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Search operators

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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:

•	Variations on a root word

•	Possible misspellings of a name or word

•	Words or names that might include punctuation (apostrophes)

Search Operators Table
Operator	Query	Results
DOCUMENT LEVEL
AND contains both words	hawkins AND lang	Finds all files and records with both the words: hawkins and lang
OR contains either word	hawkins OR lang	Finds all files and records with either hawkins or lang, or both
AND NOT contains first word, but not second	hawkins AND NOT lang	Finds all files and records with hawkins, but not lang
"//text"	"//text" CONTAINS hawkins "//text" :: hawkins	Finds text in all linked files with hawkins; excludes text in fields
WORD LEVEL
BEFORE	philip BEFORE hawkins philip BEFORE5 hawkins	Finds philip directly preceding hawkins Finds philip before five words of hawkins
NEAR	hawkins NEAR5 lang	Finds hawkins within five words of lang
LIKE	LIKE deposition	Finds synonyms from the global thesaurus for the search term specified; might locate testimony
# performs a phonetic search	#Smith	Finds words that sounds alike, such as Smith and Smythe
~ stemming at the end of a word finds grammatical variations of a word	manage~ apply~	Finds manager Finds applies, applied, applying
FIELD LEVEL
CONTAINS	"Fact Text" CONTAINS demoted	Finds demoted in the Fact Text field * Text before the CONTAINS operator must be a field name and the field name must be in quotes. The CONTAINS operator cannot be used with the NEAR or BEFORE operators. * 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.
::	"Description" :: demoted	Short form alternative for the CONTAINS operator. Returns the same results: Finds demoted in the Fact Text field. The field name must be in quotes.
CHARACTER LEVEL
? represents any character in its place in the character sequence	wom?n	Finds the following: woman, women
* matches multiple characters	Phil*	Finds Phil, Philip
NUMERIC
< less than	< 50 Florida < 32803	Finds numbers less than 50 Finds Florida followed by a number less than 32803
> greater than	> 50	Finds numbers greater than 50
<= less than or equal to"Bates	<=50	Finds numbers less than or equal to 50
>= greater than or equal to	>=50	Finds numbers greater than or equal to 50
= equal to	=50 =12	Finds the number 50 Finds dates with the number 12, such as 12/01/2001 and 08/12/2005
<x and >x not equal to	<50 and >50	Finds all numbers except 50
~~ finds a numeric range	10~~20	Finds any numbers between the two numbers, such as between 10 and 20 Do not use spaces before and after the operator.
TO	10 TO 20	Finds numbers in text within the specified range * The TO operator requires numeric text and spaces before and after the operator.

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:

•

•	Numeric operators

•	Implied BEFORE1 (phrase)

•

NOT

•

CONTAINS

•

•	BEFORE, NEAR

•

AND

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.

About full-text searches

Writing full-text searches

Creating combined searches

Running recent searches

Need additional help? Email the CaseMap Support team at: casemap.support@lexisnexis.com, or contact a support representative at 800.543.6862 (Option 2, then Option 4). The CaseMap Support team is available between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday - Friday.

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