Search Tips

Owned by Former user (Deleted)
Last updated: Mar 19, 2018 by Christian Schömmer (Deactivated)
2 min read

Using the different methods for performing searches, here are a few rules to help guide your search efforts:

    1. Start by using natural language to describe in detail the content you are looking for.

      • Focus on content. Describe in as much detail, the contents of the file you are searching for.

      • Use full sentences. Be sure to include specific words and expressions like name, place, date, subject, title, body, caption, address or project number.

      • The more you ask, the better the answer. If you enter only one search word, the chance of finding the right document decreases. The sum of your search words helps to locate the right document.  

    2. You can quickly refine the search results using either the refiners or the Search Profiles.

    3. Further refine your search by forcing or excluding words from the hit list by using plus (+) and minus (-) prefixes.

    4. You can narrow down your search further by using Metadata Fields. 

       

  
What if You Get Zero Hits? 

If your query returns no results, broaden your search scope or use the following tips:

    1. Add or remove words that may be more or less likely contained in the document. If too many search terms are not present in the document, it may not be shown in the search results.
    2. Change words to other synonyms that could be in the document. For example, “meeting” versus “appointment”
    3. Did you search using a specific Search Scope? If so, try using the "ALL" filter to search all sources.
    4. Did you search using a date range limitation? If so, try using the "ALL" filter to search all sources.
    5. Try the ~ character, which performs a fuzzy search

  
What if You Get Too Many Hits? 

If your query returns too many results, you can narrow down your search scope using the following tips:

  1. Try using one of the Search Profiles to pinpoint your search in the direction of one data source.

  2. Use the Source refiner to limit the results from specific data sources. By clicking the folders/elements, you can pinpoint the search to one specific location within the source.

  3. Try adding more words to your query to help narrow down documents containing those words.

  4. Do you know when the document was modified? If so, try limiting the Date Range to narrow down to a smaller time frame.

  5. If you know specific details, like the file name, try using the special character "+" along with field-value pairs, as in the following examples:

    • Example: +document_filename:name_of_file

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