Proximity operators

Proximity operators are operators you use to combine two or more search terms to match items based on their distance from each other using a distance parameter you specify. Nuix supports the following proximity operators:

W/n

PRE/n

NOT W/n

NOT PRE/n

Important: In the legal industry most proximity searching is often associated with a particular product. Proximity searching in Nuix works in the same way as industry- standard proximity searches but does not use a third-party tool. This produces slightly differing results when compared to other tools unless those indexes are built in the same way as Nuix.

W/n

A search combining two or more search terms using the W/n operator matches only items that are near each other in the maximum permissible number of terms specified by the parameter n. One term is matched within that distance of the other and is symmetrical as a search term.

This operator is not case sensitive, so a lowercase "w/n" in queries behaves the same way as the same operator in uppercase.

Much like the AND operator, you can use the W/n operator to combine most of the above search queries. However, you cannot use NOT. Complex nested Boolean queries are permitted but are unlikely to give meaningful results.

Examples:

 

PRE/n

The PRE/n operator works similarly to the W/n operator with the difference being that the matches must occur in the order in which you specify them. This operator is not case sensitive, so a lowercase "pre/n" in queries behaves the same way as the same operator in uppercase.

Examples:

 

NOT W/n and NOT PRE/n

By adding NOT in front of W/n or PRE/n, you reverse the proximity rule.

This operator is not case sensitive, so a lowercase "not" in queries behaves the same way.

Along with other previously detailed restrictions for proximity queries, you cannot use NOT proximity queries with nested AND queries. Examples: