Chapter 44. SQL Server Full-Text Search Services

by Bennett McEwan

IN THIS CHAPTER

• How Search Server Works

• Setting Up a Full-Text Index

• Maintaining Full-Text Indexes

• Full-Text Searches

• Using Document Filters

In this chapter, you will look at how to use the Microsoft Search Server to perform full-text searching capabilities. You are already familiar with how SQL Server supports a basic level of searching in the standard database engine. Search Server provides more robust functions that allow you to find documents containing different word forms, or documents that contain words in close proximity to other words.

Common uses for full-text indexing include the following:

• Robust text-searching capabilities for text data (databases of résumés, internal documents, documentation).

• Text searching on binary documents stored in an image column, using document filters to gain access to the actual document data.

• Searching on documents that are maintained outside of SQL Server (for example, a directory of active Word documents on a file server or HTML files on a Web site). Your database can track the locations of these files and provide links to them.