Full-text Searching Tips for Concordance
After data is loaded into your Concordance database, the document information is automatically indexed to provide full-text searching capabilities. Full-text searching is performed very fast and efficiently by using this index.
Active databases need to be reindexed periodically to keep the information current for searches. If your index is out-of-date, you will see a check mark next to the Reindex command on the file menu, and the database will show the message Needs reindexing in the Databases task pane.
Additional Search Tips
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The Quick Search field is located immediately underneath the Toolbar towards the top of Concordance. You can use this to enter basic searches without opening the Search Panel.
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Running a Zero Search will clear out your search results and allow you to see all documents in the database again. Type a zero (0) character in the Quick Search field, and hit Return (Enter) or click the green arrow to the right of Quick Search. Concordance automatically runs a Zero Search whenever a database is opened.
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You can view a list of recent searches by selecting the dropdown arrow to the right of Quick Search. Selecting a specific search from the dropdown will allow you to re-run that search.
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You can search for multiple values within a field by separating them with a comma.
Example: “AREACODE = 213, 818, 310, 714”
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Search terms can include Wildcard characters. Use a question mark (?) to match any single character, or an asterisk (*) to match zero or more characters at the beginning or end of a word.
Example 1: The search term “?og” would match the words “dog”, “log”, and “fog”.
Example 2: The search term “woman*” would match the words “woman”, “womanhood”, and “womankind”.
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Concordance treats most punctuations as if they were spaces. For example, “AT&T” would appear as the separate words “AT” and “T” in the dictionary. If you need to search for words with embedded punctuation, the desired punctuation characters must be added to the Punctuation List defined for the database. You can see the current Punctuation List by going to File>Properties. If the Punctuation List is modified, the database must be re-indexed so that these punctuations can be properly searched.
You can find more detailed information about searching in Concordance by visiting our Answer Center: