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SPECIAL
FEATURES:
Can do very specific searches; retrieves large
number of results (not always relevant); powerful search engine.
WHEN TO USE:
When wanting to search the entire Web
When
wanting a large number of results
When doing a specific search
for obscure sites, documents or information
WHAT
TO REMEMBER WHEN USING ALTAVISTA:
use +, -, "" for simple searches
on regular search page;
use the advanced search
page when you wish to use Boolean
Searching options; AND,
OR and ( ) for advanced searches.
Pay attention to case.
CAPITALIZATION:
AltaVista IS case-sensitive. If you use lowercase
letters, both lowercase words and capitalized words will be
searched. If
you use capitals, only capitalized words will be searched.
PUNCTUATION:
The semi-colon ; is treated as a blank space. ADDITIONAL
FEATURES: can search within particular fields of a
document. Use text: image:
url: title: link:
host: etc.
ALTAVISTA
SIMPLE SEARCH:
Use + immediately before a word to require that word
Use - immediately before a word to exclude that word
Use double quotes ("word") to search for a phrase.
Use a wild card * (*root) to search for variations of a word
root
ALTAVISTA
ADVANCED (BOOLEAN) SEARCH:
Use top field for regular searches, second field for Boolean
searches.
For Boolean searches:
Use AND if the following word must be included.
Use AND if the following word must be included.
Use OR between words if one of them must be included.
Use NOT to indicate that your chosen word must NOT be ncluded.
Use AND NOT if your following word must NOT be included.
Use NEAR between words which must be within 10 words of each
other.
Use parentheses around a phrase or group of words that must
NOT
be found together.
If operators such as and, or etc. are part of your
search words, then include them in quotation marks.
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