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Google Advanced Features

This document provides an overview of advanced search features in Google such as query modifiers, wildcards, proximity searching, and limiting searches by file type or site. Key features discussed include using intitle, inurl, and allintext to search titles, URLs, or entire pages respectively. It also explains how to use the GAPS proximity tool or site: to limit searches and defines wildcards and diacritics.

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Kimberlee Moore
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116 views

Google Advanced Features

This document provides an overview of advanced search features in Google such as query modifiers, wildcards, proximity searching, and limiting searches by file type or site. Key features discussed include using intitle, inurl, and allintext to search titles, URLs, or entire pages respectively. It also explains how to use the GAPS proximity tool or site: to limit searches and defines wildcards and diacritics.

Uploaded by

Kimberlee Moore
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Google Search Tips: Advanced Features

By Robin Hartman, Associate Librarian Darling Library Hope International University


Adapted from A Google Gambol (Internet Librarian 2003) Greg Notess, Creator, Search Engine Showdown & Reference Librarian, Montana State University

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Advanced Features of Google


Query modifiers filetypes define Wild Card Word in Phrase (WCWIP) GAPS (proximity search) Punctuation Diacritics
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Query modifiers
Use these commands in the search window.
intitle:test allintitle:test results inurl:testresults allinurl:testresults personality allintext:test results personality allinanchor:test results personality site:loc.gov filetype:doc
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intitle:test results

This search returns sites with the word test in the title and results anywhere in the document.

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allintitle:test results
ALL of the search terms will be found in the title.

Note: In this example there are much fewer hits when both terms (test AND results) must be found in the title of the page.

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inurl:test results
inurl:test results only test must be found in the web address (URL)

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allinurl:test results
Both test AND results must be found in the web address.

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allintext
Sometimes you get pages that do not have your search term/phrase in them.
Why? Because Google also searches for pages that just link to the target page.

Use allintext to get only those pages that have your search terms in them.
Compare the searches in the next two slides
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1. crash test results

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2. allintext:crash test results

Different pages float to the top of your hit list. And you get fewer pages than before.

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allinanchor
Returns only pages that link to pages with your search terms, but not in the actual pages. This is the opposite of allintext.

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site:
Limit your search to a specific web site. Enter search terms then qualifier. EXAMPLES:
elephant race site:fullerton.edu
Finds elephant race(s) on the Cal State Fullerton site

dinosaur site:si.edu
Finds dinosaur on the Smithsonian Institute site

One more
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schwarzenegger site:sen.ca.gov

Limits search of schwarzenegger to official California senate pages.

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filetype:
You can specify a type of document to search. EXAMPLES:
pdf Adobe readable files doc Microsoft Word documents mdb Microsoft Access databases jpg, gif, tif graphics, photos ppt Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
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Putting it all together


Search Sample schwarzenegger filetype:pdf site:ca.gov

Limits search of schwarzenegger to find only pdf files on official california government pages.

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define:
will provide definitions of the words, gathered from various online sources.

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Wild Card Word in Phrase *


Using a wildcard (*) for a character does not work in Google.
cat* returns the same results as cat. However

You can replace unknown words with an asterisk (*).

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Possible Uses for WCWIP


Searching out suspected plagiarism. Common misspellings all the spellings of a word will be found. Variations
Harry Potter and the * Stone returns both US (Sorcerer's ) and UK (Philosophers) versions of the book title.

And
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Fun
Finding parodies.

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GAPS by Staggernation.com
Google API Proximity Search
A script that searches Google for two search terms that appear within a certain proximity of each other on a page.
Studies show that the closer search terms are in proximity, the better chance that the document is relevant to the searchers need.

For more info go to:


http://www.staggernation.com/gaps/readme.html

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http://www.staggernation.com
Searching for all kinds of cookie recipes with chocolate but not oatmeal? This search will get: Chocolate chip cookie recipes Chocolate cookie recipes Chocolate covered cherry cookie recipe

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Punctuation: it might matter


Google (and most other search engines) used to drop punctuation and replace it with a space (i.e., CD-ROM = CD ROM). But now Google is including the underscore (_) and ampersand (&) as well as enabling searching for terms such as c++ programming.
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Diacritics
Unite or unit?
You have an option to search for English only.

And you can have this page translated from the French to English.

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Diacritics OR (try both)


Rene = about 36,700 hits

Ren =about 6,880 hits

BOTH = about 41,500 hits

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Search Engine Showdown


For in depth information on how Google and other web search engines work, go to Greg Notess Search Engine Showdown: The Users Guide to Web Searching at http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/

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See More Google


This is one of three presentations on Google Search Tips. Others include:
Lesser Used Features Lesser Used Databases Advanced Functions

11/23/2003

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