.com!
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happened to the enhanced results format?!
- Is there a way to filter the results by date?
- Can you remove cities that have 'no results'?
- I know I'm closer to city X than Y, but it's not showing up there in the list.
- I'm experiencing a different problem with the site.
What happened to the enhanced results format?!
I recently got an email from craigslist asking that changes be made to the site. I'm still in the process of working things out with them, but for the moment, the java-based enhanced results format has been removed.
However, I've been working hard since then and have come up with a new format which should make things easier when searching large areas. It uses google to show all craigslist results in a single list, sorted either by date or by relevance. That way there's no slogging through a bunch of cities with no results. Learn more about it here.
Why don't you filter out cities with no results or show the number of results for each city?
Unfortunately, it actually isn't possible to do things like this with the classic 'direct from craigslist' formats. Because the results go directly from craigslist to your browser, my code can't actually do anything with them. That includes even viewing them to know how many there are, etc. They're simply passed on, as-is. Otherwise, the Searchtempest code would have to actually look at the results, which would break craigslist's terms of use, not to mention likely get the site blocked.
However, as mentioned above, I have come up with a new format which should make things easier when searching large areas. It uses google to show all craigslist results in a single list, sorted either by date or by relevance. That way there's no slogging through a bunch of cities with no results. Learn more about it here.
UPDATE: Workaround for cities with no results!
You can save a lot of time when searching for rare items by searching inside the results page for frames with results. So instead of scrolling and scrolling and looking for them, just do a search in your browser (by pressing CTRL-F), and search for the word 'displaying' (no quotes).
This will skip you straight down to the frames with results found! You may also find it useful to show more than 10 cities per page. You can now do this by clicking the 'Options' link at the top-right of the results page. (Be aware though that more than 50 or so cities per page can slow down computers without a lot of memory.)
That said, I think the new google mode will end up being the best option when searching for rare items.
Could you add options to filter the results by date?
Same deal I'm afraid. The requests go straight from your browser to craigslist, so there's no way for me to add any functionality beyond what they provide. This option WILL be available with the new google format. I'm working on it now.
Can't you use AJAX or Javascript to do these things?
Unfortunately javascript has security blocks that prevent any cross-site scripting. So... short answer, no - Javascript can't be used to do anything fancy with the craigslist results.
I know I'm closer to city: _____ than _____, but it's not showing up there in the list.
Keep in mind that the distance is calculated as a straight line, rather than a driving distance. Also, some craigslist 'cities' are in fact general areas or even whole states. In those cases, the distance is generally calcuated from the center of the region.
If you still think you've found a problem, please send me your address with zip code and the exact name of the craigslist city or cities that appear out of place. I'll try and get it fixed ASAP.
If you could paste the URL of the results page you get (ie: http://www.searchtempest.com/results.php?...") into the email, that might help too.
When I click on a craigslist ad then click 'back', it jumps to the top of the list and the ad isn't hilighted. Why?
This is due to a bug in internet explorer. Unfortunately there is no way for me to work around it at present. You could use the Firefox browser instead, or maybe open the ads in new tabs, as described in the Tips.
When I do a search, the results page just says "Loading..." forever.
If you're using the 'enhanced' results format, please check here for things to try.
If you're using the classic format, this has been known to happen occasionally with Internet Explorer for unknown reasons. My first recommendation would of course be to upgrade to Firefox, a far better browser. However, if this happens, refreshing the page should bring it up successfully.
How come searchtempest.com doesn't remember the cities I've searched so I don't have to enter them next time?
Search Tempest should remember all your settings. If this isn't happening, you probably need to enable cookies.
I'm getting blank windows for each city in Firefox.
Under Tools/Options (or Firefox/Preferences on a Mac), Advanced, make sure the checkbox "Warn me when web sites try to redirect or reload the page" is not checked. (For some reason when ST redirects to Craigslist, instead of warning, it just... breaks.)
I keep getting "Pop-up blocked" messages in Internet Explorer, even if I say Always Allow
orI can't open results in new tabs in IE - they always open in new windows
First, under Tools/Internet Options, Privacy tab, Pop-up Blocker, click 'Settings'. Then add 'craigslist.org', 'craigslist.ca', and 'google.com' to the list (no quotes). (The problem with just clicking 'always allow' is that it only allows pop-ups from that one city.)
Once that's done, click on the General tab, and under Tabs, click 'Settings'. Under 'When a pop-up is encountered', choose either to let IE decide, or to always open in new tabs (my preference).
Finally, forget all that and switch to Firefox because it's a million times better.
I've got another question that wasn't covered here.
You could check out the Help and Tips page, in case your question is answered there.
Also, go take a look at the new forums! There's lots of useful info there already, and more being added every day. You can also post questions or suggestions, or just random drivel, if you so desire. :) I read the forums regularly, and will answer your questions in short order. If you have a suggestion, I may well take it too. That's how things like the regions dropdown and the refresh button got introduced.
Cheers,
Search Tempest Nathan
