Tips.Searching

Configure Shareaza

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The first thing you should do to make sure you get the most out of your Shareaza results is to make sure it is configured properly.

In order to configure Shareaza to maximize your search results, you will need to ensure Power Mode is enabled. To enable Power Mode all you need to do is click View then Power Mode.

ed2k(eDonkey) Setup

The eDonkey network (also known as the eDonkey2000 network or simply ed2k) is a decentralized, mostly server-based, peer-to-peer file sharing network best suited to share big files among users, and to provide long term availability of said files.

The key to ed2k is the Server list. Without good servers, you will be lucky to get any results at all.

Server.met

The server.met file is the file that contains all the information about the ed2k servers. You can either import the file after downloading it or download it directly into shareaza. This section explains how to do both.

Downloading server.met directly to Shareaza(VIA Host Cache Window) What you will need for this is an URL to the server.met file. If you want, you can search google for server.met files. Though I recommend you go to [[1]] to get the file, as it contains the best servers. Note that the peerates.net link will DOWNLOAD the server.met file, so skip ahead to "Import a downloaded server.met."

Downloading server.met via Host Cache

Once you have the link you want to use, go into Shareaza and press F8. This will open the Host Cache window.
When you are in the Host Cache Window, Right Click and select Download MET.... Simply paste the URL into the box and download. You will then have a list of servers.

Downloading server.met via Shareaza Settings

For this method, you will need to ensure that Power Mode is enabled.
Go to Tools > Shareaza Settings... > Networks > eDonkey
Click "Download MET" and put the URL in the dialog box.

Import a Downloaded server.met file

In the case that you download a server.met file in an archive and do not wish to upload it to the web just to use it, you can simply use a method similar to the first "Downloading server.met directly to Shareaza" method.

Go into Shareaza and press F8. This will open the Host Cache window. When you are in the Host Cache Window, Right Click and select Import MET file.... Browse to where you saved the server.met file and open. You will then have a list of servers.

Configuring the eDonkey Network

For this you will need to ensure that Power Mode is enabled.

Unchecked:
Receive and update server list from connected servers.

Checked:
Always Connect to eDonkey
Connect to eDonkey today
Search known remote servers in the server cache

You can also customize how many search results you want before it stops searching.

Gnutella(2) Tips

First of all, Press F9 to enter the "Discovery Services" window. You can right click to Query a webcache or bootstrap. Quite often, querying a GWebCache will add more to your list of G2 Caches.

If you do not have any GWebCaches listed for whatever reason, you can go to http://gcachescan.jonatkins.com/ and copy one of the WebCache links. Then you go into the Discovery Services, right click and click "Add Service." Paste the link into GWebCache and click OK. Now Right click on this GWebCache listed and click "Query".

**Please note that you shouldnt need to query more than one, and even then it should only be done when you have no cache. Abusing the query can overload webcaches, resulting in problems for everyone**

Using Search Options

One feature(many sub-features) that many users do not utilize is the advanced search options including formatting the search. While Gnutella does not support all of these features, Gnutella2 has many more features built in.

Advanced Search Box

The Advanced Search Box is a box you can view by clicking "Advanced" on the Search Window sidebar.

You can search any combination of the three networks by ticking/unticking checkboxes. The second part of this box is the ability to set a minimum and maximum filesize to include.

Each Schema, aka the filetype you select in the dropdown on the Search Page, will bring a new Box below Advanced. This will include even more options to include in the search. Utilize these as often as possible to eliminate junk results.

Search Box Formatting

With advanced schema search boxes, you can use advanced formatting for numerical options.

• If a value is specified, the value must match exactly
• If a range (X-Y) is specified, the value must lie within that inclusive range
• If (X-) is specified, the value must be greater than or equal to X
• If (-X) is specified, the value must be less than or equal to X

Examples(bitrates for Audio Searches)

128 - Will only return results with a bitrate of 128.
128-192 - Will only return results with a bitrate between 128 and 192.
192- - Will only return results with a bitrate of 192 or larger.
-192 - Will only return results with a bitrate of 192 or lower.

Search Formatting

With Gnutella2, you can format your search terms to help narrow your search results.

- Will allow you to exclude certain words
Quotation Marks (") Will allow you to search for a phrase rather than each word

Examples

Ketchup Mustard - Will return any results with both Ketchup and Mustard in any order.
- Ketchup Mustard - Will return Mustard but not Ketchup.
-Ketchup -Mustard Mayonnaise - Will return neither Ketchup nor Mustard, but will return results with Mayonnaise.
"Ketchup Mustard" - Will return results with Ketchup followed by Mustard.
-"Ketchup Mustard" - Will return results without Ketchup Mustard. Will return Mustard Ketchup though.
"Ketchup Mustard" -Mayonnaise - Will return results with Ketchup followed by Mustard, but will exclude results with Mayonnaise.

Note: You may also use these in the Filter box at the bottom of the search window