Sadly – following your comments on another thread – we can not do this without getting technical! But will do my best to explain.
MySQL – the database engine where all of your site data is stored – essentially has two different types of table type – storage format if you like. The most common – and the one that WP automatically will use – is called MyISAM. The other – better in many ways but more restrictive – is called innoDB.
As I say – by default most hosts set their mySQL up to create MyISAM tables as does the WordPress installer. The Simple:Press install script specifies myISAM in it’s command code.
Simple:Press utilises an index type named FULLTEXT which is powerful and useful to implement search queries against. We create a FULLTEXT index on both the Simple:Press sfposts and sftopics tables. However, FULLTEXT indexing requires the table to be MyISAM. It will not work with innoDB. (OK – actually this is not quite true as I understand it. The most recent versions of MySQL do, I believe, now offer FULLTEXT support on innoDB tables. But – most, if not virtually all – hosting companies are always several versions of mySQL behind as they prefer to play it safe. I understand this bit it is a nuisance). It is one of the main reasons why Simple:Press specifically commands tables to be MyISAM – to get the FULLTEXT support needed for better searching.
Now- the only way I can think of that you are not seeing the FULLTEXT index is if your tables have been created as type innoDB against the commands of out install script. I have to say that I have not encountered such a thing happening before but it may be possible that your host company has set things up this way.
So the first thign to check – now we know the index is missing – is to find out the table type and you can do this using phpMyAdmin with the following steps:
- Launch phpMyAdmin and display the list of tables that make up your site database
- Locate the ‘…sfposts’ table and click on the ‘structure’ link to the right of it.
- When loaded click on the ‘Operations’ menu item along the top of the display.
- Simply look at the third column – Table Options and see what it says the ‘Storage Engine’ is for that table.
- Close it down without doing anything else – it’s a scary place to be if you clicked an option by mistake!
IF the engine is ‘MyISAM’ then we scratch our heads, wonder why the index was not created and walk you through creating it which is easy enough.
IF the engine is ‘innoDB’ then I would firstly ask your host why innoDB has been imposed against the table creation script and if those two tables (sfposts and sftopics) can be changed to MyISAM tables.
And then let’s take stock.