| Operator | Function | Example |
| Phrase “ ” (double quotation marks) |
Two or more words must occur in the exact order specified | “Whanganui River” Search engine will only find the exact phrase |
| AND | A document must contain all words specified. AND must be in capital letters as Whanganui and River will search for [Whanganui or and or River] | Whanganui AND River Search engine will find wherever “Whanganui” and “River” occur in the same document |
| OR (or space) |
A document may contain any of the words entered (may contain all).OR must be in capital letters as Whanganui or River will search for [Whanganui or or or River] |
Whanganui OR River Whanganui River Search engine will find wherever “Whanganui” and/or “River” is mentioned in a document |
| NOT | Eliminates specified words from the search NOT must be in capital letters as Whanganui not River will search for [Whanganui or not or River] |
Whanganui NOT River Search engine will only look for Whanganui and not River |
| Wildcard * (asterisk) |
Replaces multiple unknown characters in a word. Best used at the end of a single word rather than a phrase and can be especially useful for finding words containing quote marks (eg: Tribunal’s) or accented characters | Whanganui AND Riv* Search engine will find wherever “Whanganui” and any words beginning with “Riv-“ eg: rival, riven, rivet etc |