> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kinetica.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Full Text Search The SQL [FILTER\_BY\_STRING](/content/sql/query#sql-string-functions-fts) function, as well as the [/filter/bystring](/content/api/rest/filter_bystring_rest) endpoint, enables the use of several string-based search modes, including full text search via the *search* mode. The syntax and restrictions for this search follow, including examples of applying different search criteria. In order for a full text search to be applied to a column, the following requirements must be met: * Full text search must be enabled by setting `enable_text_search` to `true` in the /opt/gpudb/core/etc/gpudb.conf configuration file; see [Text Search](/content/config#config-main-text-search) for details. * The column must be a *string* [type](/content/concepts/types#types-chart) and have the `text_search` [column property](/content/concepts/types#types-data-handling) applied. The following *specific types* under the *string base type* are text-searchable: * `char1` - `char256` * `date` * `datetime` * `ipv4` * `string` * `time` * `uuid` ## Individual Term Match To search for one or more search terms, add the terms to a space-separated list. | Search Text | Result | | --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | `perfect union` | matches any record containing *perfect*, *union*, or both | ## Exact Phrase Match To search for an exact phrase, double quote the entire search text. | Search Text | Result | | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | `"Perfect Union"` | matches the exact phrase *Perfect Union* | ## Boolean Operations Valid operators include `NOT`, `AND`, `OR`, & parentheses `()`. An `OR` is assumed if no operator is specified. | Search Text | Result | | ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `justice AND tranquility` | matches records containing both *justice* and *tranquility* | | `justice OR tranquility` | matches records containing either *justice* or *tranquility* (or both)
This is the default behavior, so `justice OR tranquility` is equivalent to `justice tranquility` | | `justice NOT tranquility` | matches records containing *justice* that don't contain *tranquility* | | `(justice tranquility honesty) AND peace` | matches records containing *peace* that also contain any one or more of *justice*, *tranquility*, & *honesty* | ## Wildcard Match Wildcard matches can be specified with either single-character or multi-character wildcards, or a combination of the two: * `?` - Exactly one character * `*` - Zero or more characters | Search Text | Result | | ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `est*ish*` | matches any records containing a word that starts with *est*, followed by any number of characters, followed by *is*, and ending with any number of additional characters; this would match records containing *establish*, *establishable*, and *establishment* | | `est???is?` | matches any records containing a word that starts with *est*, followed by exactly three characters, followed by *is*, and ending with any single character; this would match records containing *establish*, but not *establishable* or *establishment* | | `est*abl?` | matches any records containing a word that starts with *est*, followed by any number of characters, followed by *abl*, and ending with any single character; this would match records containing *establishable*, but not *establish* or *establishment* | ## Fuzzy Match Fuzzy matches can be specified by appending a tilde (`~`) to the end of the fuzzy match term. A decimal number between 0 (inclusive) and 1 (exclusive) can be used to specify the minimum relative similarity of the match, with `0` indicating the fuzziest match possible, and values closer to `1` indicating an increasingly stricter match. The default match threshold is `.5`. | Search Text | Result | | ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `rear~` | matches records containing *rear*, *fear*, *bear*, or *read* | | `rear~.8` | matches records containing *rear*, but not *fear*, *bear*, or *read* | ## Proximity Match To match two words within a specified distance of each other, quote the two terms, separated by a space, and append a tilde (`~`) followed by the distance in number of words. | Search Text | Result | | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `"Union Tranquility"~10` | matches records containing *Union* and *Tranquility* within *10* words of each other | ## Term Relevance To increase the relevance of a matched search term versus other given terms, append a caret (`^`) followed by a positive numeric boosting factor for that term. A quote-enclosed phrase can also have its relevance increased. The default factor is `1`. | Search Text | Result | | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `we have fun^5` | matches records containing any of *we*, *have*, or *fun*, but giving a greater match relevance score to records containing *fun* | ## Required, Optional, & Prohibited Matches Within the context of a group of terms, any of the terms can be marked as required or prohibited: * `+` - when prepended to a term, requires that the term be matched * `-` - when prepended to a term, prohibits matches on the term * *\* - when neither marker is prepended to a term, the term is optional | Search Text | Result | | --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `we -never have +fun` | matches records containing *fun*, optionally containing *we* or *have*, and not containing *never* | ## Range Matches Inclusive `[ TO ]` and exclusive `{ TO }` matches are supported. Matches where one side is inclusive and the other exclusive are not supported. | Search Text | Result | | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `[100 TO 200]` | matches records containing any numbers that lexicographically sort between *100* and *200*, including *100* and *200*
This is a lexicographical comparison, so a search of `[100 TO 200]` would match *2*, *20*, or *1AZ* | | `{alpha TO beta}` | matches records containing words that lexicographically sort between *alpha* and *beta*, not including either *alpha* or *beta* | ## Escaping Special Characters Special characters are escaped with a backslash (`\`). Special characters include: | | | | | | --------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | | `+`

`-`

`^`

`"` | `~`

`*`

`?`

`:` | `\`

`&&`

`\|\|`

`!` | `( )`

`{ }`

`[ ]` | ## Restrictions * The first character of a search term cannot be a wildcard (`*` or `?`) * Search terms cannot be any of the following: | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `a`

`an`

`and`

`are`

`as`

`at`

`be`

`but` | `by`

`for`

`if`

`in`

`into`

`is`

`it`

`no` | `not`

`of`

`on`

`or`

`such`

`that`

`the`

`their` | `then`

`these`

`they`

`this`

`to`

`was`

`will`

`with` |