Syntax Used for Keyword Strings Parent topic

Administrators can specify the keywords to locate using several different methods. Properly formatted keyword search strings reduce the number of matches and make searches more efficient and productive. ScanMail allows administrators to use logical operators, wildcards, and Advanced Query Syntax (AQS) to narrow the scope of keyword searches.

Keyword Syntax

Type of Syntax
Description
Examples
Logical operators
Use uppercase logical operators (AND, OR, NOT) to separate multiple keywords.
  • administrator AND password
    Matches mailbox components that contain both the words “administrator” and “password”
  • administrator OR salary
    Matches mailbox components that contain either the word “administrator” or “salary”
  • administrator AND NOT payroll
    Matches mailbox components that contain the word “administrator” and do not contain the word “payroll”
Parentheses
Use parentheses () to group keywords in specific patterns.
  • (administrator OR password) AND NOT salary
    Matches mailbox components that contain either the word “administrator” or “password” and do not contain the word “salary”
  • (administrator AND NOT password) OR salary
    Matches mailbox components that contain the word “administrator” and do not contain the word “password”, or mailbox components that contain the word “salary”
Double quotation marks
Use double quotation marks (“”) to search for phrases.
  • “administrator salary”
    Matches mailbox components that contain the phrase “administrator salary”
  • “administrator salary” AND “year ending”
    Matches mailbox components that contain both the phrases “administrator salary” and “year ending”
  • (“administrator salary” OR payroll) AND “year ending”)
    Matches mailbox components that contain the phrase “administrator salary” or the word “payroll”, and also contain the phrase “year ending”
Wildcard (asterisk)
Use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard operator to search for a range of keywords starting with a specific string.
Note
Note
ScanMail only supports the use of wildcard symbols at the end of a string.
  • admin*
    Matches mailbox components containing words beginning with “admin”
    Examples:
    admin, administrator, administration, administrative
Advanced Query Syntax (AQS)
AQS is a Windows search query language that allows for programmatic searching of the Exchange environment.
For a detailed explanation and code examples for using AQS, refer to the following website:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb266512.aspx