Search Tips

	Basic Queries Optional Modifiers CASE, MANY, NOT, ORDER, [X] Concept Operators AND, ACCRUE, OR Proximity Operators NEAR, NEAR/N, PARAGRAPH, PHRASE, SENTENCE Evidence Operators STEM, THESAURUS, TYPO/N, WORD, WILDCARD, ?, *, [], {}, [ ^ ], [ - ]

QUERIES
A simple query uses words and phrases separated by commas.

When a query is entered in mixed case, the search engine finds case-sensitive matches.
Queries entered completely in upper or lower case force the search engine to find all versions of the query terms—mixed, upper, and lower case.

To search for characters such as backslash (\), comma (,), and quotes (“ and'), insert a backslash before the character, for example:
C:\\bin\\print

To create robust queries, you can incorporate operators and modifiers in the query syntax. The use of operators and modifiers is optional. A modifier usually is used with an operator rather than alone.

OPTIONAL MODIFIERS
CASE
Performs a case-sensitive search. The search engine attempts to match the case-sensitivity provided in the query expression, when mixed case is used. CASE is invalid with the SOUNDEX and STEM operators.
<CASE> NeXT

MANY
Incorporates the density of search words in the calculation of the relevance-ranked score. Used with evidence and proximity operators, except NEAR.
<MANY> <STEM> apple

NOT
Excludes documents containing the words or phrases. To search for the word NOT, enclose NOT in double quotes.
cat <AND> mouse <AND> <NOT> dog

ORDER
Specifies the order in which search elements must occur in the document. Used with PARAGRAPH, SENTENCE, and NEAR/N.
president <ORDER> <PARAGRAPH> adams

[X]
(RANKING)
Assigns a relative importance, or weight, to search terms from 1 to 100, where 1 represents the lowest importance and 100 represents the highest.
[50]politics, [80]politics <IN> title

CONCEPT OPERATORS
AND
Selects documents that contain all of the search elements you specify. (To search for the word AND, enclose AND in double quotes.)
computer <AND> laptop
Lewis“and” Clark

ACCRUE
Selects documents that include at least one of the search elements you specify. The more search elements that are present, the higher the score will be.
<ACCRUE> (computer, laptop)

OR
Selects documents that show evidence of at least one of the search elements you specify.(To search for the word OR, enclose OR in double quotes.)
nation <OR> region
left“or” right

PROXIMITY OPERATORS
NEAR
Selects documents containing specified search terms, where the closer the search terms are within a document, the higher the document’s score.
<CASE> World <NEAR> peace

NEAR/N
Selects documents containing two or more search terms within N number of words of each other, where N is an integer up to 1000.The closer the search terms are within a document, the higher the document’s score.
commute <NEAR/10> train

PARAGRAPH
Selects documents that include all of the search elements you specify within the same paragraph.
<CASE> Apple <PARAGRAPH> computer
<MANY> <PARAGRAPH> laptop

PHRASE
Selects documents that include a phrase you specify. A phrase is a grouping of two or more words that occur in a specific order.
national <PHRASE> park

SENTENCE
Selects documents that include all of the words you specify within the same sentence.
<SENTENCE> (car, park)

EVIDENCE OPERATORS
STEM
Expands the search to include the word you enter and its linguistic variations.
<STEM> film

THESAURUS
Expands the search to include the word you enter and its synonyms.
<THESAURUS> altitude
<MANY> <THESAURUS> altitude

TYPO/N
Expands the search to include the word you enter plus words that are similar to the query term.This operator performs approximate pattern matching to identify similar words. The number specifies the maximum number of transpositions in one word.
<TYPO/3> sweeping

WORD
Performs a basic word search, selecting documents that include one or more instances of the specific word you enter.
<WORD> rhetoric

WILDCARD
Matches wildcard characters included in search strings. Certain characters automatically indicate a wildcard specification.

?
Specifies one alphanumeric character.When the question mark is used,<WILDCARD>is unnecessary.

*
Specifies zero or more alphanumeric characters. When the asterisk is used, <WILDCARD> is unnecessary.

[ ]
Specifies one of any characters in a set. You must enclose the word that includes a set in back quotes ('), and there can be no spaces in a set.
<WILDCARD> 'c[au]t' finds cat and cut.

{ }
Specifies one of each pattern separated by a comma.You must enclose the word that includes a pattern in back quotes {'}, and there can be no spaces in a set.
<WILDCARD> 'cat{s,er}' finds cats and cater.

[ ^ ]
Specifies characters excluded from the set. The caret (^) must be the first character after the left bracket ([) that introduces a set.
<WILDCARD> 'l[^ai]p' excludes lap and lip.

[ - ]
Specifies a range of characters in a set.
<WILDCARD> 'c[a-u]t' finds every three-letter word from “cat” to“cut”.