Search guidelines

1. Keyword search

Simply enter one or more keywords and the search engine will return all pages that contain either all keywords (AND query) or at least one keyword (OR query). You can predefine the query type in the module configuration or you can change it dynamically by adding a checkbox named "query_type" to the search form.

2. Wildcard search

By default, the search engine searches for exact keywords only. This means that a search for onomastic will not return pages containing the words onomastics or onomastician. However, if you want to search for all words that begin with onomastic, you can add an asterisk (*) after the keyword (onomastic* instead of onomastic). Of course, you can also put the wildcard in front of a keyword or in the middle of a keyword.

3. Phrase search

Sometimes you only need results that include an exact phrase. E.g. searching for place names would also return the page announcing a conference on personal names that mentions the place where the conference is held. To narrow your results, simply put quotation marks around your search term ("place names" instead of place names) and the search engine will only return pages that contain the exact phrase.

4. Forcing a keyword

This feature is particularly useful when you are searching for multiple keyword (OR query) but still want ensure that a page contains a certain keyword. To force a keyword, put a plus (+) in front of it (without space). E.g. if you want to know about college fees or university fees, you are basically looking for pages that contain either the word college or university and the word fees. Therefor your search term should be school college +fees.

5. Excluding a keyword

To exclude a keyword, put a minus (-) in front of it. Thus, pages containing this keyword will not be returned. E.g. if you want to learn everything about ICOS that has nothing to do with the congresses, you should search for icos -congress.