You can use the syntax in Table 4.1 to further define search terms within a simple search or within the Contains field in an advanced search.
Table 4.1. Further define search terms
Syntax | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|
Quotation marks around a word or phrase: " " | To search for an exact word or phrase, type quotation marks around the word or phrase. For a simple search (including the Contains field in an advanced search), if you do not use quotation marks, Webtop displays files that contain both the exact words you typed as well as variations of the words, such as scanning for the word scanner. This option is disabled when searching for more than one word or if your repository has not been indexed for variations. Quotation marks cannot be used to match the exact case of a word. | ||
The AND and OR operators | To get results that contain two search terms, type AND between the terms. A term can be a word or quoted phrase. To get results that contain at least one term, type OR between the words or the quoted phrases. You can string together multiple terms with the AND and OR operators. The AND operator has precedence over the OR operator. For example, if you type: knowledge or management and discoverythen your results must contain either knowledge or they must contain management, and discovery. | ||
The NOT operator | To get results that do not contain a term, type NOT before this term. The term can be a word or a quoted phrase. Only the term that follows the operator is taken into account. The NOT operator can be used after the AND or OR operator, separated by a space. Valid syntaxes would be: Documentum NOT adapter or Documentum AND NOT adapter, both queries will return results that contain Documentum but do not contain adapter. If you type Documentum OR NOT adapter, you get results that either contain Documentum (and possibly contain adapter) or that do not contain adapter. Use this syntax cautiously. It can generate a very large number of results. The NOT operator can be used alone at the beginning of the query. For example, if you type NOT adapter, you get results that do not contain adapter. Use this syntax cautiously. It can generate a very large number of results. The NOT operator is not supported for queries on external sources when it is alone at the beginning of the query or if used with the OR operator. The NOT operator cannot be used with parentheses. This is invalid: A NOT ( B OR C ). However, the NOT operator can be used inside parentheses. This is valid: (A NOT B) OR (A NOT C). ANDNOT (in one word) is not an operator, if you enter ANDNOT in a query, it will be considered as a search term. | ||
Parentheses around terms: ( ) | To specify that certain terms must be processed together, use parentheses. When using parenthesis, you must type a space before, and after each parenthesis mark, as shown here: ( management or discovery ) As an example, if you type knowledge and management or discovery, then your results will contain both knowledge, and management or they will contain discovery. But if you type knowledge and ( management or discovery ), then your results will contain knowledge, and either management or discovery. | ||
The multiple-character wildcard: * | If the repository is indexed with Fast index server, you can use the multiple-character wildcard to indicate additional characters anywhere in a word. It matches zero or more characters. If the repository is indexed with xPlore index server, the multiple-character wildcard works only on whole words, not parts of words, but results can include variations of the words you typed. For example, a query for computer* matches computer store or computer parts but not computerize. By default, xPlore does not support search for word fragments because searching for whole words is much faster. To change this default behavior to work like the Fast index server, the xPlore administrator can turn on the option to search for word fragments. The multiple-character wildcard is only available for a simple search (including the Contains field in an advanced search). The multiple-character wildcard is not available for searches on non-indexed repositories, for searches of property values, or for searches on external sources. For those, you should use truncation operators, such the Begin with operator. If you use wildcards, then Webtop will not display results that include variations of the words you typed. For example, if you type d*ment then your results must contain: document, development, deployment, department, etc. but not documented or documentation. | ||
The single-character wildcard: ? | If the repository is indexed with Fast index server, you can use the single-character wildcard to indicate a single, unknown character anywhere in a word. The single-character wildcard is only available for a simple search (including the Contains field in an advanced search). The single-character wildcard is not available for searches on non-indexed repositories, for searches of property values, or for searches of external sources. It is not available with xPlore index server. | ||
The NEAR(n) operator | To get results where the occurrences of two or more query terms are within a specified distance, use the NEAR(n) operator where n is the number of intermediate words. Query terms can match in any order. Type the query terms in parenthesis. You can use the NEAR operator with the AND and NOT operators. For example: a search on (OpenText AND president) NEAR(3) returns results where the terms OpenText and president are only separated by three words. |
The operators AND, OR, and NOT are reserved words. To search a term that includes an operator, use quotation marks. For example, if you search for "hardware and software", Webtop returns documents with that string of three words. If you type hardware, and software without quotation marks, Webtop returns all of the documents that contain both words.
The operators AND, OR, and NOT are not case-sensitive. For example, for your convenience, you can type: AND, and, And.