Knowing how to search for files and information in SharePoint is critical to improving the ease with which information can be found.\u00a0“Findability” increases when users understand how\u00a0to perform an effective search. The key is\u00a0successful search results is training users to\u00a0to enter full or partial\u00a0keywords into the\u00a0search engine in the correct order and with the correct use of\u00a0Boolean Operators,\u00a0quotation marks, and the Wildcard symbol.<\/p>\n
Let’s start with some key definitions:<\/strong><\/p>\n Typing one word.<\/strong><\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong>\u00a0Search results are not case sensitive.<\/p>\n Search Keyword Example:<\/strong>\u00a0policeman<\/p>\n Search Results:\u00a0<\/strong>policeman, Policeman, PoliceMan<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Typing multiple words with spaces between each word.<\/strong><\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong>\u00a0List words in order of importance.<\/p>\n Tip: <\/strong>Results will return items that contain any of the words listed.<\/p>\n Search Keyword Example: <\/strong>award police man<\/p>\n Search Results:<\/strong> award AND police AND man<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Typing the exact phrase inside\u00a0quotation marks.<\/strong><\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong> Results will return items containing that exact phrase.<\/p>\n Search Keyword Example:<\/strong>\u00a0“police man”<\/p>\n Search Results:\u00a0<\/strong>police man<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Searching for exact phrase with special characters (! @ # $ % ^ &).<\/strong><\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong> To search for special characters in a query enclose your query in quotation marks.<\/p>\n Search Keyword Example:\u00a0<\/strong>“AT&T”<\/p>\n Search Results:\u00a0<\/strong>AT&T<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Using the\u00a0wildcard symbol at the end of a word to represent one or more substitute characters.<\/strong><\/p>\n Tip: <\/strong>Results will return all items that contain words that begin with “police”.<\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong> Can only be used as the last character in a query. Cannot be used at the start of a query.<\/p>\n Tip:<\/strong> Useful when the exact spelling of a search word is not known.<\/p>\n Search Keyword Example:\u00a0<\/strong>police*<\/p>\n Search Results:\u00a0<\/strong>police, policeman, policing, policed<\/p>\n <\/p>\nWhat is a Boolean Operator?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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What is the\u00a0Wildcard symbol?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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How to Use SharePoint Search<\/h1>\n
Basic SharePoint Search Tips:<\/h2>\n
Tips about Search Results:<\/h2>\n