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Search engine errors!!!!

KerrGaryR
KerrGaryR ✭
November 6, 2021 edited December 27, 2021 in Search

Why, when I do and "Exact" search using the actual birth year or a narrow range (10 years or so) do I get results going back a hundred years?????

Today I did a search using the nation of birth, the location of living (US) and a 10 year range for the birth year (1900-1910) with the "Exact" box with an "X" in it and got the following: (1) 16,500,000+ possibilities; (2) range of birth years--on the first 5 pages--(1610-1945); (3) no names--on the first 5 pages--for women with the correct spouse's surname (also with an exact "X"; (4) a new search after placing an "X" in the father's given name gave 16,000+ possiblities with none on the first page within the birth year range.

What's up with this new search engine??? Going through thousands of records--most of which are out of range entered--is something I don't have time or mental effort to scroll through (not to mention the discouragement and throwing up of the hands at the impossibility of finding what I need that "may" be in the database.

This new search engine has got to be fixed when narrowed searching is a necessity!!!!

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  • Julia Szent-Györgyi
    Julia Szent-Györgyi ✭✭✭✭✭
    November 6, 2021

    Unfortunately, the "exact" boxes do not apply to dates. You can filter down to a decade of birth instead, although it's not a perfect replacement, especially if the desired range is mid-decade to mid-decade.

    Part of the reason for the unreasonable spread of results is that the place and date fields now default to "any" rather than "birth". You have to choose "more options" and specifically select "birth" (and remove any inputs from "any") to have any hope of a reasonable result.

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