How to Search

Use connectors such as and and or to indicate the relationship between words or phrases in your search request.  Examples:

apple and pear

Both words must be present

apple or pear

Either word can be present

apple w/5 pear

Apple must occur within 5 words of pear

apple not w/5 pear

Apple must not occur within 5 words of pear

apple and not pear

Only apple must be present

name contains smith

The field name must contain smith

Click here for more help on search requests.

This sample form demonstrates searching of the works of William Shakespeare, expressed as XML.  Example:

<SCENE><TITLE>SCENE I. King Lear's palace.</TITLE>
<STAGEDIR>Enter KENT, GLOUCESTER, and EDMUND</STAGEDIR>

<SPEECH>
<SPEAKER>KENT</SPEAKER>
<LINE>I thought the king had more affected the Duke of</LINE>
<LINE>Albany than Cornwall.</LINE>
</SPEECH>

The style sheet used to display the plays is here.  Because dtSearch indexes the field structure of XML files, you can search for text using precise field criteria.  Examples:

persona contains Henry
    finds Henry in a persona field
scene/stagedir contains exeunt citizens
    finds a stagedir field containing exeunt citizens, directly nested in a field called scene
scene/speech/line contains publius
    finds a scene/speech/line field sequence that contained publius
/play/title contains Henry the Fifth
    finds a play field at the top of the hierarchy, with a title field just beneath it containing Henry the Fifth
scene//line contains publius
    finds a line field containing publius from anwhere beneath the scene field
Julius Caesar and (scene//line contains publius)
    same as above, with a full-text search for Julius Caesar