Learning Outcomes
Understand how to use the AND, OR, NOT, and Proximity (~) operators for keyword filtering.
Learn to use brackets for complex filtering.
Grasp the use of exact phrases, hashtag (#), and handle (@) operators.
Below is the list of operators that Pulsar supports when filtering for your results using keywords.
The OR operator
Orange OR Juice
Will filter for mentions of 'orange' OR mentions of 'juice' within your results. The OR must be capitalised.
The AND operator
Orange AND Juice
Will filter for mentions of 'orange' and 'juice' within your results. The AND must be capitalised. Using this operator means both terms have to appear in the same post, but in any order.
You can also use a space between terms, instead of explicitly stating the AND operator. So this means 'orange juice', will filter for results that contain the terms 'orange' and 'juice', in any order.
The NOT operator
Orange AND -juice
Will filter for mentions of 'orange' in your results, as long as 'juice' is not mentioned in the post. Inserting the negative symbol (-) before a keyword, hashtag, @ handle, or phrase (as shown below), will exclude posts with those keywords in your results filter.
Brackets ( ) or Parenthesis
(Orange AND Juice) OR (Hot AND Sauce)
Will filter for mentions of 'orange' and 'juice' in your results OR mentions of 'hot' and 'sauce' within your results.
🚨 Important: Keyword groups must be enclosed in parentheses regardless of the order of operators.
Example: The boolean expression orange OR juice AND tree should be written as orange OR (juice AND tree) when being used as a filter
The Proximity Operator ~ (tilde)
"orange juice"~10
Will filter for any posts in your results that contain the keywords 'orange' and 'juice' within a certain number of words near to each other.
NB - There is currently no limit on the number of words apart you can specify when using the proximity operator for filtering. However, at search set up this is limited to 6 words.
The Exact Phrase Operator
"Orange Juice"
Will filter for posts in your results that contain the exact phrase 'orange juice'. This is not case sensitive, so filtering for 'ORANGE JUICE' or 'orange juice' or 'Orange Juice' etc. will isolate results that contain that phrase.
The Hashtag Operator
#Oscars
Will filter your results to find mentions containing only the hashtag #oscars and not the keyword 'oscars'.
The @ Operator
@Orange
Will filter your results to isolate posts that contain the X handle @orange but will not include any results for the keyword 'orange'.
The Wildcard * Operator
Complain*
Will filter your results for posts that contain the term 'complain' with any other ending i.e. 'complaining', 'complaints', 'complained' etc.
NB You can not use leading wildcards e.g *ing
📝 Note: There is a 50 operators limit (effectively meaning 51 keywords at the max).
We hope you enjoyed reading this article! 📚
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team via live chat. 🚀