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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