Search this site
By default the search engine tries to locate pages which have exact matches for all of the words entered in your search query. If that fails, it then tries to locate pages which contain any words in your search query. If that happens a short message is displayed at the top of the search results indicating this has been done. In addition, there are several ways to modify the default search behaviour:
- phrase search
The search engine supports two types of phrase search:- To match an exact phrase, use quotes around the phrase
Example: "exeter trial 2008" - To match a near (within a couple of words) phrase, use square brackets [around the words]
Example: [exeter trial 2008]
- To match an exact phrase, use quotes around the phrase
- + and - qualifiers
If you prepend a word with + that word is required to be on the page.
If you prepend a word with - that word is required to not be on the page.
Example: +always -never - boolean search
You can use the following boolean operators in your search: AND, OR, NOT. These operators MUST be in capital letters.
Example: (exeter AND 2008) OR (fire AND extinguishers) - * wildcard
If a query word ends with a * all words on a page which start the same way as that query word will match.
Example: motor* - ? wildcard
If a query word contains a ? any character will match that position.
Example: b?g
The MCC does not endorse the "Search Sponsors" - these result from using free search software.