Precedes Operator

The Precedes operator allows you to find files in which the first search term precedes the second search term by not more than the defined number of terms. Use this operator when the order in which terms appear is important.

Syntax	Semantics	Recommended Use
left_query P/n right_query (left_query) P/n (right_query)	Where P/n combines two queries such as a term, phrase or another query. n defines the maximum number of terms that the left_query should precede the right_query. For clarity, the queries can be placed between brackets. Please be aware that sometimes using brackets can influence the search results.	Find terms in a specific order. Particularly useful in situations where a different order would change the meaning.
(left_query) P/n/term (right_query)	where term can be a word (for example, `sandwich`), a number or a separator (for example, EOL (End of Line)).

Syntax

Semantics

Recommended Use

left_query P/n right_query

(left_query) P/n (right_query)

Where P/n combines two queries such as a term, phrase or another query.

n defines the maximum number of terms that the left_query should precede the right_query.

For clarity, the queries can be placed between brackets. Please be aware that sometimes using brackets can influence the search results.

Find terms in a specific order. Particularly useful in situations where a different order would change the meaning.

(left_query) P/n/term (right_query)

where term can be a word (for example, sandwich), a number or a separator (for example, EOL (End of Line)).

Example

Text	Example Query	Results
'Do you live to work or do you work to live?'	live P/2 work	Will find 'live to work' but not 'work to live' (which has a different meaning).