Is there anyway to find out if my question has already been asked?

There is a search feature at the top right of the page that you can use. I always forget myself and ask questions before searching. Whoops.

Welcome to the collective. Thanks for asking about that. @bezdomnaya is correct. You can search topics and/or key words in a question itself. It is not perfect, but it eliminates some duplication.

And in the end if you ask, people who have been here a while are usually kind enough to link you to pertinent questions.

Just ask your question. If it has been covered before, you will automatically be notified before you can post your query.