Tips for Searching

In Explorer web browser it is possible to search in full text using multiple languages like Ukrainian, Polish, Romanian, Turkish, German, French etc. If you see any foreign name in viewed text just highlight it with a mouse, copy and paste in a full text search input box. It is possible to search using mixed languages in the same query.
Example: glass OR шкло OR стекло AND sticlă NEAR süüa AND NOT stiklą OR szkło AND زُجَاج

NOTE: Netscape web browser will not allow in input text box multi-lingual text or text in language other then operating system default (e.g. use of Ukrainian characters when Windows-English is installed).

1. Title Search, use Search Encyclopedia text input field at the top of the screen found on most of the Encyclopedia  web pages. Entered text is treated as a phrase.

2. Index Search, select Index menu button or Advanced Search. The entered text is treated as a phrase. When a letter A is entered a list of all titles with names beginning with letter A is displayed. Please do not type quotation marks in Index search. Typing two or more letters will narrow size of a search result list.

3. Simple Full Text Search, select Advanced search menu button. Entered text is treated as a phrase. Quotation marks are inserted automatically for you. In Simple Full Text Search the regular query language features are disabled and keywords such as AND, OR, and NEAR are interpreted as normal words.

4. Advanced Full Text Search, select Advanced search menu button. For detail instruction and tips for searching please read the text below. To use Free Text Queries please do not forget to check a small box under Advanced Full Text  Search.

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.

• 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 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, looks 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.
• 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 the Net, write the following: query:

  surfing AND NOT the Net

• Add the OR keyword to find all instances of either one word or another, for example:

  Abbott OR Costello

  This query finds all pages that mention Abbott or Costello or both.

• Use Of Quotation Marks.
  Quotation marks are inserted automatically for you in the Simple Full Text Search. In Advanced Full Text Search type quotation marks. For instance, if you type the following query:

  "system near manager"

  Search program will literally look for the complete phrase system near manager. But if you type the same query without the quotation marks:

  system near manager

  Search program searches all documents for the words system and manager.

• Use Free Text Queries if you want to enter queries using natural language. Search program will examine your query, extract nouns and noun phrases and construct a query for you. With free text queries you can enter any text you want, from a proper question, to a string of words and phrases, without worrying about the query language. For example, if you type in the following query:
  

  How do I use the electric lawn mower?

  Search program will create a query for you automatically and begin the search.

  Note that when you're using free text queries, the regular query language features are disabled and keywords such as AND, OR, and NEAR are interpreted as normal words.

These hints will get you started, but for more complex queries and more examples, see the Query Language page.