Data_Repository_Header_Image.jpg

Search Tips

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 introduce you to the Microsoft SQL Server Full-Text Searching capabilities.


Search Type Description
Inflectional Word Search Return results containing any inflectional form of the search term(s). For example, searching for the word play will return results containing 'play', 'playing', 'player', 'played', etc. (Default)
Non-Inflectional Word Search Return results containing only the specified search term(s). For example, searching for the search term "play" will return results containing the word 'play' without any inflectional forms of the word.
Phrase Search Return results containing the specified search phrase. For example, searching for the phrase "my computer" will return results containing the specific phrase 'my computer'.
Prefix Search Return results containing words that begin with the specified search term prefix. For example, searching for the prefix com* will return results containing the words 'computer', 'compare', 'commute', etc.
Proximity Search Return results containing the specified search terms in close proximity to each other. For example, searching for [computer virus] will return results containing the word 'computer' near the word 'virus'.
Exclusion Search Return results which do not contain the specified exclusion search term(s). For example, searching for dog -cat will return results containing the word 'dog', but which do not contain the word 'cat'.
Combination Search Any combination of the previously mentioned search types. For example, searching for "dog chased" fast [car blue] -cat will return results containing the phrase 'dog chased' and inflectional forms of the word 'fast' (fast, fastest, faster, etc) and the words 'car' and 'blue' in close proximity to each other, but not containing the word 'cat'.
Logical 'And' Operator Return results containing all of the specified search terms. For example, searching for dog and cat or simply dog cat will return results containing the word 'dog' and the word 'cat'. (Default)
Logical 'Or' Operator Return results containing either of the specified search terms. For example, searching for dog or cat will return results containing the word 'dog' and/or the word 'cat'.