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Advanced Search

Along with simple searches, the Oxygen Feedback search engine also supports advanced query syntax that allows users to create more complex, flexible, and useful queries to make the search more precise. This topic describes the advanced search features that you can use searching in WebHelp output that is configured to use the Oxygen Feedback search engine.

Phrase Search

A query is divided into terms and operators, comprising two term categories: Single Terms and Phrases. A Single Term pertains to an individual word (i.e. "test" or "hello"). A Phrase denotes a cluster of words enclosed within double quotation marks (i.e. "hello dolly").

When using a phrase search, the search will only return results where the exact phrase is found.

Field Search

During a search, you have the option to specify a particular field. To search within any given field, you can input the field name followed by a colon (:) and then the term you are trying to find.

For instance, if you are attempting to find a document titled "The Right Way", you can input:
title:"The Right Way"
Important: The field specification is applicable solely to the term it directly precedes. For instance, the query: title:Do it right will solely retrieve "Do" from the title field. Meanwhile, it will locate both "it" and "right" within the default field (in this case, the text field, which stores all the text from the document).
The list of available fields:
  • title - The title of the document.
  • description - The description of the document.
  • text - The raw text content of the document.
  • keywords - The keywords of the document.

Wildcard Search

The Oxygen Feedback search engine facilitates both single and multiple character wildcard searches within individual terms (these are not applicable within phrase queries).

For a single character wildcard search, use the ? symbol. For a multiple character wildcard search, use the * symbol.

The single character wildcard search scans for terms that match with a single character substitution. For instance, to find "meet" or "meat," you can use the following query:
me?t
Conversely, multiple character wildcard searches are designed to match 0 or more characters. For instance, when searching for "test", "tests," or "tester," you can use the following query:
test*
It is also possible to integrate wildcard searches within the middle of a term. For instance:
te*t
Important: You cannot initiate a search with the * or ? symbol as the first character.

Regular Expression Search

You can use regular expression searches to match patterns enclosed within forward slashes ("/").

For example, to locate documents that contain either "moat" or "boat," you can use the following query:
/[mb]oat/

Proximity Search

The Oxygen Feedback search engine offers the capability to identify words that are situated within a defined distance of each other. To conduct a proximity search, add the tilde symbol (~) to the end of a phrase.

For instance, to search for the terms "dita" and "webhelp" within a maximum of 10 words of separation in a document, you can use the following query:
"dita webhelp"~10

Boosting

To emphasize a specific term's importance, use the ^ symbol followed by a boost factor (a numerical value) at the end of the term. A higher boost factor increases the term's significance.

This boosting approach allows you to control a document's relevance by amplifying the weight of its term. For instance, if you are searching for "dita webhelp" and wish to enhance the relevance of "dita", apply the ^ symbol with a boost factor after the term:
dita^4 webhelp

This adjustment elevates the prominence of documents featuring the term "dita."

Additionally, the boosting technique can be applied to Phrase Terms, as in this example:
"dita webhelp"^4 "feedback search"

The default boost factor is 1, and while it must be a positive value, it can also be less than 1 (e.g. 0.2).

Boolean Operators

Boolean operators enable the combination of terms using logical operators. Feedback supports AND, +, OR, NOT, and - as Boolean operators.
Important: Boolean operators must be in ALL CAPS.

The OR operator functions as the default conjunction operator. If no Boolean operator is present between two terms, the OR operator is assumed (the || symbol can also replace the term OR). The OR operator links two terms and identifies a matching document if either term is present. This is comparable to a set union.

For example, to search documents that contain either "dita webhelp" or simply "dita", use one of these queries:
"dita webhelp" dita
"dita webhelp" OR dita

Operators:

AND

The AND operator locates documents where both terms appear anywhere within a single document. This equates to a set intersection. The && symbol can be used in place of the term AND.

For example, to find documents that contain "dita webhelp" and "feedback search," use the following query:
"dita webhelp" AND "feedback search"
+

The + (or required) operator requires that the term after the + symbol exist somewhere in a the field of a single document.

For example, to search for documents that must contain "dita" and may contain "webhelp", use the following query:
 +dita webhelp
NOT

The NOT operator excludes documents that contain the term after "NOT". This is equivalent to a difference using sets. The ! symbol can be used in place of the word NOT.

To search for documents that contain "dita webhelp" but not "feedback search", use the following query:
"dita webhelp" NOT "feedback search"
Note: The NOT operator cannot be used with just one term. For example, the following query will return no results:
NOT "dita webhelp"
-

The - (or prohibit) operator removes documents that contain the term following the - symbol.

For example, to find documents that feature "dita webhelp" while excluding "feedback search," use the following query:
"dita webhelp" -"feedback search"

Field Grouping

You can use parentheses to group multiple clauses within a single field. For instance, to search for a title that includes both the term "dita" and the phrase "feedback search", you can use the following query:
title:(+dita +"feedback search")

Escaping Characters

The Oxygen Feedback search engine includes the capability to escape special characters that are integral to the query syntax. The present set of special characters include: && || ! ( ) { } [ ] ^ " ~ * ? : \

To escape these characters, use the backslash (/) before the character itself. For instance, if you want to search for the expression (1+1):2, you can use the following query:
\(1\+1\)\:2

Resources

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