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gordon
Posts: 208
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:43 pm

search inbox

Post by gordon »

Hi,
When I search inbox for *will* I get an error:
Common words .... are excluded.
I am searching for will, as in last will and testament.
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mjs
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Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:36 am

Re: search inbox

Post by mjs »

The single word "will" is a very commonly used word (hence the reference to "common words"... are excluded" in the prompt you get) and as such would likely be included in a large number of email messages (i.e. documents) - which is the reason this word is not allowed as a search item.

Try either "will and testament" or just "testament" - you should get the search result you want using either of these two alternatives. :wink:
Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. - Will Rogers
gordon
Posts: 208
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:43 pm

Re: search inbox

Post by gordon »

mjs,
I tried "will and testament" and it found only 1, and it was unrelated.
I had searched for *will* a month ago and found 6 relevant :-)
Sadly, I did not save that search :-(
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mjs
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Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:36 am

Re: search inbox

Post by mjs »

Hmm, yes that IS too bad you didn't save that search result. :( I would presume the reason why you are now getting different results for the same exact search word is because some of the former messages have been removed from your Inbox in the interim. Could this be the case?

I'm a bit confused however - in regards to:
gordon wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 5:45 pm ... I had searched for *will* a month ago and found 6 relevant :-)
... are you saying that the single word "will" did produce results and did not give you the error that displays now? (that would presumably suggest a change to POP Peeper would be responsible for the conflicting results).

That said, have you tried just the word "testament"? (although as I contemplate this, you will most likely get the same result as "will and testament" :-k).
Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. - Will Rogers
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Jeff
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Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2001 9:46 pm

Re: search inbox

Post by Jeff »

Perhaps mjs meant "last and testament" (although 'and' will get excluded to, so really "last testament" will suffice).

But, yes, that is the reason -- "will" is a common word and so that word will be index'd a lot and won't really narrow down the search results. Right now, you can't do phrases, so "last will and testament" would result in any messages that contain both "last" and "testament" since the other 2 words would be filtered out.

If you really want to include "will" in your searches, it is possible by eliminating POP Peeper's default exclusion list. Hm... apparently I didn't include this information on the "Advanced Search" reference page of the website. No better time than the present...

Ok, I think I know why I didn't do this in the first place -- even though the concept is simple, once I start having to explain it, it seems more complicated than it really is. But here it is:
https://www.esumsoft.com/pop-peeper/ref ... ed-search/
The section you want is at the bottom, search for: Exclusion list

There's been some conversation since I started my own reply, so:
"will" has always been excluded.

Perhaps the message that you found earlier no longer exists in POP Peeper?
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mjs
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Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:36 am

Re: search inbox

Post by mjs »

I think I understand what your saying Jeff:
1) Will and Testament
and
2) Testament

Will (there's that word "will" again :D) get the same result in any case because the (key) word "will" will be excluded.... :-k (hence your reference to using "last" :idea:).
Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. - Will Rogers
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Jeff
Admin / Developer
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Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2001 9:46 pm

Re: search inbox

Post by Jeff »

Yes, to be clear: if you enter "last will and testament" into the search, the only words that *actually* get searched for are "last" and "testament" because the other 2 words will be (silently) omitted. It's only when you search for something like "will" (alone) that PP will let you know that there are words being omitted.
gordon
Posts: 208
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:43 pm

Re: search inbox

Post by gordon »

No will messages were deleted.

are you saying that the single word "will" did produce results and did not give you the error that displays now? (
yes
mjs wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 5:52 pm Hmm, yes that IS too bad you didn't save that search result. :( I would presume the reason why you are now getting different results for the same exact search word is because some of the former messages have been removed from your Inbox in the interim. Could this be the case?

I'm a bit confused however - in regards to:
gordon wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 5:45 pm ... I had searched for *will* a month ago and found 6 relevant :-)
... are you saying that the single word "will" did produce results and did not give you the error that displays now? (that would presumably suggest a change to POP Peeper would be responsible for the conflicting results).

That said, have you tried just the word "testament"? (although as I contemplate this, you will most likely get the same result as "will and testament" :-k).
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