| Connector | Description | Examples |
|---|
| pre/n | Use the pre/n connector to find documents in which the first word precedes the second by not more than n words.
This connector is especially useful in situations where a different word order significantly alters meaning. For example, summary judgment is significantly different from judgment summary. You can use all 3 of these connectors interchangeably: | This search finds documents where the word overtime precedes compensation within 3 words:
overtime pre/3 compensation |
| pre/p | Use the pre/p connector to find documents in which the first word precedes the second within approximately 75 words of each other.
You can use +p in place of pre/p if you wish. Both commands function the same way. | This search finds documents where the word overtime precedes the word compensation within approximately 75 words:
overtime pre/p compensation |
| pre/s | Use the pre/s connector to find documents in which the first word precedes the second within approximately 25 words of each other.
You can use +s in place of pre/s if you wish. Both commands function the same way. | This search finds documents where the word overtime precedes the word compensation within approximately 25 words:
overtime pre/s compensation |
| w/n or /n | Use the w/n connector to find documents in which the first word appears within n words of the second one.
- For search words to appear in approximately the same phrase, use w/3 up to w/5
- For search words to appear in approximately the same sentence, use w/25
- For search words to appear in approximately the same paragraph, use w/75
Choosing a number greater than or equal to 100 is likely to retrieve documents in which your search words are used in unrelated contexts. | The following search finds documents where the word vicious occurs within 3 words of dog:
vicious w/3 dog |
| w/p or /p | Use the w/p or /p (within paragraph) connector to find documents with search words that appear within approximately 75 words of each other.
You can use all 3 of these connectors interchangeably: | This search finds retirement within 75 words of benefit:
retirement w/p benefit This example finds subcontract or sub-contract within the same paragraph as architect: subcontract or sub-contract /p architect |
| w/s or /s | Use the w/s or /s (within sentence) connector to find documents with search words that appear within approximately 25 words of each other.
You can use all 3 of these connectors interchangeably: | This search finds earnings within 25 words of taxation:
earnings /s taxation |
| w/seg | Use the w/seg connector to find documents in which your search terms appear in the same segment (headline, body, etc.), or within approximately 100 words of each other. | This search finds documents where the word unreported and income appear in the same segment.
unreported w/seg income |
| near/n | Use the near/n connector to find documents with search words that appear within n words of each other. The value of n can be any number. Use near/n to join words and phrases that express parts of a single idea or to join closely associated ideas.
Words or phrases linked by near/n must be in the same section (a specific part of a document). Either word may appear first. When choosing the value of n, these guidelines may prove useful: - For search words to appear in approximately the same phrase, use near/3-near/5
- For search words to appear in approximately the same sentence, use near/25
- For search words to appear in approximately the same paragraph, use near/75
Choosing a number greater than 100 is likely to retrieve documents in which your search words are used in unrelated contexts. Multiple near/n connectors operate from left to right, regardless of the value of n. This search finds dog within 10 words of cat, and then fish within 5 words of either dog or cat: dog near/10 cat near/5 fish | This search finds documents in which both words appear in the same section, within three or fewer words of one another: richard near/3 branson It retrieves documents containing the words Richard Charles Nicholas Branson; Richard Branson; and Branson, Richard. |
| onear/n | Use the onear/n connector to find documents in which the first word precedes the second by not more than n words.
onear/n is especially useful in situations where a different word order significantly alters meaning. For example, summary judgment is significantly different from judgment summary. You can use all 3 of these connectors interchangeably: | This search finds documents where the word overtime occurs within 3 words of compensation:
overtime onear/3 compensation |
| atleast | Use the atleast command to require that a term or terms appear "at least" so many times in a document. Use atleast when you want only documents that contain an in-depth discussion on a topic rather than just a mention.
You can use any number with the atleast command. | This search requires references to CERCLA (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) to appear in every document at least 10 times:
atleast10(cercla) |