Stop Words and Boolean Operators

Understanding Stop Words

Symphony is configured to ignore specific, common words during keyword searches to improve result relevancy. These are typically articles, prepositions, or conjunctions.

If a search consists entirely of stop words, you will receive the message: "Your search contains all stopwords." To bypass this, enclose the entire phrase in double quotation marks (e.g., "The To Be").

Using Boolean Operators

Boolean operators focus your search by defining the relationship between terms. Note that these operators only function in Keyword searches.

• AND: Locates records containing all specified terms. (e.g., cats AND dogs excludes records with only one or the other).
• NOT: Locates records containing the first term but excludes the second. (e.g., cats NOT dogs).
• OR: Locates records matching any of the terms. (e.g., cats OR dogs).
• XOR: Locates records matching either term, but excludes those containing both. (e.g., cats XOR dogs).

Handling Literal Search Terms

If your search phrase includes a Boolean operator as a literal part of the title (like the word "Not" in Not as a Stranger), Symphony will treat it as a command unless you specify otherwise.

Example 1: Keyword Search (Without Quotes)

Searching for Not as a Stranger without quotes tells the system to find records that do not include the word "stranger." This returns a massive, incorrect result list.

Example 2: Phrase Search (With Quotes)

By enclosing the phrase in double quotation marks, Symphony ignores Boolean logic and stop words, searching for the exact title.

Error Prevention: If a search ends with an operator (e.g., Birds and), you will receive a syntax error. To fix this, use a Browse search or wrap the phrase in quotes.