Searching Symbols and Punctuation Marks

The following links provide a detailed explanation of how the LexisNexis® services process symbols and punctuation marks:

Sample Searches:

Colon
Period/Decimal
Slashes
Comma
Question Mark
Trademark
Dollar Sign
Quotation Marks

Ampersand ( & )

When an ampersand follows or precedes a space, The LexisNexis® services read it as an AND connector. When an ampersand immediately follows and precedes another character, the LexisNexis services read it as space.

Examples:

Term:

Smith & Sons

Read as:

Smith and Sons

Term:

B&O Railroad

Read as:Text

B O Railroad

 

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Apostrophe ( ' )

The LexisNexis® services read the apostrophe only if it follows and precedes a letter other than the letter s. Possessive forms of words are searched automatically unless you use precision searching.

Examples:

Term:

don't

Read as:

don't

Term:

O'Sullivan

Read as:Text

O'Sullivan

Term:

star's

Read as:

star (singular form of the word) (Also finds star's because possessive forms of words are automatically searched.)

 

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At Symbol ( @ )

The LexisNexis® services always read the @ symbol, and it is an equivalent for the section symbol ( § ). Because it is equivalent to the § symbol, using @ finds the following terms:

  • Section / sections
  • Sec. / secs.

Example:

Term:

@ 102

Read as:

@ 102
sec. 102
section 102

 
 

When the @ symbol is embedded in a string of characters, such as in an email address, the LexisNexis services read it as the word section. To search an email address, replace the @ symbol with a space.

Example:

Term:

john.doe@lexisnexis.com

Read as:

john.doesectionlexisnexis.com

Enter as:

john.doe lexisnexis.com
(There is a blank space between john.doe and lexisnexis.com)

 

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Colon ( : )

  • The LexisNexis® services read the colon when it follows and precedes a number.
  • The LexisNexis services do not read the colon, but see it as a space, when it follows or precedes a letter.

Examples:

Term:

5:10 am

Read as:

5:10 am

Term:

T: A:B

Read as:

T A B

 

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Comma ( , )

  • The LexisNexis® services read the comma when it follows and precedes one or more numbers.
  • The LexisNexis services do not read the comma, but see it as a space, when it follows or precedes a letter.

Examples:

Term:

33,313

Read as:

33,313

Term:

5,

Read as:

5

Term:

doe,henry

Read as:

doe henry

 

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Dollar Sign ( $ )

The LexisNexis® services never read a dollar sign.

Example:

Term:

$100

Read as:

100

 

NOTE:

Some sources, such as financial materials and jury verdict reports, include segments that you can search using dollar amount ranges. For details about sources, review their source descriptions. Consult your LexisNexis® product Help for instructions on viewing source descriptions.

 

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Hyphens ( - )

  • The LexisNexis® services read hyphens as spaces.
  • Hyphens in segment names are mandatory. For example, news sources have a LOAD-DATE segment. When you use this segment, you must include the hyphen.
  • Hyphens in Revenue Ruling and Revenue Procedure citations are mandatory when you use Get a Document.

Examples:

Term:

stand-off

Read as:

stand off

Segment name:

LOAD-DATE

Enter as:

load-date

 

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Number/Pound Sign ( # )

The LexisNexis® services always read the number/pound sign ( # ) when you enter it as part of a search request. It is not equivalent to terms such as no., number, or pound.

In full-text patents, the number/pound sign ( # ) separates the U.S. Classification number from the subclass number in the US-CL segment.

Example:

Term:

3# maximum

Read as:

3# maximum

 

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Percent Symbol ( % )

The LexisNexis® services always read the percent symbol ( % ). It is not equivalent to terms such as percent or per cent. To search for these words, use the OR connector to join them as alternative search terms. For example, use the following search to find market share percent:

market w/3 share w/5 percent! or per cent! or %

NOTE:

Use the exclamation mark (!) to find all forms of the word percent, including percentage, and percentile.

Examples:

Term:

10%

Read as:

10%
(There is not a blank space between the number 10 and the percent symbol.)

Term:

10 %

Read as:

10
(There is a blank space between the number 10 and the percent symbol.)

 

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Period / Decimal Point ( . )

  • The LexisNexis® services read a decimal point when it precedes one or more numbers.
  • The LexisNexis services read a period only when it follows just one letter and precedes a series of alternating letters and periods.

Examples:

Term:

1.2

Read as:

1.2

Term:

100.

Read as:

100

Term:

.1a

Read as:

.1a

Term:

F.R.C.P.

Read as:

F.R.C.P.

Term:

www.lexisnexis.com

Read as:

www lexisnexis com
(There is a blank space between the www, lexisnexis, and com.)

 

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Question Mark ( ? )

The LexisNexis® services do not read question marks.

Example:

Term:

Are you home?

Read as:

Are you home

 

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Quotation Marks ( " " )

The LexisNexis® services do not read quotation marks, but you can use them to search the word not, which is a reserved word. You can also use quotation marks to search phrases.

Examples:

Phrase:

employment at will

Read as:

employment will

Enter as:

"employment at will"

 

NOTE:

Placing quotation marks around a noise word does not make the word searchable.

 

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Registered Trademark ( ® )

The LexisNexis® services do not read registered trademark symbols. Replace this symbol with the letter R when you want to retrieve terms with their registered trademark symbol.

Example:

Term:

Coca-Cola®

Enter as:

Coca Cola R

 

NOTE:

Using the actual symbol as a search term in traditional LexisNexis software products, such as the LexisNexis® Research Software version 7.2, results in an error message.

 

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Semi-Colon ( ; )

The LexisNexis® services do not read semi-colons. Do not include them in your search request.

Some LexisNexis® software products do support command stacking. In these products, commands are separated by semi-colons. When you enter semi-colons for command stacking, the LexisNexis services read them as an ENTER command.

Examples:

Term:

paragraph 1;2

Enter as:

paragraph 1 2

Command stacking example:

genfed;currnt;name ( reno and arab )

 

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Section Symbol ( § )

Many LexisNexis® products accept the @ symbol as an equivalent to the § symbol. The § symbol automatically searches the following equivalents:

  • Section / sections
  • Sec. / secs.

Examples:

Term:

§ 153

Read as:

@ 153

Enter as:

@ 153 (There is a blank space between the symbol and the number 153.)

 

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Forward Slash ( / ) and Back Slash ( \ )

The LexisNexis® services read slashes as spaces except when they follow a connector prefix such as the letter w in w/n, w/sent, and w/para.

Examples:

Term:

01/01/1999

Read as:

01 01 1999

Term:

win/lose

Read as:

win lose

Term:

c:\directory

Read as:

c directory

 

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Trademark Symbol ( ™ )

The LexisNexis® services do not read trademark symbols. Replace this symbol with the letters TM when you want to retrieve terms with their trademark symbol.

Examples:

Term:

FREESTYLE™

Read as:

FREESTYLE TM

Term:

JAVA™

Read as:

JAVA TM

 

NOTE:

Using the actual symbol as a search term in traditional LexisNexis® software products, such as the LexisNexis® Research Software version 7.2, results in an error message.

 

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