You may search for projects within your subscription area by simply typing in one or more keywords in the search box at the top of any screen.
The following examples use phrase searches (phrases are always placed within quotations) although they can easily be converted to single word searches by using only a single word instead of the phrase. When searching for single words, the use of quotations is not necessary but still acceptable. Single words must be at least 3 characters in length.
Search operators may be nested or combined to create more complex searches, if desired, but note there is a 350-character limitation in the search box, and spaces count towards the 350-character limit. Please note that keyword strings cannot contain 3 or more open parentheses together.
If you use more than one search word or phrase, and do not choose an operand (OR, AND, NOT) the system will assume the use of AND to give you the most specific results.
| Symbol | Function |
|---|---|
| Asterisk * | Wildcard character. The asterisk can stand for any number of letters or numbers and is only relevant at the end of a search word (all characters after the asterisk will be ignored.) There is a 3 characters minimum requirement before using the asterisk. landscap* will return landscape, landscapes, landscaped, or landscaping |
| AND | Used to find projects that meet all criteria listed window AND door will return projects that contain the words window and door in the same project or document. |
| OR | Used to find projects that meet any criteria listed window OR door will return projects that contain either the word window or door (or both) in the same project. |
| NOT | Used to exclude a word or phrase window NOT door will return projects that contain the word window, as long as the project does not also contain the word door. |
| Double Quotes “” | Used to create a search phrase “wood door” will return projects that contain the exact phrase wood door. The two words must appear next to each other in that order for the project to be returned. |
| Parenthesis ( ) | Used to find or exclude a group of words in creating more complex searches. Parenthesis can be used to control the order of operations in a keyword string. |
| NEAR | Used to search for words or phrases near one another. You can specify the maximum number of words that separate the first and last search words. True returns only documents where words appear in the order specified in the search. |
| Stemming | Searches for English derivatives of a single word. “fence” will look for English derivatives of the word “fence” such as a fence, fences, and fencing. This includes the single and plural versions of the word as well as other derivatives stemmed from the word. The single word does not have to be in quotes and stemming is done automatically. NOTE: This only works for single words (not phrases). |
Example #1, Creating a search that will return results for a single phrase:
“wood doors”
This search will return results where the phrase “wood doors” is found. Note: The entire phrase must be found to return a result, not the individual words. (Results simply with the word “wood” will not be returned. Also, results simply with the word “doors” will not be returned.) When you have multiple English words that need to be 1 keyword phrase, place them in quotes. Avoid using special characters. If the term you are using has a hyphen, replace the hyphen with a space (“DC-15” becomes “DC 15”).
Other examples:
“oak wood doors”
“Iron clad doors”
“fire alarm”
“steel grade fencing”
“Birmington Hamm Construction Company”
Common mistakes to avoid:
“oak wood doors
This search is missing the closing quotes.
Example #2, Creating a search that will return results for either of two phrases:
“Iron clad doors” OR “oak wood doors”
This search will return results where either the phrase “Iron clad doors” or “oak wood doors” is found. Note: At least one of the entire phrases must be found to return a result. (Results simply with the word “doors” will not be returned.) The format for returning results for either of two phrases is A OR B where A is a single word or single phrase and B is a single word or single phrase.
Other examples:
“oak wood doors” OR “Iron clad doors”
“fire alarm” OR “smoke alarm”
fence OR gate OR perimeter
Common mistakes to avoid:
“oak wood doors OR Iron clad door”
OR cannot be within the quotes.
Example #3, Creating a search that will return results only when both phrases are found:
“Steel doors” AND “oak wood doors”
This search will return results where only both phrases are found.
Note: Both entire phrases must be found to return a result. The format for returning results only when both phrases are found is A AND B where A is a single word or single phrase and B is a single word or single phrase.
Other examples:
“oak wood doors” AND “Iron clad doors”
“fire alarm” AND “smoke alarm”
fence AND gate AND perimeter
Common mistakes to avoid:
“oak wood doors AND Iron clad door”
AND cannot be within the quotes.
Example #4, Creating an advanced search that excludes a particular phrase:
“Steel doors” NOT (“iron doors”)
This search will return results where the phrase “Steel doors” exists, only if the phrase “iron doors” does NOT exist in there as well. If both terms are in the same project report, the project will not be returned. The format for excluding is A NOT (B) where A can be substituted for a keyword or search string as can B. B must be in parenthesis. In the example above, A is replaced with “steel doors” and B is replaced with “iron doors”.
A can be replaced with (“front door” OR “back door”) and B can be replaced with “garage door”. This search would return results where at least one of the phrases “front door” or “back door” exist only if “garage door” does not exist. The system runs B, then runs A, then makes sure B is not with A. This search string would be entered like this:
(“front door” OR “back door”) NOT (“steel door”)
Other examples:
(“back door” AND “front door”) NOT (“wood door”)
door NOT (“garage door” OR “sliding glass door”)
(fence OR perimeter) NOT (gate AND “steel post”)
Common mistakes to avoid:
“oak wood doors” NOT “steel door”
“steel door” must be in parenthesis.
Example #5, Creating an advanced search where one form of a word is next to (or near) another:
NEAR(("stud","rail"),3,true)
This will return results that contain the words “stud” and “rail” with up to three (3) words between them, including phrases such as “stud rail”, “stud and rail” and “stud appears before the rail” so long as “stud” appears before “rail”. The format for searching for a word near another word is NEAR((A, B),C,D) where:
A is a single word or single phrase.
B is a single word or single phrase.
C is the maximum number of words between A and B. For example, if C is 5 then there are a maximum of 5 words between A and B.
D is either true or false. True searches for A being found somewhere before B (based on C). False returns A and B near each other regardless of order (based on C).
Parenthesis must be used around A and B as well as the entire keyword string.
NEAR((“stud”,”rail”),3,false)
A is replaced with “stud”, B is replaced with rail, C is replaced with 3, and D is replaced with false. This works like the first example, but “false” will ignore the order of the search words and will return results containing “stud rail”, “rail stud”, or “rail appears before stud”.
NEAR((“metallic”,”steel”),5,true)
This will return results and/or specifications that contain “metallic coated steel” or “metallic coated high grade steel” but not “metallic paint that is applied over high grade steel” as there are more than 5 words between “metallic” and “steel”.
NEAR((“stud”,”rail*”),1,true)
This search will return results where the word “stud” is found with up to one (1) word between it and forms of the word “rail” (such as “rail”, “railing”, “rails”, etc.) so long as “stud” is first. If the sequence doesn’t matter, use “false”.
NEAR((“stud”,”rail”),3,false) OR NEAR((“metallic”,”steel”),5,true)
This search will return results that contain either stud within 3 words of rail where the order doesn’t matter or return results that contain steel within 5 words after metallic.
NEAR((“Dav*”,”Smit*”),1,true)
This search will could be used to return a person’s name. It will return results that contain words (or names) that begin with Dav (possibly followed by other characters) followed by a word that starts with Smit or 1 word in between Dav and Smit.
For example, this will return David Smith, Dave Smith, David G. Smith, Dave G. Smith, Dave Smite, David Smite, David T. Smite, and Dave T. Smite.
NEAR((“stud”,”rail*”),1,true) NOT (“steel”)
This search will return results where the word “steel” is not found and “stud” is found with up to one (1) word between it and forms of the word “rail” (such as “rail”, “railing”, “rails”, etc.) so long as “stud” is first.
Common mistakes to avoid:
“NEAR (“stud,rail”),3,false”
Parenthesis is missing after NEAR and after false.
(NEAR “stud,rail”,3,false)
Two parenthesis is missing after NEAR and after “stud,rail” and parenthesis not need before NEAR
NEAR ((“stud,rail”)3,false)
A comma is missing after (NEAR (“stud,rail”)
Example #6, Creating a search that will return derivatives of a single word:
“fence”
This search will return results that are English derivatives of the word “fence” which include fence, fences, fencing. This process is known as stemming and only works for single words (not phrases).
This includes the single and plural version of the word as well as other derivatives stemmed from the word. The single word does not have to be in quotes and stemming is done automatically.
Common mistakes to avoid:
“wooden door”
This is a single phrase and not a single word. Stemming is only with single words.
Example #7, Creating a search that will return results that begin with certain characters:
“steel fenc*”
This search will return results where phrases begin with “steel fenc”. This includes “steel fence”, “steel fences”, “steel fencing”. The asterisk ( * ) is a wildcard character which where the system can replace the asterisk with any number of letters or numbers connected to the word. Note: The asterisk must be placed at the end of the phrase or word and cannot be placed anywhere else so “steel* fenc*” is not a valid phrase. When placing the asterisk at the end of a single word (not phrase), the single word must be at least 3 characters long.
Other examples:
“oak wood door*”
landscap*
fenc* OR gat*
Common mistakes to avoid:
“wooden* door*”
Asterisk can only be placed at the end of the phrase so the asterisk after wooden isn’t valid.
“wooden door”*
Asterisk cannot be after a quote.
“wooden* door”
Asterisk can only be placed at the end of the phrase so the asterisk after wooden isn’t valid.