search a particular forum.

Oh well.

You have to be in the forum. Then it has a selection offered.

Example: Click on HDC so you only see HDC, not all topics you follow. Enter what you want in search bar. Don't just hit enter. Scroll to the First line under search. It will say " Mascara in Home Decorating Conversations". When that is highlighted, hit enter.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/cooking/query/stuffed-pork-chops/nqrw

Sherry, when I click your link, it shows me as being logged out … I try to to sign in and it won’t accept any of my info.

But now I’m craving stuffed pork chops.

Thanks Sherry. That does seem to work for this minute. A vast improvement!

I tried again and it worked! Omg! Thank you, Sherry!

Oh happy happy day and I’m back in Gardenweb. 😁🎊🎉🎆🎇

Now I’m afraid to even breathe on my iPad. Don’t point even!

It is still not as good as search was before Houzz took over.

I do not understand this @#$& site.

Now if I close my browser, it reverts back to Houzz when I come back.

I bookmarked the Gardenweb browser, but it goes back to Houzz.

Sigh.

You have to clear your history of everything Houzz. Even that doesn;t work sometime.

There used to be a helpful Houzz software engineer that tried to figure out some of these puzzles. I think he and Emily used to butt heads because she would hide some of his responses in a thread. He probably doesn't work here anymore.

Edited to add, found him, he hasn't posted in a couple of years.

https://www.houzz.com/activities/user/haoyu1/comments

I wonder what their point is. Wonky typing issues, lousy or impossible search functions, disappearing threads. Gee, it almost feels like they don’t want us here.

Well, they want us to pump up views to the site to attract paying PROS. Beyond that, any benefit to regular members seems to be the result of sheer luck.

They don't.

I try to stay in GW but this wonderful platform will regularly default me back into Hoazz.

(Yes I know that's spelled wrong. I don't care. I gave up. My spell check insists it is spelled Hoazz and I'm done fighting with it over a word which doesn't exist. It's a stupid name anyway....)

Don't you just cringe when a post says, "Hey Houzzers" or "You Houzzers".

I can still search a specific forum. I'm using a PC, no app, and use gardenweb.com. I have to be on the main page of the forum I want to search, to be able to search in that specific forum.

Check your browser/device settings. Is it set to restore windows/tabs when reopening? Does it clear cookies/cache when quitting? Is there a default/bookmarked URL?

I haven't read all the posts above.

Here's what's just now worked for me:

I wanted to find a thread from January about retablos. Lynn, Ida, and I participated. Maybe others as well.

I didn't want to search through multiple pages, so I tried Googling, à la Mtn's suggestions. I got nothing.

Then I put "retablos" in the "Search Houzz" box. Got nothing I was looking for.

Put "Gardenweb.com/Discussions"; on the URL line in Chrome. It opened. Now the search box says "Search in Gardenweb." I put in "retablos" and the first hit was the thread I was looking for.

I take back my comments above. I cannot get search to work this morning. I know I read a comment from someone in KT, HDC, or Cooking about how they made Neelys from Food Network "Stuffed Pork Chops" just a few days ago. The only one I can pull up is doucanoe from 14 years ago. She unfortunately, is no longer with us. I was wanting to see if she had any hints of any changes.

I use Firefox on a desktop computer and stay in Gardenweb. The search function works fine for me, but it will not work in Houzz. This make little sense, but that is my experience.

I do have to highlight the "search in [forum]" option, as Sherry explained, and press enter only after that is highlighted.

I never use forums or social media on my phone.

I do have to highlight the "search in [forum]" option,

I did that today and it did not work.

I mostly use my laptop on this site and find I have totally different experiences depending on the browser I use.