This search can make use of both Boolean expressions.
Keywords
Searching based on one keyword is not a complex search, but will in most cases return many results. Multiple word searches can return even more results, so try to limit the number of search terms to relevant topics and try to avoid any extraneous words.
If searching based on multiple keywords, the search will try to best match all of the words entered. The returned search will give you a percentage match. If two keywords are entered and receive a 50% match, the search found one of the words on a page or in a document.
Boolean Expressions
These are made up of the words OR, AND, AND NOT, and NEAR, and are used to create relationships among the keywords in your search query. Using these expressions allows you to tailor your search to find exactly what you are looking for.
The Boolean options that follow are only supported in the "Documents" search option:
Placing "and" in between words will show only results with both words. Any results with only one word and not the other will not be shown.
The word "not" excludes the word immediately after it. The returned search will contain pages or documents not containing the excluded word.
The expression "and not" can be used between a word you wish to find and a word you wish to exclude, in order to find matches containing one word but not the other.
The word "or" in between words will show results with either word.
A number of other options are available, and a series of examples follows.
| Search Examples | |
|---|---|
| apple pie | Finds documents containing the phrase apple pie |
| apple AND orange | Finds documents containing the word apple and the word orange |
| apple NOT orange | Finds documents containing apple but not containing the word orange |
| apple OR fruit | Finds documents containing the word apple or the word fruit |
| fruit* | Finds documents with words starting with fruit (eg, fruitful, fruition, fruity) |
| apple <NEAR> pie | Finds documents with word apple within 1000 words of the word pie |
| apple <NEAR/5> pie | Finds documents with word apple within 5 words of the word pie |
| apple <PARAGRAPH> pie | Finds documents with word apple within the same paragraph as the word pie |
| apple <SENTENCE> pie | Finds documents with word apple within the same sentence as the word pie |
| machine? | Finds documents containing the letters machine followed by any other character (eg, machined, machines) |