Home > Features >

Advanced Search Syntax Operators
What are the advanced search syntax operators, such as Boolean, and phrasing?
 
Increasing the accuracy of a search can be accomplished by using special search query operators supported by siteLevel.
 
By default, if a search query is entered without any operators between the words, each word must be present in a document in order for it to show up on the results list.  Here is a chart of Boolean operators and some examples of each:
 
 
NOT - (minus)
As important as it might be to require a word to exist in a search query, it may be just as important to provide words that you do not want to be present in a search.  This is where the NOT operator, or the - (minus) comes in handy.  This often helps visitors remove documents by specifying words that may not have relevancy to their search.  In the example below, the words central and park are required, however, the word mime must not be present in order for a document to show up on the results page.
 
 
 
The same thing can be accomplished with + and - operators in the example below.
 
 
 
OR | (pipe)
The OR operator, or the | (pipe) is a condition that states that the word or phrase can be present (and thus give it a higher relevancy ranking), but it is not required for a document to show up on the results page. This operator is useful to include additional search query parameters without completely removing other candidate matches.  In the example below, the word search is required, but the word term is not -- however, if it is present in a document, it will score a higher relevancy.
 
 
 
"phrase search"
Searching for phrases means that the words between the quotes must show up in that exact order, adjacent to one another.  In the example below, the complete phrase "Detroit Rock City" must be present in a document in order for it to show up on a results page.  Having the words Detroit, Rock, or City on the document is not enough -- the words must be in the exact word order as provided between the quotation marks.
 

Sign Up

It just takes a few easy minutes to get your own site search engine.

Simply fill in the information below to get started:








Member Login







Having trouble logging in?

 
© Copyright 2024, whatUseek, Corp.  Terms  Privacy Policy  Feedback