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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