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Downloads & Tools - Search Tips
At its simplest, a search query can be just a word. But with the tips below, you can refine your search to give you more complete results.
NOTE: The tips below apply only to the "advanced syntax" option in the drop down list. You must select this option from the list in order for the syntax below to work properly.
- Look for a phrase.
Example - type " sports events " (with double quotes) to find the exact phrase sports events.
Since the search is not case-sensitive, this is equivalent to Sports Events
( NOTE: You must put double quotation marks around all GROUPS of words).
- Use a single asterisk (*) to look for words that begin with the same letters.
Example - type " key* " to find key, keying, keyhole,
keyboard, and so on
( NOTE: You must put double quotation marks around word fragments, as shown).
- Use a double asterisk (**) to look for all forms of a word.
Example - type " fly** " to match fly, flew, flown,
and flying
( NOTE: You must put double quotation marks around word fragments, as shown).
- Look for two or more words at once by using the AND operator.
Example - type sports AND events to find records that have both the
word sports and the word events anywhere.
- Look for words that are close to each other by using the NEAR operator
instead of the AND operator. When you use NEAR, the closer together the words
are, the higher the rank of the page, so the higher it appears in the list
of search results.
Example - type sports NEAR events to match records where the word
sports is within 50 words of the word events.
- Look for synonyms or similar words by using the OR operator. Note that
if you don't use the OR operator and search using multiple words, the words
are treated as a phrase.
Example - type dogs OR puppies to find the word dogs or the
word puppies, but not necessarily both.
- Limit your search by using the AND NOT operator to exclude words.
Example - type surfing AND NOT " the Internet " to find all instances of
surfing, as long as surfing is not followed by the phrase the
Internet.
- The same search can be performed using word fragments.
Example - type surfing AND NOT " the Inter* " to find all instances of
surfing, as long as surfing is not followed by a sentence fragment beginning with the
Inter.
- Use double quotes if you want to use AND, OR, NOT, or NEAR literally.
Example - type " houses near parks " to find records with the phrase
houses near parks. Without the double quotes, this query would use
the NEAR operator instead of the phrase.
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