User Guide

Using explicit queries 583
Stemming in simple queries
By default, Verity interprets words in a simple query as if you entered the STEM operator (and
MANY modifier). The STEM operator searches for words that derive from a common stem. For
example, a search for instructional returns files that contain instruct, instructs, instructions, and
so on.
The STEM operator works on words, not word fragments. A search for “instrument” returns
documents containing “instrument,” “instruments,” “instrumental,” and “instrumentation,”
whereas a search for “instru” does not. (A wildcard search for instru* returns documents with
these words, and also those with instruct, instructional, and so on.)
Note: The MANY modifier presents the files returned in the search as a list based on a relevancy
score. A file with more occurrences of the search word has a higher score than a file with fewer
occurrences. As a result, the search engine ranks files according to word density as it searches for the
word that you specify, as well as words that have the same stem. For more information on the MANY
modifier, see “Modifiers” on page 601.
In CFML, enter your search terms, operators, and modifiers in the criteria attribute of the
cfsearch tag:
<cfsearch name="search_name"
collection="bbb"
type="simple"
criteria="instructional">
Preventing stemming
When entering text on a search form, you can prevent Verity from implicitly adding the STEM
operator by doing one of the following:
• Perform an explicit query. For more information, see the next section, “Using explicit queries”
on page 583.
• Use the WORD operator. For more information, see “Operators” on page 592.
• Enclose the search term that has double-quotation marks with single-quotation marks, as
follows:
<cfsearch name="search_name"
collection="bbb"
type="simple"
criteria='"instructional"'
Using explicit queries
In an explicit query, the Verity search engine literally interprets your search terms. The following
are two ways to perform an explicit query:
• On a search form, use quotation marks around your search term(s).
• In CFML, use type="explicit" in the cfsearch tag.