Search returns too many results

[pmoto]

Typically, when I add a new DVD entry into my library I use the Search feature to automatically retrieve the information for the title as well as the cover art.

However, when I use the search feature, numerous results are often returned that seem to have little in common with my search title. In fact, it is not uncommon for me to get more than 100 possible results. The names of most of these titles are not even close to the title I searched for. I then must search through the many pages of results to find the correct title.

Any suggestions as to how I might refine my search to return results that more closely match the title I entered? Or, is there a way to reorder the search results based on "closest match" rather than alphabetically?

[Nora]

A good way to narrow down the search is by adding more keywords. Especially for movie titles, a lot of times the words in the title are very common so adding for example the name of one of the stars or the director's name will narrow the search down considerably. (Point in case - if you do a search for 'Nora' with the sort order set to sales rank, you get over 400 results and the first 10 don't have 'Nora' in the title. But if you search for 'Nora Ewan McGregor' you only get 4 results, all of which are the correct movie.)

If you are using Amazon for the search you can also use their power search tools. These are add-ons that ensure that the site will only return searches for a particular field. For example, using the above search again, you'd write '&Title=nora' (in all of these examples, disregard the quotation marks). That will return only entries that have Nora in the title. It's not as precise as adding another keyword but another good way of narrowing down the search.
You can read more about the different add-ons available in the Help under 'Adding > I get too many results for my search'.

[danco]

Search the forums (or wait till Conor answers).

I asked about this, and was given an answer. I can't recall the exact syntax, which you will find if you search,but something like

&Title="Movie I am Looking for" will search for the exact title,

whereas the simple

Movie I am Looking for

will return everything using Movie and/or Looking.

[Conor]

We will make it easier to limit the search with a pop up selection in the find window in a near future, so that you don't have to type "&Title=Hobbit" . It's something that would have been done already if it weren't for Leopard keeping us busy.

[pmoto]

Thanks for the informative and prompt responses. I look forward to the ability to easily limit the search. In the meantime, I will use the &Title= method.