Performing Advanced Searches
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If you are working with Primo VE and not Primo, see Performing Advanced Searches in Primo VE.
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For details on the new Primo UI, see Performing Advanced Searches.
Using the Advanced Search Box
The Advanced Search page allows you to create more complex searches by combining multiple search boxes, which are separated by an operator.
Advanced Search Options
In addition to the capabilities provided with the basic search (see Performing Basic Searches), you can specify the following options:
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Field selector – For each search box, this parameter allows you to narrow the search to all search fields or a particular field (such as title and subject).
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Search type – For each search box, this parameter indicates whether the phrases in your query are treated as phrases or exact phrases. The following values are valid:If your query includes operators that separate phrases in which one or both of the phrases contain multiple words, Primo will use parentheses to group the words in each multiple-word phrase. For example, Primo will convert the query Donald Duck OR Disney to (Donald Duck) OR Disney to distinguish it from the following query: Donald (Duck OR Disney).
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is (exact) – Returns results that contain phrases that exactly match the phrases specified in the query.
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contains – Returns results that contain all words in the phrase, but the words may be in a different order and may not be as close together.
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starts with – Returns results that contain words that start with the specified string. This type performs left-anchored title searches only.
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Operators – As with basic searches, you can include the following operators between words and phrases in each search box: AND, OR, and NOT. In addition, the Operator drop-down list allows you to select the operation that is used between search boxes. For more information on operator precedence, see Precedence Rules.
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Filters – Advanced searches allow you to apply various filters (such as material type and date ranges) to your initial queries.
In the following example, matching records must contain either the words Donald and Duck or the words Mickey and Mouse in the title, and the subject of the records must not have the exact phrase Amusement Parks. From the matching records, only the English articles are displayed in the results.
Advanced Search Example with Operators
Using Special Characters
For title searches that include an ampersand (&) between terms (such as Obstetrics & Gynecology), the search is also treated as if you had entered the word and. This allows you to find results that also include the word and (such as Obstetrics and Gynecology).
For exact searches (such as "Obstetrics & Gynecology"), you may get different results because the system removes the ampersand from the search query. In addition, special characters (such as $, @, and so forth) are also removed from exact title searches and will not be included in the search.