About advanced query syntax, advanced searches and custom expressions

A combination of search features provide flexibility in creating GV STRATUS searches. Entering text with advanced query syntax is available in both the Simple Search tool and the Advanced Search tool. The Advanced Search tool provides additional capabilities.

The advanced query syntax available when you enter text is as follows:

If you search on one or more words (with no search syntax), the search returns assets that match all the words in any order. This is the Boolean "AND" operator. This is a change from previous versions, where this was a phrase search.
Search syntax is as follows:
- If you enter words surrounded by quotation marks, the search returns assets that match that exact phrase, with the words in the exact order.
- Text surrounded by quotation marks is searched literally. Any search syntax or operators within the quotation marks are interpreted as plain text instead.
- Simple boolean operators AND, OR and NOT are supported. Enter these operators in all capital letters.
- Parenthesis control the precedence of the boolean operations.

The following are advanced query syntax examples. Each example is followed by the steps the GV STRATUS system goes through as it processes the search:

“the quick brown” (fox OR dog) jumped over the NOT lazy cat
1. Contains the phrase “the quick brown” AND
2. Contains ‘fox’ or ‘dog’ AND
3. Contains ‘jumped’ AND
4. Contains ‘over’ AND
5. Contains ‘the’ AND
6. Does not contain ‘lazy’ AND
7. Contains ‘cat’
abc AND (def OR ghi)
1. Contains ‘abc’ AND
2. Contains ‘def’ OR ‘ghi’
abc AND def OR ghi
1. Contains ‘abc’ AND ‘def’ OR
2. Contains ‘ghi'

The Advanced Search Toggle button next to the Simple Search tool provides additional capabilities to the search tool.

You can search using multiple conditions. You define the type of search as follows:

ALL of the conditions below are met — This is the Boolean "AND" operator. The search returns assets that match all conditions. Only conditions with values (conditions that are not blank) are included in the search.
ANY of the conditions below are met — This is the Boolean "OR" operator. The search returns assets that match any of the conditions. Only conditions with values (conditions that are not blank) are included in the search.
Custom — You can enter text to create a custom expression using Boolean operators.
In your custom expression, you use the condition numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, etc) to represent the condition on which you are searching. For example, if you have configured condition 1 as "Asset Name is basketball" and condition 2 as "Asset Created is Today", then entering custom expression "1 AND 2" finds assets named basketball created today.
The "OR" and "AND" operators are at the same precedence, so for complex expression you use parentheses to group relationships. The following are examples of complex expressions:
- (1 AND 2) OR (1 AND 3)
- ((1 AND 4) OR 3) AND ((2 OR 4) AND 3)

You can use advanced query syntax in the Advanced Search tool. When you create a "contains" condition that searches a text field, you can enter text with advanced query syntax to search that field. The following is an example of this type of condition:

Name | contains | guitar NOT rock

In this way a search in the Simple Search tool is equivalent to a "contains" search that searches multiple text fields by default. For a simple search you can enter text with advanced query syntax. Assets with names, tags, descriptions, comments, marker text, or custom text data that match the search are returned.

You can also search for custom metadata in the Advanced Search tool. In addition, the custom metadata search allows you to search for an empty field.

For an extended application of boolean logic in the Advanced Search tool, you can create multiple conditions that search text fields, each of which use advanced query syntax. Then you can combine those conditions as a custom expression.