# Search Function and Quotes?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-function-and-quotes/622090>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [May 16, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-function-and-quotes/622090 "2012-05-16T13:40:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-function-and-quotes/622090/1 "2012-05-16T13:40:41Z")

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I’ll be the first to admit that I might be “doing it wrong.” But once upon a time, at least some search engines allowed one to put a specific phrase into quotes and then the search results would be limited to cases of that exact phrase, NOT just occurrences in which any ONE of those words appeared. Did the SDMB ever work that (highly desirable) way? Because it doesn’t seem to, now (unless I Am Doing It Wrong, as noted above).

Case in point: rather than duplicate a thread, I wanted to search for previous references to the documentary, “Apocalypse: The Second World War.” A search on that title in quotes (just as I wrote it above but without the closing period), however, pulled up every thread with “apocalypse” in it, including a score of “zombie apocalypse” movie threads, and threads on war in general, and probably everything with “second” and “world” in it too.

Is this the way quotes are supposed to work in the SDMB search function? Is there a better way for me to conduct a highly specific search?

Thanks.

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**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/search-function-and-quotes/622090/2 "2012-05-16T13:56:46Z")

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> [@Sailboat](#):
>
> Is there a better way for me to conduct a highly specific search?

[Google](https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Astraightdope.com+%22Apocalypse%3A+The+Second+World+War%22&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=#hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us%3AIE-SearchBox&sclient=psy-ab&q=site:straightdope.com+%22Apocalypse+The+Second+World+War%22&oq=site:straightdope.com+%22Apocalypse+The+Second+World+War%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=serp.3...8512.8512.0.8738.1.1.0.0.0.0.122.122.0j1.1.0...0.0.K-Egta_B4rE&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=5ab779907a50ae6c&biw=1280&bih=843).

[Thread stickied at the top of ATMB on how to use Google](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=638051).