NOTE: This reference card is designed on the assumption that you have a basic understanding of the search expressions and criteria covered in prior sections of this FAQ.

http://www.altavista.digital.com

Search command	Explanation
apples "orange juice"	"apples" or the phrase "orange juice"
+apples -"orange juice"	"apples" & not the phrase "orangejuice"
app*	"apples", "applets", "appraise" (wildcard in Alta Vista requires Min. of threeletters before the wildcard and will return from 0-5 characters Max.) ( "*" is wildcard)

Complex Searches (Can use either logical word or symbol expressions) AND or &, OR or |, NOT or !, NEAR or ~
 

Search command	Explanation
apple AND orange	"apple" & the word "orange"
apple OR orange	"apple" or the word "orange"
apples NOT oranges	"apples" but not the word "oranges"
apple NEAR juice	"juice" within ten words of "apple"

RESTRICTING A SIMPLE AND COMPLEX SEARCH
 
 

Search command	Explanation
anchor:click-here	pages with "click-here" in the hyperlink.
applet:ava.class	pages with the Java class "ava.class" in the applet tag
domain:xyz	pages in the domain "xyz"
host:xyz.com	sites at the host name xyz.com.
image:a.jpg	sites with an image tag, "a.jpg".
link:xyz.com	sites with a link to xyz.com.
text:orange	sites with "orange" in the visible text
title:"A, B and C"	sites with "A, B and C" in the title.

RANKING Simple searches: The ranking is automatic.  Complex searches: Enter any word or groups of words in the ranking window. Alta Vista will sort the results based on these words.

http://www.excite.com

Concept Based Search

Search command	Explanation
+apples +pears	"apples" and "pears"
-apples +peach	"peach" but not "apples"
+apples -pears -berries	"apples" but not "peaches" or "berries"

Exact match queries use Logical Word Expressions to find Web documents. The Logical Word Operator are: AND, OR, AND NOT.  Using logical word expressions will turn off Excite's concept based option.  Precise searches require the use of Logical Word Operators.
 

Search command	Explanation
apples AND peaches	pages with "apples" and "peaches"
apples OR peaches	pages with either "apples" or "peaches"
apples AND NOT peaches	pages with "apples" but not with"peaches"

http://www.lycos.com

STANDARD SEARCH Standard searches do not use logical word operators.

Search command	Explanation
apples oranges peaches	pages where any of the words appear
apples +berries	"apples" and "berries"
apples -berries	"apples" but not "berries"
app$	"apples", "applets" etc..("$" is wildcard)
apple.	"apple" but not the word "apples"

CUSTOM SEARCHES  Complex searches are done through an intuitive menu interface.
 

http://www.webcrawler.com

Search command	Explanation
apples oranges or apples OR oranges	pages that contain any of the words.
apples AND oranges	"apples" and "oranges"
fruit NOT apples	"fruit" but not "apples"
cheese NEAR/(x) wine	"wine" is within "x" words of "cheese"
world ADJ war	"world" & "war" are next to each other
".. "  Phrases searches	"us army", "jack and jill went up the hill"
(..)	used to organize search expressions

 

http://www.yahoo.com Advanced Options:

Search command	Explanation
apples +oranges	"apples" as well as "oranges"
apples -oranges	"apples" but not with "oranges".
t:	confines the search to certain Web titles.
u:	confines the search to certain URLs.
" "	phrase operator,"orange juice", "apple juice", etc.
pea*	"pears", "peas", "peaches" etc.("*" is wildcard)

 

http://www.infoseek.com Simple Searches
 

Search command	Explanation
apples oranges	either "apples" or "oranges".
+apples oranges	"apples", pages with "oranges" are ranked lower.
"apple juice"	"apple" and "juice" appear next to each other.

Caps are used to indicate proper names and a case sensitive search:
 

Search command	Explanation
Johnny Appleseed	will find the name "Johnny Appleseed".
Johnny,Appleseed	will find either name. Note: commas are only used to separate names.
apples -grapes	"apples" but not "grapes".

Complex Searches
 

Search command	Explanation
fruit | apple | juice	will find "fruit" then search results for "apple" then search those results for "juice".
title:fruit	"fruit" in the title of the page.
url:www.orange.com	sites with address "www.orange.com".
url:fruit	sites with "fruit" in the URL, "www.fruit.com" or "www.fruitandnuts.com".
link:www.juice.com	will find sites linked to the specified URL
site:xyz.com	will find all sites at the specified address.