Quincy Center for Technical Education
Computer Technology Department

Search Engine - Advanced


     A dvanced Search syntax is available to use in virtually all search engines.

There are 4 types of query syntax available:
  1. Required and Prohibited Search Words
  2. Document Section Restrictions
  3. Phrase Matching
  4. Wildcard Matching
  • Required and Prohibited Search Words
    Attaching one of the following operators will either require or prohibit words from appearing in the search results.

    +
    Attaching a + to a word requires that the word be found in all of the search results.
    compare: police versus police +sting

    -
    Attaching a - in front of a word requires that the word not be found in any of the search results.
    compare: python versus python -monty

  • Document Section Restrictions
    Attaching one the following operators to the front of a search word will restrict the search to a certain document sections.

    t: - will restrict searches to document titles only
    compare: joe boxer versus t:joe boxer

    u: - will restrict searches to document URLs only
    compare: intel versus u:intel

  • Phrase Matching (" ")
    Putting quotes around a set of words will only find results that match the words in that exact sequence. compare: great barrier reef versus "great barrier reef"

  • Wildcard Matching (*)
    Attaching a * to the right-hand side of a word will return left side partial matches. compare: cap versus cap*

Combining the Syntax
You may combine any of the query syntax as long as the syntax is combined in the proper order. The proper order for using the syntax is the same order that the operators are listed on this page. That is, +, -, t:, u:, "" and lastly *. compare: (correct) +t:football -American versus (incorrect) t:+football -American

Time Restrictions
You can restrict your search to documents that are more recent than a certain date. There is no search query syntax available for restricting by time. This feature can only be accessed from the search options page.

Displaying Results
You can customize the number of search results displayed on all result pages following the summary page (the layout of the summary page is fixed). There is no search query syntax option available for customizing the number of displayed results. This feature can only be accessed from the search options page.