# Can we turn off search highlights?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-turn-off-search-highlights/316844
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [August 13, 2005, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-turn-off-search-highlights/316844 "2005-08-13T07:30:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2005, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-turn-off-search-highlights/316844/1 "2005-08-13T07:30:42Z")
After doing a search the text you searched for is highlighted in the threads you open from the search. Is there anyway we can get an option to turn this off on the search page or just turn it off altogether? Its very annoying to search for something like “motorcycle” and reading a bunch of red words in the thread.
---
### Author:  [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2005, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-turn-off-search-highlights/316844/2 "2005-08-13T08:02:46Z")
How about you go to the URL, and simply delete or cut out the part that says
> [@](#):
>
> &highlight=theword youaresearchingfor
then press enter. Viola, you have just gotten the page in an unhighlighted state. Personally, I think doing this makes far more sense than adding another new feature to the board.
---
### Author:  [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2005, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-turn-off-search-highlights/316844/3 "2005-08-13T08:07:15Z")
“Viola”
It’s spelled “whallah” you turd.
Just kidding! Just kidding! I know/hope you were joking. 😉
---
### Author:  [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2005, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-turn-off-search-highlights/316844/4 "2005-08-13T08:14:43Z")
> [@Eleusis](#):
>
> “Viola”
😕 What, doesn’t everyone use the name of [a kind of musical instrument](http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/jokes/viola.html) to indicate, “And before you know it!”
😃
---
### Author:  [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-turn-off-search-highlights/316844/5 "2005-08-13T20:10:09Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#):
>
> How about you go to the URL, and simply delete or cut out the part that says then press enter. Viola, you have just gotten the page in an unhighlighted state. Personally, I think doing this makes far more sense than adding another new feature to the board.
Yeah I know but its a pain in the arse to do.
---
### Author:  [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-turn-off-search-highlights/316844/6 "2005-08-13T21:38:13Z")
Is a viola anything like a tuba? I mean they both make musical sounds.
Don’t they?
Just kidding.
---
### Author:  [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-turn-off-search-highlights/316844/7 "2005-08-15T15:12:00Z")
Here is a [link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=321476) to a thread I started on the same subject a couple of months ago. As you can see, it got about the same response as this one.
In other words, nothing helpful.