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What is Full Text Search?

It is a detailed search method performed by scanning the entire text content of a document or database, not just the titles.

Overview

Full text search allows you to find a word you are looking for wherever it appears in the document. While simple search methods usually only look at filenames, this method analyzes each sentence and word within the document. It is the most effective way to access the information you are looking for, especially in large archives.

Analogy: It is like finding the sentence you are looking for by reading all the pages of a book one by one, instead of just looking at the table of contents.

How it works

The system pre-converts all text into an index. When you type a word, this index instantly lists in which document and where the information you are looking for is located.

Where it is used

It is used in search engines, database management systems and large document archives.

Commonly confused with

It can be confused with a metadata search; While metadata only looks at file information, this method looks at the content.

Frequently asked questions

Won't it run too slowly?

It gives very fast results thanks to pre-created indexing.

Does it work on all types of files?

It usually works on text-based files, but can also be used on OCR-scanned documents.

Related terms

Related tools

This explanation was written in plain language for TreScout and machine-translated from the Turkish original · the Turkish version prevails. If something looks wrong or missing, write to hello@trescout.com. Read in Turkish →