« Help Topics

Keyword Order and Closeness (Proximity)

Using n (near) and w (with)

For more precise retrieval in "keyword" searches, you can type lower case n, w, with, or near between two words to specify the order and closeness of the words in records found.

• n and near specify that either word can appear first.
• w and with specify that the first word typed must appear first.
• Type n, near, w, or with to specify that the words must be adjacent
• Type a number (1 to 25) after n or w to specify the maximum number of words between the search words. These numbers cannot be used with near or with, however.
  
  Examples
  

  thomas n jefferson	retrieves	Thomas Jefferson
  plan n1 attack	retrieves	Plan of Attack
  war w1 peace	retrieves	War and Peace

Using proximity in
Notes/Table of Contents searches

You may get more precise results in "Notes/Table of Contents" search by specifying that your search words need to be close together in the table of contents (which may contain many different titles). Do this by typing the letter n (for "near") and a number.

Example

latin* n5 identity

retrieves items with these words closer than 5 words apart in the notes/table of contents.

Using proximity operators
as search words

Type n or w in quotation marks to use them as search words.

You may also use quotation marks for "near" to include it as a search word, but "with" cannot be used as a search word in keyword searches because it is also a "stop word".

Example

c "w" post

retrieves

C. W. Post

Note that n, near, w, and with act as proximity operators in keyword searches only. In "begins with..." or "exact" searches, they act as normal words.

Capitalized N and W do not act as proximity operators.

« Help Topics