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Unofficial Google Advanced Search

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Table of Contents
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1. Introduction
2. Notes
3. Search URI Examples
1. Basic Search URI Example
2. Advanced Search URI Example
3. Advanced Image Search URI Example
4. Example Client Search URIs
5. Miscellaneous Query Parameters
1. Showing Duplicate Content
2. Browse By Name
4. Basic Operators
1. + Required
2. - Excluded
3. OR Operator
4. " " Complete Phrase
5. ~ Similar Words
6. * Wildcard Search
7. .. Number Range
5. Advanced Google Operators
1. Time-based and Date-based
1. date: Last X Months
2. daterange: Between Two Dates
3. tbs=qdr: Limit by Time Period
2. filetype: File Types
3. site: Restrict To Site
4. cache: Google Cache
5. link: Sites That Link To
6. related: Related Sites
7. info: Website Information
8. define: Define Word
9. phonebook: Google Phonebook
10. stocks: Stock Symbols
11. weather: Weather Forcast
12. music: Music Search
 13. movie: Movie Search
14. Flight Information
6. SEO-oriented Operators
1. allintitle: All Words In Title
2. intitle: Word In Title
3. allintext: All Words In Text
4. intext: Word In Text
5. allinurl: All Words In URL
6. inurl: Word in URL
7. allinanchor: All Words In Anchor
8. inanchor: Word In Anchor
7. Google Calculator Guide
1. Basic Math
2. Roots
3. Trigonometry
4. Logarithms, Base e
5. Logarithms, Base 10
6. Factorials
7. Conversions
1. Degrees and Radians
2. Number Bases
3. Distance
4. Speed, Time and Temperature
5. Currency
6. Cooking
8. Google Image Search
1. Restricting image results
2. Showing only images of a certain type
3. Showing only images of a certain size
4. Showing only images of a certain color
5. Showing only images of a certain source
9. Credits and contact information

Back to the table of contents

1. Introduction

Disclamer: This site is not controlled or supported by Google in anyway.

Any problems with the page can be directed to Joseph Becher, care of the address at
the bottom of this page.

Welcome to the Unoffical Google Advanced Search page.

This page is provided as a reference and a guide to using the advanced search operators
that Google provides.
Most of the operators have a Google Search box pre-filled so you can see example
results.
With the announcement of SSL support on Google.com I changed all the search
examples to use SSL as well.

2. Notes

Google is case insensitive, meanting that 'gOoGle' is the same as 'GOOGLE' and
'google'
Search operators are case sensitive, meaning that 'OR' is not the same as 'or'
Without using any operators, Google will show pages with all words first, trying to
find the words in order
Google excludes common words (known as stop words) like 'I', 'the', 'a' etc
Pay attention to operators that must be used alone

3. Search URIs

3.1. Basic Search URI

https://www.google.com/search?
hl=en
&q=test
&btnG=Google+Search

3.2. Advanced Search URI

Google advanced search sends the following URI to the server. Here is the decoding:
https://www.google.com/search?
as_q=test (query string)
&hl=en (language)
&num=10 (number of results [10,20,30,50,100])
&btnG=Google+Search
&as_epq= (complete phrase)
&as_oq= (at least one)
&as_eq= (excluding)
&lr= (language results. [lang_countrycode])
&as_ft=i (filetype include or exclude. [i,e])
&as_filetype= (filetype extension)
&as_qdr=all (date [all,M3,m6,y])
&as_nlo= (number range, low)
&as_nhi= (number range, high)
&as_occt=any (terms occur [any,title,body,url,links])
&as_dt=i (restrict by domain [i,e])
&as_sitesearch= (restrict by [site])
&as_rights= (usage rights [cc_publicdomain,cc_
attribute,cc_sharealike,cc_noncommercial,cc_nonderived]
&safe=images (safesearch [safe=on,images=off])
&as_rq= (similar pages)
&as_lq= (pages that link)
&gl=us (2-digit country code in lowercase)
The department of Information and Computing Services for the University of
California at Irvine maintains a list of country codes.

Note: Usage Rights does not seem to be available as a search operator. If you know of
one, please email Joseph Becher at the address at the bottom of the page.

3.3. Advanced Image Search URI

Google advanced image search sends the following URI to the server. Here is the
decoding:

https://www.google.com/imghp?
as_q= (query string)
&hl=en (language)
&btnG=Google+Search
&as_epq= (complete phrase)
&as_oq= (at least one)
&as_eq= (excluding)
&imgtype= (restrict by image type)
&imgsz= (restrict by image size)
&imgc= (restrict by image color)
&as_filetype= (filetype extension)
&as_sitesearch= (restrict by [site])
&safe=off (safesearch [safe=on,images=off])
&as_st=y

Image type, size and color restrictions are explained more in depth under the restricting
image search results section.

3.4. Client Search URIs

Searching from Firefox 2.0.0.4:

https://www.google.com/search?
q=test
&ie=utf-8
&oe=utf-8
&aq=t
&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
&client=firefox-a

Searching from Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.11:

https://www.google.com/search?
q=test
&sourceid=ie7
&rls=com.microsoft:en-US
&ie=utf8
&oe=utf8
So far the only diference I can see is that the Firefox search allows images, where the
Internet Explorer ones does not. If anybody wants to explain the query strings, or add
their own, please email Joseph Becher at the address at the bottom of the page.

3.4. Miscellaneous Query Parameters

3.4.1. Showing Duplicate Content

Adding &filter=0 to the search URI will show similar results. This is the same as
clicking the message

In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very
similar to the X already displayed.
If you like, you can repeat the search with the omitted results included.

that is found on the last page of the results.

Thanks to Ray Pennisi. Details from the 'New Duplicate Content Filter at Google?'
post at threadwatch.org..

3.4.2. Browse By Name

"Browse By Name" is a search method that first surfaced in the Google Toolbar. It was
added to Firefox 2.0+ as the default search from the location bar. To use, it requires the
following two parameters:

&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1

Search Google Search

Thanks to Kevin Goodsell. Details from the 'Googles "Browse By Name" in Firefox'
post at squarefree.com.

4. Basic Operators

4.1. + Required

Forces Google to include the word. Can be used with stop words, as in 'over +the
fence'.

Search pig +farm Google Search

4.2. - Excluded

Excludes the word, ensuring that it will not appear of result, as in 'pig -bacon'.

Search pig -bacon Google Search

4.3. OR Operator
Gives you a choice. You can have 'one' OR 'the other', as in 'cats OR dogs'. Remember
that this operator must be in all CAPS. You can also use the symbol for OR, '|', known
as the pipe.

Search cats | dogs Google Search

4.4. " " Complete Phrase

Putting words in quotes talls Google to search for the complete phrase. This can also
include stop words, as in "the search engine".

Search "the search engine" Google Search

4.5. ~ Similar Words

Search for similar words, or synonyms. Searching search ~tips will returns results with
'help', 'guide', 'tutorial' etc.

Search search ~tips Google Search

4.6. * Wildcard Search

The '*' is called a wildcard. Searching for 'looking for *' will return results like 'looking
for dogs', 'looking for cats' etc. You can also use the wildcard with phrases, such as
"Los Angeles * jobs" to search for jobs in Los Angeles, etc.

Search doughnuts with * Google Search

4.7. .. Number Range

Search within a range of numbers. Searching for 'computer $500..1000' will find
computers between $500 and $1000 dollars.

Search 2..20 doughnuts Google Search

5. Advanced google operators

5.1. Time-based and Date-based

5.1.1. date: Last X Months

Search for 'new' pages Google added in the last X months, such as 'google date:3'
date: accepts 3, 6 and 12.

Search google date:3 Google Search

5.1.2. daterange: Between Two Dates

You may limit your search to an exact date of a "range" of dates that a page was added
by Google. Dates must be entered in julian format.
Searching for 'google daterange:2453006-2453371' returns pages that Google indexed
in the year 2004.

Date (DD/MM/YYYY): Day / Month / Year Convert Julian Day

Search google daterange:2453006-2453371 Google Search

5.1.3. tbs=qdr: Limit Results by Time Period

With Google's release of Search options you can now limit your search results by time
period. The format is as follows:

&tbs=rltm:1 [real time results]

&tbs=qdr:s [past second]
&tbs=qdr:n [past minute]
&tbs=qdr:h [past hour]
&tbs=qdr:d [past 24 hours (day)]
&tbs=qdr:w [past week]
&tbs=qdr:m [past month]
&tbs=qdr:y [past year]

As an example, Results for 'Google' within the last day (http://www.google.com/

search?q=google&tbs=qdr:d) will return search results for Google from the last 24
hours (1 day).
Of special interest is the real-time search option. By adding &tbs=rltm:1 to your search
URI you can choose real-time results.
For example, the search for Google results in real-time (https://www.google.com/
search?q=google&tbs=rltm:1) will return real-time results for 'Google' from blogs and
Twitter©.

5.3. filetype: Filetypes

Google will return files of this type.

Currently officially supported file types are pdf, ps, wk1, wk2, wk3, wk4, wk5, wki,
wks, wku, lwp, mw, xls, ppt, doc, wks, wps, wdb, wri, rtf, swf, ans, txt, but other are
supported as well, like xml, cpp, java etc.

Search google filetype:pdf Google Search

5.4. site: Restrict To Site

Restricts the results to the given domain. site:jwebnet.net will find all indexed pages on
www.jwebnet.net, while site:jwebnet.net design will find all design-related pages on
www.jwebnet.net .
You can also find your supplemental results using this query: site:www.jwebnet.net
*** -sljktf.

Search site:jwebnet.net Google Search

5.5. cache: Google Cache

Displays the page from Google's saved cache. Other words in the search will be
highlighted in the returned page.
Very helpful if a page is down or deleted.

Search cache:google.com search Google Search

5.6. link: Sites That Link To

Returns pages that link to the your search. link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google will

list webpages with links pointing to wikipedia's page for Google.

Search link:www.jwebnet.net Google Search

5.7. related: Related Sites

Returns pages that Google thinks are related.

Search related:www.google.com Google Search

5.8. info: Website Information

returns some informations about the given web page. Typically website and
description.
Note the information below the results on this search

Search info:www.google.com Google Search

5.9. define: Define Word

Searched for the the definition of a word.

Search define:Google Google Search

5.10. phonebook: Google Phonebook

search in residential phone book. sample: phonebook:smith Los Angeles

Google provides the phone number, address and a link to a Google map.
Google also provides a link to get your name removes if desired.

Search phonebook:smith Los Angeles Google Search

5.11. stocks: Stock Symbols

Search stocks:goog Google Search

5.12. weather: Weather Forcast

Returns the weather forcast.

Search weather:los angeles Google Search

5.13. music: Music Search

Returns track and album information for the search term.

Search music:transformers Google Search

5.14. movie: Movie Search

Returns all movies related to the search term given. Sample: movie:transformers
Clicking on a movie title allows you to pull showtimes. You can also find movies by
locations: movie:nyc , movie 10015.

Search movie:transformers Google Search

5.15. Flight Information

Search for flights inside USA using the airport code. sample: jfk lax

Search lax Google Search

6. SEO-oriented Operators

6.1. allintitle: All Words In Title

Search for documents with all the words in their title.

This operator cannot be combined with others.

Search allintitle:google search Google Search

6.2. intitle: Word In Title

Search for documents with the first word after the intitle operator in their title.

Search intitle:google search Google Search

6.3. allintext: All Words In Text

Search for documents with all the in their text.

This operator cannot be combined with others.

Search allintext:google search Google Search

6.4. intext: Word in Text

Search for documents with the first word after the intext operator in their text.

Search intext:google search Google Search

6.5. allinurl: All Words In URL

Search for documents with all the words in their url.
This operator cannot be combined with others.

Search allinurl:google search Google Search

6.6. inurl: Word In URL

Search for documents with the first word after the inurl operator in their url.

Search inurl:google search Google Search

6.7. allinanchor: All Words In Anchor

Search for documents with all the words in an anchor.

This operator cannot be combined with others.

Search allinanchor:google search Google Search

6.8. inanchor: Word In Anchor

Search for documents with the first word after the operator in an anchor.

Search inanchor:google search Google Search

7. Google Calculator Guide

7.1. + - * % ^ Basic Math

You can use Google as a calculator for basic math:

3+2 returns 5
4-1 returns 3
6*8 returns 48
15/5 returns 3
3^2 returns 9 (3 raised to power 2)
5%2 returns 1 (the remainder after division)

7.2. sqrt,nth root of x Roots

sqrt(49) returns 7, if you need non-square roots you can use for example 3th root of 27.

7.3. sin, cos, arctan, tan... Trigonometry

Google calculator supports various trigonometic functions, expecting a radians value,

that can be expressed also using the pi constant: sin(pi/2), tan (2/3*pi)

7.4 ln Logarithm, Base e

Returns natural (base e) logarithm: ln(e^5)

7.5. log Logarithm, Base 10

Returns base 10 logarithm: log(100)

7.6. ! Fractorials

Returns n factorial: 3!

Numbers can be entered also in hexadecimal, octal and binary base, using 0x, 0o and
0b prefixes, for example 5 +0xf+0b1001

7.7. Conversions

Google can do conversions too.

7.7.1. Degrees and Radians

in degrees
in radians

You can convert radians to degrees: pi/2 in degrees or convert degrees into radians: 90
degrees in radians

7.7.2. Number Bases

in hex
in binary
in octal
in decimal

You can convert to each of the given bases: 16 in hex , 16 in octal, 16 in binary, 0 11
in decimal
You can also use 2007 in roman numerals (in case you're building a temple and you
need to know how to write the year on it)

7.7.3. Distance

You can use 100miles in km , 1m in mm, but also 200000 km in light-second etc.

7.7.4. speed, time, temperature

Google can convert speed, time and temerature.

100mph in kph
1 month in seconds
280 kelvin in celsius
50 fahrenheit in celsius

7.7.5. Currency
3 € in $ or 3 euros in dollars

7.7.6. Cooking

Google can help with cooking...

3 teaspoons in oz
1 cup + 1 tablespoon in teaspoon

8. Google Image Search

Google Image Search has advanced operators as well. They can be selected at Google's
Advanced Image search page.

8.1. Showing Duplicate Content

Adding &filter=0 to the search URI will show similar results. This is the same as
clicking the message

In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very
similar to the X already displayed.
If you like, you can repeat the search with the omitted results included.

that is found on the last page of the results.

Thanks to Ray Pennisi. Details from the 'New Duplicate Content Filter at Google?'
post at threadwatch.org..

8.2. Showing only images of a certain type

Adding &imgtype= to the search URI lets you filter your results to a certain type:

1. &imgtype=news (news only)

2. &imgtype=face (faces only)
3. &imgtype=photo (photos only)
4. &imgtype=clipart (clipart only)
5. &imgtype=lineart (lineart only)

8.3. Showing only images of a certain size

Adding &imgsz= to the search URI lets yout filter your results to a certain size:

1. &imgsz=icon (small)
2. &imgsz=small|medium|large|xlarge (medium)
3. &imgsz=xxlarge (large)
4. &imgsz=huge (large)

As you can see, using the URI, it is possible to filter the size further then you can with
the options on the advanced search page. If anybody knows what dimensions the sizes
break down to, please send Joseph Becher an email at the address at the bottom of this
page.

8.4. Showing only images of a certain color

Adding &imgc= to the search URI lets yout filter your results to a certain color:

1. &imgc=mono (black and white)

2. &imgc=gray (grayscale)
3. &imgc=color (full color) DEFAULT

8.5. Showing only images from a certain source

Add "source:life" to any Google image search and search only the LIFE photo archive.
For example: https://images.google.com/images?q=Winter+Olympics+source:life will
search the LIFE photo archive for images related to the Winter Olympics.

Thanks to William Ryken for pointing this out.

Who knows what other things Google can do. If you know of something not here,
please email Joseph Becher at the address below.

Credits and Contact Information

Thanks to mapelli.info's Ultimate Google Search tips guide, Google's refine search
page, SEOBook's page and Google's Cheat sheet for the information on these tips.

| |

Joseph Becher can be reached at jwbecher@jwebnet.net

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