Searching Help

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Search Functionality Search Restrictions Getting the Best Results

Search Functionality

MediaTrak searches using boolean 'AND'. This means that a search will return files which contain ALL keywords - in any order. Keywords may appear in the file name itself OR in the name of the directory it is in. For example, a file named:   Fantasya.mp3 in the directory:   /mp3 clips/Robert Miles - Dreamland/ can be found using any of the follow searches:   Fantasya   Robert Miles   Miles Fanta   fantasy dream A keyword prefixed with a minus character ('-') will mean that the keyword should NOT appear in the name. For example, a search of:   Frente -triangle will return songs like:   Frente - Ordinary Angels   Frente - Labour of Love but not:   Frente - Bizarre Love Triangle The number of files searched depends on the current load on the system. During idle hours, you are more likely to be able to search through a larger number of files. Activity peaks in the early afternoon Pacific Time.

Search Restrictions

A keyword is generally a word or string of characters to search for A character is generally one letter, digit, or space (' ') There is a limit of eight keywords At least one keyword must not be prefixed with a minus character Maximum length of search may not exceed 64 characters Keywords must consist only of alphanumeric characters(a-z and 0-9) Keywords are separated by spaces, spaces are used only to separate keywords Keywords do not have to be full words or names Keywords are case insensitve (upper/lowercase does not make a difference)

Getting the Best Results

The best thing to keep in mind is to use only as much as is needed to uniquely identify the desired song or filename. This will ensure that the results will confined to the desired results, but also leaving room to accomodate variations in the name. This example will explore the best way to find a sample of the song:   At the Beginning by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis from the Anastasia soundtrack Search Evaluation the beginning will return too many results including songs by various music artists beginnig won't find anything unless somebody also mispelled that word, also =) begin marx lewis anastasia may narrow down too much. many files of this song may not have both the soundtrack name and the artists beginning lewis good search, just enough to uniquely identify the song beginning anastasia also a good search, the song may have included the soundtrack name, but not the artist eginnin nastasi this would work just as well as the previous, keywords do NOT have to be complete words

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