Search Syntax

Introduction
Switching Between the Field Search Mode and the Syntax Search Mode
Search Syntax
Different Types of Search Fields
Listings
Numeric Values
Dates
Listings with Dates
Search Assistant
Saved Searches
Search History

Introduction

The PatentSight search syntax comes with 4 components that enhance your patent search.

	In the syntax search mode, you can directly type in a search query without having to lift your fingers from the keyboard.
	The syntax assistant analyses your input as you type and provides suggestions in a drop-down menu.
	You can save your searches in your user folder to have them ready at hand at any time. You can use your saved searches like search fields and combine them with other saved searches.
	The search history automatically saves your last 1,000 searches for you.

Switching Between the Field Search Mode and the Syntax Search Mode

You can easily switch between the field search mode and the syntax search mode at any point of your workflow.
To switch into the other mode, select either "Field Search" or "Syntax Search" displayed at the top of the search panel. Your search query will be automatically translated from the field search format into the syntax search format and vice versa.

You can adjust the size of the search panel and format the syntax search query according to your needs:

	To maximize or to minimize the size of the search panel, click on the arrow icons.
	To add a blank line in your search query, press "Ctrl + Enter" or "Shift + Enter" on your keyboard.
	To indent a line in your search query, press "Space" or "Tab" on your keyboard.
	To undo an unwanted change, click on the "Undo" button or use the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + Z".
	To redo an undone change, click on the "Redo" button or use the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + Y".
	To delete your search query, click on "Clear All".

The search structure used in the syntax search mode is the same as that used in the field search mode. This is precisely why you can freely switch between these two modes.

	Search fields, such as "Owner" or "Filed Only In", have the same names in the field search mode and in the syntax mode. The names are followed by an equal sign and a pair of parentheses. The only difference is that, in the syntax search mode, the search field names are written in Pascal case. This means that no spaces are used in search field names that consist of multiple words and that all words combined in this manner start with a capital letter.
	Boolean operators ("AND", "OR", and "NOT" / "AND NOT") are used to combine search fields into a search query. You can also use them to combine search items within the same search field. Moreover, you can add parentheses "(…)" to define subqueries.
	The content of each search field is defined by one or more items stated inside the parentheses. For example, "IBM" is an item that belongs to the search field "Owner", while "US" is an item that can be used in the search field "Filed Only In".

Different Types of Search Fields

Different types of search fields require a different kind of syntax notation.

Listings

Listings include search items such as IPCs, owners, or authorities. Use Boolean operators and parentheses to combine such search items. The comma between the items has the same meaning as the Boolean "OR" operator.

Note: Use quotation marks (e.g., Owner=("P&G")) for search items that contain any of the following symbols: # = & < > ( ) { } [ \ ] ! “ , ; : | ~ %

Numeric Values

To express ranges of measures, such as the PatentSight indicators or numeric custom fields, use greater than signs (">") and smaller than signs ("<") or enter "TO" between two numeric values.

Dates

Enter dates in the format "YYYY-MM-DD" or "YYYYMMDD". To express ranges, use greater than signs (">") and smaller than signs ("<") or enter "TO" between two dates.

Note: Days (DD) and months (MM) may be omitted. For example, the query "GrantYear=(2018)" will return patent families granted throughout the year 2018, while "GrantYear=(2018 TO 2019)" will return patent families granted between 2018-01-01 and 2019-12-31.

Listings with Dates

Enter one or more listing item(s) first and use a semicolon to separate the item(s) from the date or the date range.

Search Assistant

As soon as you start typing, the syntax assistant will open a drop-down menu with suggestions according to your input. The suggestions include all search fields that contain the letter or term you have typed in. In addition, related search fields are also suggested.

Note:

You can open and close the drop-down menu manually using the shortcuts "Ctrl + Space" and "Esc".

Use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to select a suitable suggestion from the drop-down menu. Use the "Enter" key to confirm your selection. The syntax assistant will return the search field selected including the equal sign and parentheses. The cursor will be placed between the parentheses for you. From there, you can simply continue typing to add your search items.

For some search fields, the syntax assistant will open a drop-down menu with suggestions for the search items selectable within these search fields:

Moreover, the drop-down menus of some of the search fields offer an additional search option:

Note:

When searching for IPCs and CPCs, spaces may be freely added or omitted. The slash "/", however, is mandatory. Possible input formats include for example the following:

A61M 3/00
A61M3/00
A61M3/00

Some search items come with alternative spellings. For example, you can select an authority by its ISO country code (JP, DE, KR etc.) or by its name (Japan, Germany, Korea etc.).

To add a tag to your search query in the syntax search mode, you can search by the tag name.

Alternatively, you can search for a tag by its folder path using backslashes between the folder levels.

No matter how you have selected a tag, in the syntax search mode the entire folder path will always be displayed, enclosed in quotation marks.

The search field "Custom Field" requires that the identifier "CustomField" is entered first, followed by the custom field name in quotation marks (e.g., "Sample Custom Field").

Once you have selected a custom field, depending on the custom field type, you can select one or more items or define a numeric range.

Saved Searches

You can save a search query to have it ready at hand for future use.

	Click on "Save" in the search panel menu.
	The system folder "My Saved Searches" in your user folder will be preselected for you. However, you can select a different folder instead.
	Enter a search name.
	Press "Confirm" to save the search.

You can open a saved search via the folder it is saved in.

	Click on "Open" in the search panel menu.
	The system folder "My Saved Searches" in your user folder will be preselected for you. However, you can select a search from a different folder instead.
	Press "Confirm" to apply the search in the search panel.

Doing so will apply the saved search in the search panel, thereby overwriting any existing input.

To add a saved search to the search panel without overwriting any existing input, type in two subsequent hashtags "##" followed by the name of your saved search.

Doing so will add the saved search to any existing input in the search panel.

This approach allows you to combine multiple saved searches with each other or with other search fields into a new search query.

Search History

Your searches are automatically saved in the search history. To view the saved searches in the search history, click on "Search History" in the search panel.

By default, your executed searches are automatically saved for you in chronological order in your search history. The maximum number of searches that are saved in the search history is 1,000. Once this number has been reached, older searches will start to be automatically deleted.

	Enter a keyword to search within your search history.
	Click on "Export to XLSX" to export your search history as an Excel spreadsheet.
	Click on "Clear Search History" to delete all searches saved in your search history.
	Use the toggle "Enable Search History" to enable or to disable your search history. Note that disabling the search history will delete all searches saved in it.
	Use the toggle "View Complete Search Query" to increase the number of rows displayed for each search history entry.
	Use the toggle "Today / All" to switch between searches saved on the present day and all searches saved before that.
	Your searches are saved in chronological order each time you run a search in the search panel. The searches are assigned default names starting from #1.
	Click on "Add to Search Panel" to add the search query to the search panel.
	Click on the copy icon to copy the search query to clipboard.
	Access the three dots menu to set up an alert for the respective search, to permanently save the search, or to delete the search from your search history.

You can also apply a saved search via the folder "My Search History".

	Click on "Open" in the search panel menu.
	Access the system folder "My Search History" and select the search you want to apply to the search panel
	Press "Confirm" to apply the search in the search panel.

Doing so will apply the saved search from your search history in the search panel, thereby overwriting any existing input.

To add a saved search from your search history to the search panel without overwriting any existing input, type in one hashtag "#" followed by the number of the saved search.

Doing so will add the saved search from the search history to any existing search query in the search panel.

This approach allows you to combine multiple saved searches with each other or with other search fields into a new search query.