Boolean Searching

There's something about learning a funny technological word that brings out the geek in everyone! Today's subject is one that will help everyone work more efficiently while searching on the Internet. It's called “Boolean”.

Say you're looking for a specific thing on the web, but every time you search it seems as though there are too many results, and to go through all of them would take hours! Boolean operators can streamline this process; giving you a more refined search. Here are a few to try out:

Quotes:
Yes, putting quotes around your search terms looks for the words or phrase exactly as typed. If you put in “Granola Bars” the sites returned will have only those words in their exact order. This is my favorite one to use when I'm looking for a specific file or subject and want to skip all the browsing around.

And:
The operator “and” is used to combine search terms so that information is only retrieved if all terms occur in the same document. So if you're looking for “Doctors and Lawyers”, type in that phrase, and what will be returned are documents with both keywords in them.

Not:
“Not” prevents retrieval of documents in which specified terms occur together. This operator is also good to use when a keyword has multiple meanings. So the search “milk not butter” will find documents where “milk” occurs but “butter” doesn't.

Or:
"Or" combines keywords so the retrieved documents contain any or all of the keywords. Most search engines don't need this though, as they assume this as the operator being used already.

Till' next time!

~Andrew

Want to comment on this tip? Click here! We'd love to hear from you!

Like these tips? Get them for FREE in your email!

Computer Tips with MS Office Tips Newsletter

• Computer Tips Daily - Run your Windows PC like a pro! No matter what your skill level, beginner or advanced, you'll find tons of valuable tips, tricks, and ideas in every issue (plus great software deals). Become the computer guru you've always wanted to be! The tip you've just read was in this newsletter!
  
  
• Computer Tips Weekly - If you don't want our Computer Tips newsletter every day, then sign up for this weekly newsletter to get the best information of the week. Sent on Fridays.

Other Newsletters

• Software Deals - Every week, we send out great deals in our Software Deals newsletter. Many of these deals are exclusively for our Software Deals newsletter subscribers and can't be found with our regular specials.
  
  
• Just For Grins - Each issue includes a couple clean jokes, some funny quotes, and a hilarious reader's story. Newsletter is sent five days a week.
  
  

Enter Email Address:

Your e-mail address is safe with us!
We only use it to send you the newsletters you request. It is NEVER disclosed to a third party for any reason, ever! Plus, if you decided you don't like our newsletters (don't worry, you'll love them), unsubscribing is fast and easy.