# Search Help
## Search Pages There are two search pages; [[WebSearch]] offers basic search features, while [[WebSearchAdvanced]] offers more control over searches. By default searches are keyword based like in a typical search engine: - Specify word(s) you want to find - Multiple words form an **AND** search, `intranet web service` returns all pages that have the three words anywhere in the page - Optionally specify plus signs for **AND** search, like `intranet +web +service` - Enclose words in double quotes to form a **literal search**, like `"web service"` - Specify a minus sign to **exclude** a word, like `soap -shampoo` - Use double quotes if you want to search for a leading minus sign, like `"-nowarn"` - **Stop words** are excluded from a keyword search: - Stop words are common words and characters such as `"how"` and `"where"`, defined in the SEARCHSTOPWORDS setting in the [[TWikiPreferences]] - If you want to search for a word in the stop word list, prefix the word with a plus sign - **Example:** To search for all topics that contain `"SOAP"`, `"WSDL"`, a literal `"web service"`, but not `"shampoo"`,%BR% enter this: `soap +wsdl "web service" -shampoo` Regular expression search searches for a set of regular expression patterns: - Patterns are separated by semicolons - An AND search is performed for the list of patterns - An exclamation point preceeding a pattern indicates an AND NOT search; use it to exclude a pattern, like `!web service` - If you want to search for a semicolon or an exclamation point, escape them with a leading backslash, like `\!shampoo` - **Example:** To search for all topics that contain `"SOAP"`, `"WSDL"`, a literal `"web service"`, but not `"shampoo"`,%BR% enter this: `soap;wsdl;web service;!shampoo` ## Formatted Searches You can embed a nicely [[formatted search|Main/FormattedSearch]] in a topic by using the `%SEARCH{}%` variable described in [[VarSEARCH]]. ## Search Preferences [[TWikiPreferences]] defines these search preferences: - `SEARCHDEFAULTTTYPE`: Default search type for search forms which calls the `search` script - Currently `%SEARCHDEFAULTTTYPE%` - `SEARCHVARDEFAULTTYPE`: Default search type for `%SEARCH{}` variable - Currenty `%SEARCHVARDEFAULTTYPE%` - `SEARCHSTOPWORDS`: List of stop words (common words and characters to exclude from a keyword search) - Currently `%SEARCHSTOPWORDS%` **_Related Topics:_** [[UserDocumentationCategory]]