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To run broad searches, wildcard characters can be used. The following table describes the wildcards that can be used in the quick search field.
Basic Wildcards |
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symbol |
meaning |
effect |
example |
search returns |
% |
any character |
used to search for any combination of numbers or letters |
% |
all strings |
_ |
any one character |
used as a blank space to fill one number or letter |
5_3 |
any string starting with 5 and ending with 3 with one character between |
[] |
ranges |
returns any letters or numbers within a range |
[1-9] or [abz] |
all strings with first character of 1-9 or all strings beginning with a, b, or z |
^ |
not |
returns anything not containing following numbers or letters |
c[^135] |
all strings starting with c without 1,3, or 5 as the second character |
While the [] and ^ are possible, they are not used often as they are more difficult to use accurately. The most common uses of the wildcards are described in the table below.
Common Searches |
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symbol |
returns |
common use |
% |
all strings |
used in smaller databases to search all |
1% or 123% |
all strings beginning with 1 or 123 |
used mainly to search for 'families' of parts, allows as many characters before the specified 'family' |
%1 or %123 |
all strings ending with 1 or 123 |
used mainly to search for 'families' of parts, allows as many characters after the specified 'family' |
1%3 |
all strings starting with 1 and ending with 3 separated by unlimited characters |
searches a broad range of parts with specific 'family' and variation |
123_ |
all strings beginning with 123 followed by only one more character |
used to find specific parts, possibly with different variations |
_123 |
all strings ending with 123 preceded by only one character |
used to find specific parts without knowledge of family |
1_3 |
all strings starting with 1 and ending with 3 separated by 1 character |
used for specific searches |
While wildcards are useful tools, using the Advanced Find tool is often a good idea if the search is more complicated.