Simple Query Syntax
To perform a basic search, use the operators plus (+) and minus (-) to
indicate words or phrases that are required or prohibited in the search results.
For example: the following query expression requests documents that must contain
the word results and can also contain the phrase year end:
"year end" +results
Boolean Query Syntax
For Boolean searches, use the logic operators BEFORE, AFTER, ATLEAST, AND,
OR, NOT, NEAR, and WITHIN. For example: the following query requests that either
of the words apple or pear appear in the same document with either of the
words tart or pie.
(apple OR pear) AND (tart OR pie)
The following query requests that both the words spreadsheet and
training appear in a document's title: field.
title:(spreadsheet AND training)
Note:
When the ATLEAST operator is
used, the least number of times the word must occur to be a valid result is
specified.
The Boolean operators available are as follows:
You can group words into phrases, as you would do for a simple search.
However, you must use a Boolean operator to combine several words or phrases in
the same search. The advanced search operators are as follows:
|
Operator |
Symbol Equivalent |
Action |
|
AND |
& |
Finds only documents containing all of the specified words or phrases. |
|
OR |
| |
Finds documents containing at least one of the specified words or phrases. |
|
NOT |
! |
Excludes documents containing the specified word or phrase. |
|
NEAR |
none |
Finds documents containing both specified words or phrases within ten (10)
words of each other. |
|
WITHIN |
none |
Returns documents containing both specified words or phrases within "n"
words of each other, where "n" is the number of words. |
|
BEFORE |
none |
Returns documents that contain words in the relative order specified with
the BEFORE expression. For example: "Hillary BEFORE Clinton" will find all
documents where "hillary" appears before "Clinton" anywhere in the document.
This query expression can be further qualified with NEAR and/or WITHIN
expressions. |
|
AFTER |
none |
Returns documents that contain words in the relative order specified with
the AFTER expression. For example: "hillary" AFTER "Clinton" will find all
documents where "hillary" appears after "clinton" anywhere in the document.
This query expression can be further qualified with NEAR and/or WITHIN
expressions. |
|
ATLEAST |
none |
Returns documents that contain a minimum number of occurrences of the
specified search term. For example: "pizza ATLEAST 5" will find all
documents in which "pizza" appears five (5) or more times. |
|
LT |
none |
Returns documents that contain less than "n" occurrences of a word or
phrase. For example: Bill LT 5, which is the same as NOT (Bill ATLEAST 5) |
|
GE |
none |
Finds documents that contain greater than or equal to "n" occurrences of a
word or phrase. For example: Bill GE 5 |
| |
(
) |
Grouping allows you to place parentheses around terms you wish to exclude
from your search. For example: pizza or spaghetti and NOT (fish or beef) |
You can enter an operator in all uppercase or all lowercase. Using uppercase
is a convenient way to distinguish the operators from words that are part of
your search. You can also enter a symbol in place of an operator, although using
symbols makes a query more cryptic and less conversational.
Notes:
- If you need to use a word such as OR or NEAR in a query, enclose the word
in double quotes to distinguish it from the operator of the same name. For
example: to look for the city of Portland and either Oregon or its United
States postal service abbreviation, OR, enter Portland AND (Oregon OR "OR").
- AltaVista Search follows a default order of precedence (NEAR, NOT, AND,
OR) when interpreting a query that has several operators. For complex queries,
however, use parentheses to indicate the order in which you want the search
engine to interpret the operators.
- If no operators are used in the Boolean expression, it is treated as a
phrase.
Searching with Wildcards
Wildcards are limited to the following characters:
| Asterisk (*) |
After three (3) or more
characters characters will search for matches in up to five (5) trailing
letters. |
| Question Mark (?) |
After three (3) specified
characters will match exactly one (1) more character. |
| Double Asterisk (**) |
More flexible as it will
search for matches for an unlimited number of trailing characters (after
three (3) characters. |
You must use three (3) characters before a wildcard. You also have the ability
use the wildcards interchangeably and more than once in the same search string,
for example:
ser*ip?t*
This could possibly find the word serendipity.
Searches with wildcards yield a maximum of fifty (50) words in the search
results.
