A search engine is an old internet term that’s still used to refer to a search website, such as Bing or Google. The basic concept is that you enter a few words and get a list of hyperlink results. Unfortunately, it’s often a process of wading through numerous links that don’t seem relevant to your search. However, with the right tools or keywords, you can become a master of the internet search.

When I was a high school teacher-librarian, I taught students how to use Boolean operators to narrow or broaden a search of the library database for books and newspaper or magazine articles. Boolean operators were created as part of Boolean algebra in 1850, but modern search engines still recognize Boolean operators.

One operator is to type AND, in capitals, between search terms to instruct the search engine to include all of the terms, and modern search engines use this operator by default. However, two other operators are particularly useful. Type OR in capitals between terms, such as “carrots OR beets,” to find websites that include either one or both of the terms. To narrow a search, enter the minus sign (-), which stands for NOT, between terms, such as “metal -roofing” or “apple recipes -pies.”

Another handy search tip is to put a phrase in quotation marks which forces the search tool to look for the exact string of words, as in “It was the best of times.”

Google has a hidden page which does Boolean searches, as well as limiting searches to specific websites, parts of a page such as the title, and within certain dates. On a computer or mobile device, go to the Google home page and, in the bottom right, click or tap on Settings and then Advanced search.

At either Google or Bing, you can search for an image, but Google will let you insert an image and search for it on the internet instead of trying to describe it. This is great for identifying a tree or flower, a celebrity, or something odd like the year and make of a car. In the search box on the Google home page, click the Lens icon, which is a little square icon with a dot in it, and drag an image or upload it from the photo gallery on a smartphone or tablet.

You can also take a photo with your smartphone or tablet and have Google search for it directly. The Lens app is already installed on Android phones and tablets and opening it will instruct you to take a photograph, for which Google will do a search. On an iPhone or iPad, use the Lens icon on the Google home page or download and install the Google or Google Photos app from the App Store. The app can access your camera and do Lens image searches. Google has a help page with instructions at tinyurl.com/2rbsvsjd.

A nifty new feature on many Android phones is Circle to Search, wherein you long press on the home bar at the bottom of the screen and draw a circle around anything on the screen, such as an image at a website or part of a photo, and search for details about your selection. Google has full instructions at tinyurl.com/5xy7ak3f.

In the search box on the Google home page, you’ll see a small microphone which you can use to dictate your search terms. However, it will also direct Google to search for the details of a song or melody playing nearby, or you can hum or sing a song instead.

Google Scholar (scholar.google.ca) is a separate Google site where one can search academic articles and case law in millions of books and magazines which Google has scanned.

Google has a fun page of various search tips and tricks (search.google/tips-tricks/) where you can find out how to enter terms to calculate the tip in a restaurant, display a coin to flip when you need to make a decision and find restaurants nearby.

There’s a lot more to searching than just hoping for the best.

Links in this column and others are available at rayser.ca/online, and I can be reached at rayser3@cogeco.ca.

© Peterborough Examiner