In addition to the Advanced Search options for a given catalog on AlltheWeb, you can use special keywords and characters in your search to find pages within a specified domain, or pages with a certain word in their title or URL.
These keywords and characters can be quite useful in making a more specific query without having to navigate into the Advanced Search forms.
Does AlltheWeb support any advanced operators in a query?Does AlltheWeb support Boolean query language?
Does AlltheWeb support any special keywords in a query?
Does AlltheWeb support any advanced operators in a query?
AlltheWeb allows a number of advanced operators to construct a query, or query of phrases. These operators allow you to build phrases, and include or exclude specific terms or phrases in your query. The following operators are supported:
Character(s) | Example | Description |
" " | "pac man" | Results will contain the phrase "pac man". |
+ | +pac | Results must include the term "pac". You can create a more complex query by stringing along a sequence of terms. For example, "+pac +man" will find results that include both the term "pac" and the term "man". Using the + character is equivalent to using the Boolean and between single terms. By default, AlltheWeb assumes the use of the + operator. |
- | "dog breeders" -poodles | Results will include pages with information on "dog breeders" excluding the term "poodles". Using the - character is equivalent to using the Boolean not between single terms. |
Does AlltheWeb support Boolean query language?
The following Boolean operators are supported. However, it is important to note that they will only work from the Advanced Web Search page with "Boolean Query" selected from the "Query Type" pulldown menu. Currently you can use the following keywords to find results that include or exclude terms:
Operator | Example | Description |
AND | pac AND man | All search results will contain both the terms "pac" and "man". |
OR | pac OR man | Results will contain either the term "pac" or the term "man". |
NOT | pac NOT man | Results will contain the term "pac" but not the term "man". |
Each of these Boolean operators can be used in conjunction with another and with parentheses, allowing you to make complex Boolean queries. The following is an example of how these operators can be used together for more query precision.
Complex Boolean Example | |
florida AND golf NOT "Arnold Palmer" | Results must contain the term "florida" and the term "golf" but not the phrase "Arnold Palmer". |
Does AlltheWeb support any special keywords in a query?
AlltheWeb supports a special keyword in your search to find pages within a specified domain
Keyword | Example | Description |
site: | auctions site:shopping.com | Finds pages for "auctions" within "shopping.com". This can be helpful in obtaining highly relevant results from a specific site. By default, the site: keyword anchors the value of the keyword to match the end of the hostname, in this case, "shopping.com". This query will find pages for "auctions" within "shopping.com", but not in "shopping.com.sg". |
domain: | domain:uk | Finds pages within the specified domain. Use domain:uk to find pages from the United Kingdom, or use domain:com to find pages from commercial sites.. |
url: | url:football | Finds pages with the specific word or phrase in the URL. This example will find all pages that have the term "football" anywhere in the URL (e.g. http://www.domain.com/football.html would be in the results). |
link: | link:www.alltheweb.com | Finds all pages with a link to www.AlltheWeb.com. |
title: | title:AlltheWeb | Finds pages that contain the term "AlltheWeb" in the page title (which appears in the title bar of most browsers). |
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