Search for an article
You can use the search tool to search for articles in the database, but you cannot use it to find files.
- The quick search box will search for the article ID, the title of the article and for text within the article, plus any meta information such as keywords.
Search functionality is provided by MySQL full-text searching. This is a natural language search that allows you to type in a question or regular sentence that describes the information you are looking for, and then uses programmed logic to determine the keywords in the sentence.
- The Advanced search gives you extra options, and allows you to refine the search by specifying specific categories, types and keywords.
- In the Admin area the article and file filter options on the Knowledgebase also provide a type of search
Search tips
- Use at least four characters. Search may not return correct results if you type in less. (Note. The minimum and maximum word length to be searched can be changed by the MySQL administrator)
- Use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard character to search for partial words. e.g. 'Excel*' will find articles containing 'Excellent' and 'Excel'. If you don't use the '*', then knowledgebase searches on full words only. e.g. a search on 'Excel' would only find articles containing the word 'excel', it would not find articles containing 'excellent'
- Use the underscore (_) to replace a single letter in the search. e.g. 'Optimi_e' will find both 'Optimize' and 'Optimise'. (This option is valid only for File searches and for Title filter searches on the Article screen in the Admin area.)
- If you include two or more search words, the search will look for articles that contain either word. e.g. 'Excellent Fred' will find articles that contain the word 'Excellent' and articles that contain the word 'Fred'
- To specify that the article must contain all words searched, use a plus sign (+) in front of each word, or in front of the most important word. e.g. '+Excellent +Fred' looks for articles that contain both words, while '+Excellent Fred' looks for articles that contain the word 'Excellent' but rank them slightly higher if they also contain the word 'Fred'. (Ranking controls where the result appears in the list. A ranking of 100% will be at the top of the list, and is the most likely match for what you are looking for.)
- To specify that the search should ignore articles containing certain words, use the minus sign (-) before the word to be ignored. e.g. 'Excellent -Fred' looks for articles with the word 'Excellent' in them, and then excludes any that also contain the word 'Fred'
- To find articles that contain the words exactly as you type them, put quotes (") around the words. e.g. "Bill and Fred's Excellent Adventure" will only find the article if it contains that exact wording.
