Logical Operators in Search Expressions
Logical operators are used to specify how multiple search terms are combined in a search query. Logical operators also create more complicated search expressions from simpler ones, and thus refine your search. The following table shows you how to use each of the available operators.
Note
Logical operators must be entered in all capital letters for the search engine to recognize them.
To search for |
Use |
Example |
Result |
|---|---|---|---|
Both terms in the same topic |
AND |
dib AND palette |
Topics that contain both "dib" and "palette" |
Either term in a topic |
OR |
raster OR vector |
Topics that contain either "raster" or "vector" |
First term without the second term |
NOT |
"operating system" NOT DOS |
Topics that contain "operating system," but not "DOS" |
Both terms in the same topic, close together |
NEAR |
user NEAR kernel |
Topics that contain "user" within eight words of "kernel" |
Note
Enclose search strings that include a period (.) in double quotes (for example, "filename.ext").
See Also
Tasks
How to: Search for Words or Phrases in Topics