Tips for Searching
At its simplest, a query can be just a word or a phrase. But with
the tips on this page, you can expand the focus of your query to
give you more complete results. These tips will get you started with
basic query language and acquaint you with the full power of
Microsoft Index Server.
Look for words with the same prefix. For example, in your query form
type key* to find key, keying, keyhole,
keyboard, and so on.
Search for all forms of a word. For example, in the form type sink**
to find sink, sinking, sank, and sunk.
Search with the keyword NEAR, rather than AND,
for words close to each other. For example, both of these queries, system
and manager and system near manager, look
for the words system and manager on the same page.
But with NEAR, the returned pages are ranked in
order of proximity: The closer together the words are, the higher
the rank of that page.
Refine your queries with the AND NOT keywords to
exclude certain text from your search. For example, if you want to
find all instances of surfing but not the Net,
write the following query:
surfing AND NOT the Net
Add the OR keyword to find all instances of either
one word or another, for example:
Abbott OR Costello
This query finds all pages that mention Abbott or Costello or
both.
Put quotation marks around keywords if you want Index Server to take
them literally. For instance, if you type the following query:
"system near manager"
Index Server will literally look for the complete phrase system
near manager. But if you type the same query without the
quotation marks:
system near manager
Index Server searches all documents for the words system
and manager.
Use Free Text Queries if you want
to enter queries using natural language. Index Server will examine
your query, extract nouns and noun phrases and construct a query for
you. With free text queries you can enter any text you want, from a
proper question, to a string of words and phrases, without worrying
about the query language. For example, if you type in the following
query:
"How do I use the Index Server
administration snap-in?"
Index Server will create a query for you automatically and begin
the search. Note that when you're using free text queries, the
regular query language features are disabled and keywords such as AND,
OR, and NEAR are interpreted as
normal words.
These hints will get you started, but for more complex
queries and more examples, see the Query
Language page.
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