The asterisk is used for prefix searching in a query.
An asterisk can occur at the end of the query string, or be followed by a space, ampersand, vertical bar, closing bracket, or closing quotation mark. Any other usage of asterisk returns an error.
The table "Asterisk interpretations" shows allowable asterisk usage:
Query string |
Equivalent to |
Interpreted as |
|---|---|---|
'th*&best' |
'th* AND best' and 'th* best' |
Find any term beginning with th, and the term best. |
'th*|best' |
'th* OR best' |
Find either any term beginning with th, or the term best. |
'very&(best|th*)' |
'very AND (best OR th*)' |
Find the term very, and the term best or any term beginning with th. |
'"fast auto*"' |
Find the term fast, immediately followed by a term beginning with auto. |
|
'"auto* price"' |
Find a term beginning with auto, immediately followed by the term price. |
Interpretation of query strings containing asterisks varies depending on the text configuration object settings.