 dtSearch Text Retrieval Engine Programmer's Reference |
Boolean Search Requests
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dtSearch Text Retrieval Engine Programmer's Reference |
Boolean search request syntax
dtSearch supports two types of search requests:
An any words or "natural language" search is any sequence of text, like a sentence or a question. In an "any words" search, use quotation marks around phrases, put + in front of any word or phrase that is required, and - in front of a word or phrase to exclude it. Examples:
banana pear "apple pie" "apple pie" -salad +"ice cream"
A boolean search request consists of a group of words, phrases, or macros linked by connectors such as AND and OR that indicate the relationship between them. Examples:
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Search Request |
Explanation |
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apple and pear |
Both words must be present. |
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apple or pear |
Either word can be present. |
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apple w/5 pear |
Apple must occur within 5 words of pear. |
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apple pre/5 pear |
Apple must occur 5 or fewer words before pear. |
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apple not w/5 pear |
Apple must not occur within 5 words of pear. |
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apple and not pear |
Only apple must be present. |
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name contains smith |
The field name must contain smith |
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apple w/5 xfirstword |
Apple must occur in the first five words. |
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apple w/5 xlastword |
Apple must occur in the last five words. |
If you use more than one connector, you should use parentheses to indicate precisely what you want to search for. For example, apple and pear or orange juice could mean (apple and pear) or orange, or it could mean apple and (pear or orange).
Noise words, such as if and the, are ignored in searches.
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Topic |
Description |
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How to search for phrases in boolean searches | |
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Connectors used in boolean searches |
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Copyright (c) 1995-2008 dtSearch Corp. All rights reserved.
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