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Max Record to Retrieve
One enters the number of records to retrieve in each chunk. In the example
above: the 10 (default) means 10 records. In the search
results form one can page through the results should there have
been more than, in the example, 10 records.
Since the results must be transfered and the data quantities can be large
it is, generally, best to select the smallest Max Hits that makes
sense for the search. For most applications the default (10) is a good ballpark
figure.
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Sentence Input Box
In the textarea one enters the words or phrases that one is
interested in. The default is to OR the words in the search.
This depends on the kind of search:
-
Lit := Literal Search (The whole phrase).
-
Trunc := Right truncated search of each term OR, if literal, the literal
phrase.
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CASE := Case dependent match of each term OR, if literal, the literal phrase.
If one wants to search for precisely the phrase one should check
both the literal checkbox and CASE checkboxes.
To restrict the words, phrase or literal search to a specific field in the
document one uses the Field Name Selection Box.
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Field Name Selection box
The list pulldown 
allows one to select a field to restrict to search for the term. The default,
"Any Field", means: Search for the term in Any Field.
The available fields in the listbox are dependent upon the kind of
documents in the database. 
They are organized
according to their order in the original records.
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Term Weight Selection box
The list pulldown 
lets one specify (rank) the relevance of the entered
word, sentence or phrase to the search. By choosing
a higher positive number one is informing the system that the sentence is
more relevant. By choosing a negative number one is telling the system that
the sentence is irrelevant--- the higher the number the less relevant.
Term weighting is a very powerfull and intuitive feature, rooted in
the praxis of rational dialog , but is not-too-common in other systems. For
many search activities it is more effective than pure Boolean search.
One should try it out to really understand it.
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Literal/Trunc/CASE Selection Checkboxes
The checkbox 
allows one to specify that the sentence entered in the
Sentence Input Box is a literal phrase. The default
is to look for any of the words entered. A search for Homer Simpson
with the Literal Checkbox Pressed will return only those records with
precisely "Homer Simpson". Without literal it would return
those documents that contain either Homer, Simpson or Both.
-
Trunc is for right truncated searches. So "Hom" would
match Homer, Homely, etc.
-
Case is to specify that the search is CASE dependent.
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Drag-and-Drop or Advanced Query
This pulldown lets one specify that the textarea below
it
is:
-
Binary Operator Selection box
The pulldown
lets one specify a binary operator that connects the groups of inputs
to one another.
The binary operators are:
-
Or :=
-
Union. Returns records that contain either term (the non-blue areas).
-
And :=
-
Intersection. Returns those records that contain BOTH terms (the red
area).
-
AndNot :=
-
Complement. Returns records that contain the first term BUT NOT the
second term (the yellow area).
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Xor :=
-
Exclusive Union. Returns records that contain either term but not
both (the yellow or green areas).
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Near:=
-
Proximity. Returns records that contain both terms and where the terms
are not too far away from one another (somewhere inside the red area).
-
Before:=
-
Ordered Proximity. Like near but where the first term is BEFORE the
second.
-
After:=
-
Ordered Proximity. Like near but where the first term is AFTER the
second.
-
Adj:=
-
Adjacent Proximity. Like near but here the terms are adjacent (viz.
very very close). The result sets contains records that contain both terms
right next to one another.
-
Nand:=
-
Not And . The result set contains record that don't contains both
(everthing but the red area).
-
Nor:=
-
Not Or (neither). The result set contains records that don't contain
either sentence (the blue area).
-
Xnor:=
-
Not Xor. The result set contains records that don't belong to the exclusive
union (the red and blue areas).
Example: One enters Homer in the first sentence
box and Simpson in the second sentence
box.
-
The default (OR) means
-
Return a list of record that contains either "Homer" or "Simpson".
-
AndNot
-
Would returns those records that mention Simpson but not those records
that have Homer.
-
Xor
-
Would return those records that contain either "Homer" or "Simpson"
but not both.
-
Before
-
Like near but where the word "Homer" is Before the word "Simpson".
This would find "Homer Simpson" but not "Simpson Homer".
-
After
-
Like near but where the word "Homer" is After the word "Simpson".
This would NOT find "Homer Simpson" but would, for example, find "Simpson
hit a homer".
-
Adj
-
Like near but here the terms are adjacent (viz. very very close). This would
find "Homer Simpson" and "Simpson Homer" but not "Simpson hit a homer".
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Headline Selection box
Using the listbox above one selects the field one wants for the headline.
Like the Field Name Selection Box, the fields available
depend upon the kinds of documents in the database.
The default headline is dependent upon the document type
(doctype) of the record and often is constructed
from one or more fields.
-
Ranking of results radio boxes
One can select the way one wants the result set to be ordered.
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Forms complexity
The buttoms 
in the lower
right corner allow one to increase/decrease the complexity of the input form.
When the complexity drops below 1 input box
plus 1 advanced box it starts with
1 input box.
The complexity is also defined as <URL>+[-]<level>
When - then NO Drag-and-Drop/advanced
query input box. The level specifies the number of
sentence input boxes. Example <URL>+3 would
yield a form with 3 input boxes AND the Drag-and-Drop box; <URL>+-2
would yield a form with 2 input boxes.
