In general database searching, NEAR is usually defined as operating within a 'sentence'. A 'sentence' usually ends with a period, but in some databases, other characters can end a logical sentence. For example in one system, words within parentheses are searched as an independent 'sentence'. Does L-Soft have symbols other than a period that end a logical sentence? Dan Robinson [log in to unmask] On 26 Oct 00, at 3:37, Winship wrote: > Since no one at L-SOFT has ventured to define NEAR for me, will this do? > Unless I get something truly authoratative I'm going to go with it. >.......... And I still don't like it that the implicit was changed > from AND to NEAR. So I am writing my own comprehensive, list centric, > item and is this an accurate description of the NEAR operand? > > ---- > For LISTSERV to consider two "words" to be NEAR they must be within a > line of each other, with no more than five intervening "words." > "Word" and "line" order are immaterial, but note that "line" is as > defined by LISTSERV and may not match what you mean by "line" and > "word" is as defined elsewhere in this document. > (definition of "word" not included here) > ---- > > I would totally leave out mention of the NEAR comparative had it not been > made the implicit over the AND operand. > > > Douglas