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SEARCH TIPS



Introduction

By default, the search engine tries to locate pages which have exact matches for all of the words entered in your search query. Next, it tries to locate pages which contain any words in your search query.

Following are some tips on how to influence the search behavior so it can produce the results you want:



Check spelling

Make sure your search terms are spelled correctly. If sound-alike matching is turned on, the search engine will attempt to find words that sound similar to your search terms, but it's always best to spell the search terms correctly.



Use multiple words

Using multiple words will return more refined results than a single word. For example, typing new japanese automobile will return more relevant results than just typing automobile.

Example: new japanese automobile



Use similar words

The more similar words you use in a search, the more relevant your results will be.

Example: safe secure privacy security



Use appropriate capitalization

Capitalize proper nouns, and remember that lower-case words will match any case. For example, typing product will return all documents containing the words product, Product, and PRODUCT. Typing Product, however, will instruct the search engine to look only for the capitalized word.

Example: Product User Reference



Use quotation marks

Use quotation marks to find words which must appear adjacent to each other, for example, "we love you." Otherwise, the search results will include the words we, love, and you, but not necessarily in that order. The words may appear anywhere, and in any order, within the document. To match a near (within a couple of words) phrase, use square brackets [ ] around the words. To match a far (within several words) phrase, use braces { } around the words.

Note: if you are using the Site Search tool, the quotation marks and brackets will work only when the "Any Words" radio button is selected. Quotation marks and brackets are ignored if the "All Words" or "Phrase" radio buttons are selected.

Examples: "we love you", [we love you], {we love you}



Use plus (+) or minus (-)

Use a plus sign when your search term or phrase must appear in the search results. Use a minus sign to indicate undesirable terms. The plus sign tells the search engine that a certain word or phrase is required in the search results, and a minus sign indicates that a word or phrase must be absent in the search results.

Note: A phrase must be contained within quotation marks. Leave no spaces between the plus or minus sign and the term.

Note: if you are using the Site Search tool, then plus and minus will work only when the "Any Words" radio button is selected. Plus and minus are ignored if the "All Words" or "Phrase" radio buttons are selected.

Example: +"provincial government"



Use boolean search

You can use the following boolean operators in your search: AND, OR, NOT. These operators MUST be in capital letters.

Example: (contact AND us) OR (about AND us)



Use field searches

Field searches allow you to create specific searches for words that appear in a specific part of a document. A field search can be performed on body text (body:), title text (title:), alternate text (alt:), meta tag description (desc:), meta key words (keys:), URL (url:) or meta target key words (target:). The field name should be in lower-case and immediately followed by a colon. There should be no spaces between the colon and the search term.

Note: The field searches can only be followed by a word or phrase. Phrases must be contained within quotation marks.

Examples: title:"Our Team", desc:about, keys:login, body:security, alt:"join now"



Use wildcards

Wildcard searches can expand the number of matches for a particular request. The * character is used as the wildcard character. For instance, searching for wh* will find the words what, why, when, whether, and any other word that starts with the letters "wh". Searching for *her* will find the words here, whether, together, gathering, and any other word that contains her anywhere in the word.

Examples: wh*, "wh* are", 415-*-*