Search Operators in Casemaker4
While there are somethings that have changed in Casemaker4 quite a few things have not. For example, you can use the same search operators in Casemaker4 that you used in previous versions of Casemaker. Let’s review them!
AND searching – Example: Contract Binding
To perform the AND search, simply leave a space. Casemaker sees the space as the AND operator. Our example will give us documents that have the word contract as well as the word binding.
OR searching – Example: alimony OR support
Using OR as the operator will find documents that use either word in the query. In our example, this query will pull up documents mentioning either alimony or support anywhere in them.
NOT searching – Example: property NOT commercial
Using the NOT operator will tell the system to find the documents that mention the first term but do not mention the second. In our example, the query will pull up documents that refer to property but do not mention the term commercial
Phrase searching – Example: “right of way”
This search type tells the system to treat everything in the quotations as if it were one search term. In our example, this means it will only pull cases that mention right of way but not cases that mention the words right, of and way by themselves.
Thesaurus searching – Example: ~parole
The thesaurus search not only locates your search term but also words with the same meaning. In our example query, the search will pull up documents that mention the word parole as well documents that mention any synonyms of the word parole.
Asterisk searching – Example: run*
This search will pull up documents that mention terms that begin with the letters prior to the asterisk. In our example, the query will find documents that mention not only run but also any words that start with run such as runner, runs, running and so on.
Proximity searching – Example: tax w/10 property
This search will pull up documents that mention your first term within the number of words you specify of the other term. In our example, this will bring us documents where tax is mentioned within ten words of the term property.
Grouping searching – Example: (alimony OR support) AND divorce
This would be the one case where you should use the word AND in Casemaker. Using the parentheses tells the system we want to group these queries. In this example, the system will return documents that mention alimony or support but also mention divorce.
When creating searches, if you run into trouble or need a few tips we highly recommend contacting our customer support department. We have a live chat feature which will allow you to instant message our customer support team during our regular hours. You will find a link to livechat in the upper right of the Casemaker4 screen. Live chat is especially useful when you are looking for search query assistance. Our support team can give you a sample query and you can copy and paste the search suggestions we have to offer!