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Is it possible to force order of search terms to give to a search engine (as in A to B not B to A)

When searching a sequence of words in google, the results returned can contain the words in any order different than the one appearing for the sequence used as the searching keywords.

For example, if I search Web Applications, then in a result, Applications is allowed to appear before Web. However, I would like to disallow such a case, and only allow for cases where Web appears anywhere before Applications, not just immediately before.

I wonder if there is a way to preserve the order of words in the sequence of searching keywords?

Thanks!

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Actually, based on the updated info from OP I think that this is different from the proposed duplicate. This is more aligned with wildcard searching, rather than ordered words in search keyword strings. – OnenOnlyWalter Nov 6 '12 at 20:54

marked as duplicate by ChrisF♦ Nov 6 '12 at 20:28

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1 Answer

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Since there is no answer on the possible duplicate question I left in the comments, here's a try:

Wrap your search query in double quotes. Searching for "Web Applications" will return only instances of that phrase together.

If this is not the solution you're looking for, you'll need to drop more info to clarify.

Edit: To make "Web" appear before but not immediately before "Applications," you can try adding a wildcard in the middle of the query.

"Web * Applications"

The wildcard asterisk will return the first and last word, separated by any character or words between the two.

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Thanks! I would like to only allow for cases where Web appears anywhere before Applications, not just immediately before. – Tim Nov 6 '12 at 16:55
? Don't know why you need it, but I updated my answer to get as close as I think Google can get. – OnenOnlyWalter Nov 6 '12 at 17:07
Reason: According to the logic flow of sentence organization in English, some word may tend to appear before some others. – Tim Nov 6 '12 at 17:10
Ah, interesting thought @Tim - the edited answer should help you out then. Good luck! – OnenOnlyWalter Nov 6 '12 at 17:14

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