| Symbol |
Name |
Uses |
Examples |
| ? |
question mark |
First character in request for help message (HELP) |
?ADDRESS |
| ( ) |
parentheses |
Part of proximity operators, e.g., (W), (L), (NOT W). If entered alone [ i.e., ( )], means (W).
|
S THIN(W)FILM |
| ( ) |
parentheses |
Used to "nest" search
terms to specify order of processing |
S (S1 OR S2) AND S3 |
| ( ) |
parentheses |
Groups terms to be qualified with suffix or prefix code(s)
|
S PA=(FORD(W)MOTOR)
S (WHITE(W)
KNIGHT)/TI,DE |
| ( ) |
parentheses |
Indicates that specified proximity operator is to be applied to all terms within parentheses |
S (CAT OR DOG)(W)FOOD |
| " " |
quotation marks |
Used around words or characters to indicate that they are to be read as search terms, particularly with expressions that have specified meaning to the Dialog system; double quotes are preferred |
SELECT "STEPS" |
| ’ |
apostrophe |
If used in a SELECT statement,
will be interpreted as a quotation mark; search
terms that contain apostrophes by treating text
before and after the apostrophe as separate terms;
use truncation and proximity connectors
to work around the apostrophe |
S ALZHEIMER?
S JAKE?(1W)
AUTO(W)CARE |
| @ |
"at" sign |
Used in trademark files to search an ending string of characters in fields where the characters in a word have been permuted |
SELECT TR=VOLVO@? |
<, >
<=, >= |
numeric operators |
Used in numeric searching to represent:
• less than
• greater than
• less than or equal to
• greater than or equal to |
S SA<50m
S EM>100
S NI<=100M
S AP>=60M |
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