Advanced Text Search features
You can increase the accuracy of your search results by using special words and characters called "operators" that fine-tune your keyword searches. The options listed on this page can be entered directly into the keyword search box.

Default search
The default search will treat keywords seperated by spaces as seperate search terms. Entering Stafford Castle in the Keyword search box will look for resources where Stafford and Castle appear seperately or together anywhere within the resource text.

Phrase searches using "double quotes"
To search for a specific phrase you must enclose the phrase in double quotes. Entering "Stafford Castle" in the keyword search box will return only resources where the phrase Stafford Castle appears exactly as typed within the double quotes. Phrase searches are useful when searching for famous sayings or proper names.

Finding word fragments using WILDCARD* searches
The asterisk is a wildcard. Any combination of letter or letters following the asterisk are searched for. For instance, "Bass*" would find resources containing bass, basset and bassinet. The wildcard operator can only be used at the end of a word or phrase and will not work if added at the beginning or in the middle of a word or phrase. A wildcard search must always be enclosed within double quotes.

The AND operator
To search for more than one specific phrase, or a phrase and a keyword you can use the AND operator. Entering "Stafford Castle" AND interior would search for the exact phrase Stafford Castle and the word interior anywhere within the resource text, only resources containing both the phrase and the word will be returned. Always enclose phrases within double quotes!

The OR operator
The OR operator will return results that contain any of the phrases or words seperated by the operator. For instance, you might use the following query to search for images of castles in Stafford and Tamworth: "Stafford Castle" OR "Tamworth Castle".

The NEAR operator
The NEAR operator allows you to search for resources where words or phrases appear close to each other within the resource text. Both the words and phrases in a NEAR query must be enclosed within "double quotes"! "Ralph" NEAR "Stafford" would return resources including the name Ralph de Stafford, but would not display other resources including Stafford within the resource text.

The NOT operator
The NOT operator allows you to search for resources by excluding combinations of words or phrases. This operator always excludes the word or phrase after the operator. Stafford NOT Castle will return all resources containing the word Stafford exept those containing the word castle.