2008

NOTE If you are searching for a file name with an extension, you should group
the entire string in double quotes, ("filename.ext"). Otherwise, the period will
break the file name into two separate terms. The default operation between
terms is AND, so you will create the logical equivalent to "filename AND ext."
Searching for Words or Phrases: Using Wildcards
You can search for words or phrases and use wildcard expressions. Wildcard
expressions allow you to search for one or more characters using a question
mark or asterisk. The table below describes the results of these different kinds
of searches.
ResultsExampleSearch for
Topics that contain the
word "select." (You will
selectA single
word
also find its grammatical
variations, such as "selec-
tor" and "selection.")
Topics that contain the
literal phrase "new oper-
"new opera-
tor" or new
operator
A phrase
ator" and all its gram-
matical variations.With-
out the quotation
marks, the query is
equivalent to specifying
"new AND operator,"
which will find topics
containing both of the
individual words, in-
stead of the phrase.
Topics that contain the
terms "ESC," "escape,"
esc* or
80?86
Wildcard
expressions
"escalation," and so on.
The asterisk cannot be
the only character in
the term.Topics that
contain the terms
"80186," "80286,"
Searching for Help Topics | 7653