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.
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 on the same page. This search would also
include all occurrences of the phrase system and manager.
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 surfing the Net, write the following query:
surfing AND NOT the Net
These hints will get you started, but for more complex queries and more examples, see the Query Language page.