[table of contents for nonframes version]

Wildcard Characters

Description

Wildcard characters are symbols that represent undefined letters or numerals in a search term. Wildcard characters allow for retrieval of various forms of a word: different word endings singular and plural word forms spelling variations (e.g., British/American spellings)

Synonyms

Wildcard characters are also referred to as truncation symbols.

Wildcard Characters

This table identifies each wildcard character used on STN and its function in a search term.

Wildcard Character	Function	Example	Possible Retrievals
?	Represents zero to any number of characters at the end of a term.	GROW?	GROW GROWS GROWTH GROWING
#	Represents zero or one character at the end of a term.	GROW#	GROW GROWS
		GROW##	GROW GROWS GROWTH
!	Represents exactly one character within a term...	T!!TH	TEETH TOOTH TRUTH
	...or one character at the end of a term.	AMIN!	AMINE AMINO

Rules for Use

These rules apply to the use of wildcard characters: Wildcard characters may be combined within the same term Multiple occurrences of # and ! are allowed

Left Truncation

Left truncation, using the three truncation characters at the front of a term, is also available in some fields in certain files. Left truncation of a search term can be used alone or, in some cases, in combination with right truncation. The cases which may not be used are: ?text# #text? !text? To learn whether a search field in the current file allows left truncation, type HELP SFIELDS at an arrow prompt (=>).

Tip	EXPAND on a term to determine the truncation stem.

STN Assistance

For more information on truncation, type HELP TRUNCATION.