Search operators allow you to write your own advanced queries to garner precise search results from your case records. Once you learn to use search operators, you can advance to typing complex searches that will help you locate facts and details that might otherwise takes hours of review to uncover.
Searching in CaseMap is not case sensitive; you do not have to enter all caps when typing in operators. You should type spaces between search terms and the operator (HawkinsP AND LangW), except when searching with characters or using symbols and punctuation. For more information, refer to the Search Operators table below.
Once you learn how to write your own basic queries, you can advance to creating combined search queries.
Boolean operators are based on the binary logic used in computers today, producing strict true or false results. In CaseMap, Boolean operators search at the document and spreadsheet/field level. Boolean operators used in CaseMap include AND, OR, and AND NOT. |
Context operators search at the field level. The search term you are trying to locate may still exist elsewhere in your case data (in another field or spreadsheet), you are just narrowing your search to one field. CaseMap uses the search operator, CONTAINS, to locate text within a specified field. An alternative to typing CONTAINS is typing double colons ::. When you use this option, you must have a space before and after the double colons. Field names must have quotes around them. For example, when you search the Fact Text field, your query should by typed as: "Fact Text". If you search a field name that is used in multiple spreadsheets, CaseMap displays results across all spreadsheets if the word is located in that field. For example, Description fields are included in all five spreadsheets. |
Proximity operators search at the word level and are useful when looking for content that appears in records either in direct succession or adjacent order, or in close succession to each other within a specified range. This number refers to the maximum number of intervening indexed words. |
Wildcard operators are symbols you can use as a substitute for characters or series of characters in a search term, creating a broader search with stronger results.
Using wildcard characters helps you locate:
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Advanced queries can combine multiple operators and search terms. Like mathematics, CaseMap uses a hierarchy to evaluate search queries and return results in a specific order. When you combine search queries, you can use parentheses to enforce operator precedence. Searches within parentheses are evaluated before they are combined with other search operators. Parentheses have the highest precedence.
CaseMap searches terms in a query in the following operator precedence:
Example of Implied BEFORE1: "Fact Text" CONTAINS Philip Hawkins In the above query, the phrase of Philip Hawkins is the Implied BEFORE1 operator. This query is read by CaseMap as: "Fact Text" CONTAINS (Philip Hawkins), so the terms within the parentheses take precedence over the CONTAINS operator. |