Help - Boolean searching (AND, OR, NOT)

Boolean searching allows you to combine search terms using the three Boolean operators AND, OR and NOT. To execute a Boolean search, enter the required terms separated by the Boolean operators you wish to use.

When you transfer more than one search term from a browse index to a search box, AFI Catalog automatically combines them using the Boolean operator OR.

AND

The AND operator retrieves all entries that contain all of the terms entered. This normally retrieves fewer entries than searching one of the terms on its own. For example:

If you wish to search for the word 'and' in a phrase (and therefore do not want it to be a Boolean operator) you should type the phrase into the search box and enclose it in double quotes. For example "mystery and detective" will find the whole phrase 'mystery and detective'.

OR

The OR operator retrieves all entries which contain one or more of the terms entered. This retrieves more entries than searching one of the terms on its own. For example:

If you wish to search for the word 'or' in a phrase (and therefore do not want it to be a Boolean operator) you should type the phrase into the search box and enclose it in double quotes. For example: "mystery or detective" will find the whole phrase 'mystery or detective'.

NOT

The NOT operator retrieves all entries that contain the first term entered but not the second. For example:

If you wish to search for the word 'not' in a phrase (and therefore do not want it to be a Boolean operator) you should type the phrase into the search box and enclose it in double quotes. For example: "mystery not detective" will find the whole phrase 'mystery not detective'.