KB294394167: MediaBeacon - Using boolean search terms in Quick Search

Question

How does boolean searching in MediaBeacon work? 

When using Quick Search, it is important to note that the following four search terms return different results:

• "Cat and Dog"
• "Cat Dog"
• "Cat, Dog"
• "Cat or Dog"

Answer

"Cat and Dog" will return assets that contain "Cat" and "and" and "Dog" in the file name if file name searching is enabled in Quick Search configuration. It will also return assets that have "Cat" and "Dog" in metadata because metadata searches don’t search on "and" since it’s considered a stop word, or a word that will be ignored in the search.

"Cat Dog" will return assets containing both "Cat" and "Dog" in metadata because MediaBeacon logically ANDs all Quick Search terms together. Compared to the above, it will return assets that have "Cat" and "Dog" only in the file names but not in metadata, and that don’t have "and" in the file names.

"Cat, Dog" will return assets containing both "Cat" and "Dog" in metadata because MediaBeacon combines all search terms with an "and". Commas are not included in term parsing in the search engine. This search will also return assets that have "Cat" and "Dog" in the file names.

"Cat or Dog" will return assets that contain "Cat" and "or" and "Dog" in the file name, if file name searching is enabled in the Quick Search configuration. It will also return assets that have "Cat" and "Dog" in metadata. Metadata searches don’t search on "or", it’s considered a stop word in the search engine. In addition, there is a 3-character minimum for metadata searches, so "or" would not be searched since it is under that limit.

Usage Suggestion

In summary, MediaBeacon does not leverage the terms "and" or "or" to invoke boolean logic in search results. Using "and" will only separate terms.

It is best to avoid using the following terms in your Quick Searches:

• and

• or

• comma (,)

• plus (+) or minus (-)