Search operators are special commands you can use to filter search results. They help to find only the search results that you want by limiting and focusing your search. You can place them anywhere in your query, either before or after the search terms. With these examples, we will help you set up your search results so that you get the results you are looking for more quickly.
- ext:
Returns web pages with a specific file extension.
Example: to find the Ford Mondeo Owner’s manual in PDF, type:
Ford Mondeo owners manual ext:pdf
- filetype:
Returns web pages created in the specified file type.
Example: to find a web page created in PDF format about the evaluation of age-related cognitive changes, type:
evaluation of age-related cognitive changes filetype:pdf
- inbody:
Returns web pages containing the specified term in the body of the page.
Example: to find information about the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, making sure the page contains the keywords “founders edition” in the body, type:
nvidia 1080 ti inbody:“founders edition”
- intitle:
Returns web pages containing the specified term in the title of the page.
Example: to find pages about Edelcoin making sure the results contain xt.com in the title, type:
edelcoin intitle:xt.com
- inpage:
Returns web pages containing the specified term either in the title or in the body of the page.
Example: to find pages about the 2024 Oscars containing the keywords “best costume design” in the page, type:
oscars 2024 inpage:“best costume design”
- lang: or language:
Returns web pages written in the specified language. The language code must be in the ISO 639-1 two-letter code format.
Example: to find information on visas only in Spanish, type:
visas lang:es - loc: or location:
Returns web pages from the specified country or region. The country code must be in the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 format.
Example: to find websites from Switzerland about the castles of Bellinzona, type:
castles of Bellinzona loc:ch - site:
Returns web pages coming only from a specific website.
Example: to find information about Swisscows only on TeleGuard pages, type:
swisscows site:teleguard.com
- +
Returns web pages containing the specified term either in the title or the body of the page.
Example: to find information about Hulbee HES-technology, making sure the keyword “HES” appears in the result, type: hulbee +HES - -
Returns web pages not containing the specified term neither in the title nor the body of the page.
Example: to search web pages containing the keyword “office” while avoiding results with the term “Microsoft”, type: office -microsoft - “”
Returns web pages containing only exact matches to your query.
Example: To find web pages about an anonymous search engine containing only the keywords “search engine Swisscows” in that exact order, enter:
your private and anonymous “search engine Swisscows”
Additionally, you can use logical operators in your queries. They are special words that allow you to combine and refine the output of search operators.
You must enter logical operators in capital letters so that they are recognized by the search engine.
- AND
Only returns web pages meeting all the conditions.
Example: to search for information on visas in English in web pages from the United Kingdom, type:
visa loc:gb AND lang:en - OR
Returns web pages meeting any of the conditions.
Example: to search for travelling requirements only in pages from Australia or New Zealand, type:
travel requirements loc:nz OR loc:au - NOT
Returns web pages which do not meet the specified condition(s).
Example: to search for information on Swisscows Search, but you want to exclude results from swisscows.com, type:
swisscows search NOT site:swisscows.com
Please bear in mind that search operators are experimental and in the early stage of development.