The search engine
supports several advanced operators which are query words that have special meaning to
search engine. There is a complete
list. "
+ " Searches
The search engine ignores common words and
characters such as "where" and "how", as well as certain single digits
and single letters, because they tend to slow down your search without improving the
results. The search engine will indicate if a common word has been excluded by displaying
details on the results page below the search box.
If a common word is essential to getting the results
you want, you can include it by putting a "+" sign in front of it. (Be sure to
include a space before the "+" sign.)
Another method for doing this is conducting a phrase
search, which simply means putting quotation marks around 2 or more words. Common words in
a phrase search (e.g., "where are you") are included in the search.
For example, to search for Star Wars, Episode I,
use:
![Star Wars Episode + 1 in search box](search_plus_button.jpg)
" - " Searches
Sometimes what you're searching for has more than
one meaning; "bass" can refer to fishing or music. You can exclude a word from
your search by putting a minus sign ("-") immediately in front of the term you
want to avoid. (Be sure to include a space before the minus sign.)
For example, to find web pages about bass that do
not contain the word "music", type:
" ~" Searches
You may want to search not only for a particular
keyword, but also for its synonyms. Indicate a search for both by placing the tilde sign
("~") immediately in front of the keyword.
For example, to search for food facts as well as
nutrition and cooking information, use:
Phrase Searches
Search for complete phrases by enclosing them in
quotation marks. Words enclosed in double quotes ("like this") will appear
together in all results exactly as you have entered them. Phrase searches are especially
useful when searching for famous sayings or proper names.
"OR" Searches
The search engine supports the logical
"OR" operator. To retrieve pages that include either word A or word B, use an
uppercase OR between terms.
For example, to search for a vacation in either
London or Paris, just type:
Domain Restrict
If you know the website you want to search but
aren't sure where the information is located within that site, you can use the search
engine to search only that domain. Do this by entering what you're looking for followed by
the word "site" and a colon followed by the domain name.
For example, to find admission information on
Stanford University's site, enter:
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