Problem
Try this:
No results or few files found ... search criteria are too specific
It is easy to overdo it on search commands. You may think it logical to narrow the search down as much as possible at the start. Good idea, but that does not always work.
An example would be searching for Client/Matter files of a certain type.
• You enter Client code, Matter code, and DocType code. So far, so good.
• Now let's say you add a Typist code, and even specify a file modification date.
Those last two criteria greatly narrow the search. If you happen to be guessing wrong on date - or not all desired documents were actually typed by the same person - the search fails. Better to not specify date and typist. Use a more general search, then sort the list of results based on date and/ or typist.
Sounds like a few extra steps. Perhaps it is, but you are actually more likely to find things if you make a search less restrictive, and are will to sort through a longer list of results.
Too many files found ... search criteria are too general
This can be a problem at large firms, with very large document sets.
For example, searching on Client and Matter alone can be a productive technique under these conditions:
• You are in a small firm, with relatively few documents as yet managed by Worldox.
• The client is relatively new to your firm, or the matter is new for the client.
Otherwise, that type of search just is not specific enough. Adding one other identifier is probably all you need. Even a broad date created or modified date range (for example) will likely cut the list of search results down to a manageable size. Or perhaps you know the desired documents were created by at most two authors. You could specify those two authors on an OR basis, effectively narrowing the search.
The idea is to narrow the search enough to make sorting the results list a viable option for quickly locating the desired file or files.
You're pretty sure the file exists, but Worldox isn't finding it.
Let us say you search on a known file Description (document name). The file could exist in more than one profile group, so you search in all groups. Yet Worldox does not find it.
• Before anything else, check your spelling. Spelling variations can make it difficult to search by file name.
• Also, are you sure this document is still Active? If it has been archived, or moved into Legal Hold, the search - as set up now - cannot find the file. Try clicking Search What, then selecting all available Include checkboxes in the Search What dialog.
Make sure you are searching in the right places. Also, make sure you have the spelling right if you are searching by file name or keywords.
TEXT SEARCHING
Exact phrase not found
If the phrase you enclose in quote includes one or more common words, Worldox may find most - but not all - files containing that phrase:
"Turner and Bates"
Worldox cannot find the word "and", because it is ignored (by design) in the indexing process. Here is more on how Worldox handles common words in text searching.
AND search finds too many files
Here search problems can arise due to very large document stores - or the use of rather common words in text searching.
For example, you decide to search for documents containing the words recent AND legislation. You expected to find a few such documents, but instead find hundreds. It turns out those two words - even when linked on an AND basis - are not sufficiently distinctive.
Sometimes context can be the key to narrowing the search. For example, perhaps you are most interested in documents containing phrases such as
• recent health legislation
• recent economic reform legislation
• recent state tort reform legislation
If that is the case, a proximity search would be far more effective. Try searching for:
recent w/4 legislation
to find all files with those words within four words of each other.
