"I've been looking for that!"

"How did it know what I was looking for?"

If you've made any of these comments recently, then you've probably been using the Knowledge Base, a self-service guided search tool that allows you to access precise technical information on Macromedia products.

The Knowledge Base has an intuitive guided search tool that allows you to fine-tune your queries based on established categories and "best bet" choices. This tool is free for all macromedia.com visitors.

Guided Search
Let's face it ­ in most cases, you'll find one of two scenarios when searching for information: too many results, or not enough. The new guided search aims to eliminate that problem. Once you've entered your initial query, the search tool provides you with various areas to further focus or expand your results:

• Relevant search topics: When Macromedia publishes a new document, the Knowledge Base analyzes the content and maps it to appropriate categories: Activity, Symptom, Product Versions, or Environment. You can focus your search within any of these topics to filter your search results.
• Search within a search: If you feel the list of documents is still too large, you can further restrict your results by typing additional search terms in the "Search within your results" field. Rather than searching through the entire Knowledge Base again, this action searches within the documents already returned in the previous search.
• Best bets: In some cases, you will also notice a section labeled "Best Bets." You will see this option when we think a particular link may be useful for you, based on the search terms you entered.
• Advanced options: Using the Advanced Search option, you can also filter your search based on criteria not previously available.

I Say ColdFusion, You Say CF
In an environment where acronyms rule, everyone has their own way of referring to something. In the past, this would have been a problem. Now, with an extensive dictionary of technical terms available, it's no longer an issue. The Knowledge Base is aware of the variations of those technical terms and will find the content you're searching for. Each search a customer performs automatically provides structured feedback on the technical quality of the Knowledge Base to Macromedia, which allows us to continually add new technical information to make the Knowledge Base more effective.

Yes, You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
The Knowledge Base content currently includes technical information (TechNotes), Macromedia Developer Center articles, and Macromedia customer service notes on policies and procedures (service notes). Again, because each search of the Knowledge Base provides information regarding success or failure of the results, we can be smarter about providing the information you need, so you can succeed in using our products. The information gathered also provides us with valuable insight to fill content gaps, improve relevance, and increase the effectiveness of the system.

If you've used the new Knowledge Base, we'd love to hear your feedback (www.macromedia.com/bin/kb_feedback.cgi). If you haven't, we've provided a FAQ (www.macromedia.com/support/knowledgebase) with additional information and a short demonstration of how to use the guided search, as well as general search tips (www.macromedia.com/support/knowledgebase/searchtips).