This search engine operates simultaneously with search strategies using linguistics (lexicology and semantics), statistics, mathematics and structured search. Answers are displayed by default in order of decreasing relevance. Every answer comes with three different indices of relevance (word relevance, semantic relevance, and global relevance).
The entry red will retrieve all the documents containing the word red, as documents referring to colors.
To limit results only to documents with the word red, the entry must be +red (the symbol + meaning required word).
Most of the following search operators are very close to those that are generally supported by Internet search engines. These operators can be combined together.
+ (included word)
When placed directly to the left of a word in the query, the '+' character only retrieves those documents that contain this word.
In this way, +fastscanning method will retrieve all the documents about fastscanning method that contain the word fastscanning. To make the automatic insertion of this operator on the important words of a query easier (in the case of a search strategy like "all the words of the query"), it is possible to encompass the whole query using the +( ... ) operator. This means that all the words of the query will have to be present in each answer, except for grammatical words.
- (excluded word)
When placed directly to the left of a word in the query, the '-' character only retrieves those documents that do not contain this word.
In this way, -fastscanning method will retrieve all the documents about fastscanning method that do not contain the word fastscanning.
" ... " (all words in the document)
When two words of a query are placed between double quotes, they will have to be present together in all the answer documents. This operator makes it possible to search for compound words or expressions.
For instance, the query "milky way" will retrieve all the documents containing the exact expression milky way. Please note that this search does not take grammatical words into account: indeed, the expression "chancellor exchequer" will also retrieve occurrences of chancellor of the exchequer.
[ ... ] (all words in the same noun phrase)
When several words of a query are placed between brackets, they will have to appear in each answer document, within the same noun phrase. For instance, the query [white dwarf] will not retrieve answers containing the seven dwarves gave her white roses but it will retrieve white or brown dwarf.
* (right truncation)
When placed directly to the right of a truncated word, the * character makes it possible to extend the search to all the words starting with the same characters. For instance, the search question* will likely return the terms question, the verb to question, questionnary and questioning, along with all their inflected forms.
The additional operators listed below are much less used than the ones above, although they can enhance the relevance of the results in some particular cases. Most of these operators use the many possibilities of semantic analysis.
++ (word required, insisting on its meaning)
This search is more advanced than searches with the '+' operator. Using '++' allows to require the presence of a word and to insist on its meaning at the same time. For instance, ++sports hall will retrieve sports-oriented answers (gym hall, sports room etc.) that contain the word sport. The meaning of the word 'hall' becomes less important.
~ (meaning of the word ignored)
When a '~' character is placed before a word, the search ignores its meaning and only searches for occurrences of the word. For instance, paper ~sheet will launch a search with no regard for the different meanings of the word sheet.
# (insist on the meaning of the word)
When the # operator is placed before a word, the answer documents must primarily be in relation with the meaning of the word. This way, the query apple #pie will first bring up documents about strawberry pies before displaying documents about apple compote. The meaning of the word pie becomes more important. But unlike the ++ operator, the presence of the word pie is not absolutely required.
| (non-exclusive 'OR' function)
When two words are separated by a pipe character (|), the operator plays the role of a non-exclusive 'OR' function. Important note: the pipe character must be placed next to both words without any spaces. For instance: dog|cat is tantamount to querying for dog, cat and then putting together all the results obtained.
% (related words ignored)
When placed directly to the left of a word, this operator ask not to try and uninflect it as a known term. For instance, the search %Allied will avoid searching for the verb ally (remember that by default, searches are not case-sensitive). This example supposes that the name of the company Allied is typed in correctly in the documents and that it was not indexed under the verb ally, as the indexing is case-sensitive.