Zing indexes punctuation as part of some words

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Zing indexes punctuation as part of some words

    Zing search indexes certain punctuation marks as part of words to improve search accuracy for common terms, especially company names, product numbers, acronyms, host names, IP addresses, and record numbers. This indexing approach ensures that searches return more precise matches by recognizing punctuation integral to specific word types.

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    Key Features

    • Ampersands [&], Plus signs [+], Hyphens [-]: Indexed as part of company names. For example, searches like H&R Block, Coca-Cola, or Google+ return exact matches including punctuation.
    • Apostrophes [']: Trailing possessives are ignored, but most apostrophes are retained to match proper names like O'Reilly and O'Reilly's.
    • Numbers [0-9], Underscores [], Periods [.], Hyphens [-]: Indexed as part of product numbers and record numbers following typical patterns. For instance, PROD-10-987, PROD10987, and INT1234567 locate exact matches.
    • Periods [.]: Also index acronyms (e.g., u.s.a. matches usa or u.s.a.), host names (e.g., en.myhost123.com), and IP addresses (e.g., 10.0.0.1).

    Important Notes

    • Punctuation indexing does not interfere with wildcard or boolean operators, which function independently in Zing searches.
    • Search terms must fit recognized patterns to leverage punctuation indexing effectively.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    By understanding how Zing handles punctuation within search terms, customers can craft more effective queries to locate records, company names, product numbers, acronyms, and technical identifiers exactly as intended. This precision reduces irrelevant results and improves productivity when searching large datasets within ServiceNow.

    Zing indexes some punctuation marks as part of some words to improve search results for common search terms.

    Table 1. Punctuation indexed as part of a word
    Punctuation Indexed to find Search behavior
    Ampersands [&] Company names Zing locates terms containing punctuation characters that are common in company names: ampersands (&), plus signs (+), or hyphens (-).

    For example, a search for H&R Block locates exact matches to the search term.
    Apostrophes ['] Proper names Zing ignores trailing possessives and retains most others to find company names.

    For example, a search for O'Reilly's locates matches to O'Reilly and O'Reilly's.
    Hyphens [-] Company names Zing locates terms containing punctuation characters that are common in company names: ampersands (&), plus signs (+), or hyphens (-).

    For example, a search for Coca-Cola locates exact matches to the search term.
    Product numbers Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores (_), hyphens (-), or periods for punctuation.

    For example, a search for PROD-10-987 locates exact matches to the search term.
    Numbers [123] Product numbers Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores (_), hyphens (-), or periods for punctuation.

    For example, a search for PROD10987 locates exact matches to the search term.
    Record numbers Zing locates record numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must start with a recognized record number prefix.

    For example, a search for INT1234567 locates exact matches to the Incident record.
    Periods [.] Acronyms Zing locates acronyms whether they are separated by periods or not.

    For example, a search for u.s.a. locates matches to usa or u.s.a.. Note that wildcard searches may affect acronym handling.

    In another example, a search for u.s.* may yield better results than a search for u.s*.
    Host names Zing locates sequences of letters and numbers separated only by periods.

    For example, a search for en.myhost123.com locates exact matches to the search term.
    IP addresses Zing locates numbers that follow a typical IPv4 address pattern.

    For example, a search for 10.0.0.1 locates exact matches to the search term.
    Product numbers Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores (_), hyphens (-), or periods for punctuation.

    For example, a search for PROD.10.987 locates exact matches to the search term.
    Plus signs [+] Company names Zing locates terms containing punctuation characters that are common in company names: ampersands (&), plus signs (+), or hyphens (-).

    For example, a search for Google+ locates exact matches to the search term.
    Underscores [_] Product numbers Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores (_), hyphens (-), or periods for punctuation.

    For example, a search for PROD_10_987 locates exact matches to the search term.
    Note:
    The punctuation handling described here doesn't affect wildcard and boolean operators. These operators provide separate Zing functions.