Zing indexes punctuation as part of some words

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Zing indexes punctuation as part of some words

    Zing search in ServiceNow indexes certain punctuation marks as part of words to enhance search accuracy for common terms, especially company names, product numbers, record numbers, acronyms, host names, and IP addresses. This behavior allows precise matching of terms containing punctuation, improving the relevance of search results.

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    Key Features

    • Ampersands [&], Plus signs [+], and Hyphens [-]: These punctuation marks are indexed as part of company names, enabling exact matches such as "H&R Block," "Coca-Cola," and "Google+".
    • Apostrophes [']: Zing ignores trailing possessives but retains others to match proper names. For example, searching "O'Reilly's" also finds "O'Reilly."
    • Numbers [0-9], Underscores [], Hyphens [-], and Periods [.]: These are indexed within product numbers and record numbers when following typical patterns. Examples include searching "PROD-10-987," "PROD10987," and "INT1234567" to locate exact matches.
    • Periods [.]: Indexed in acronyms (e.g., "u.s.a." matches "usa"), host names (e.g., "en.myhost123.com"), and IP addresses (e.g., "10.0.0.1"). Wildcard usage may affect acronym matching.

    Practical Impact for ServiceNow Customers

    This punctuation indexing enables more precise and relevant search results within ServiceNow applications by:

    • Allowing exact matches for company names that include punctuation.
    • Supporting accurate retrieval of product and record numbers even when they contain punctuation.
    • Improving search for acronyms, host names, and IP addresses by recognizing punctuation as part of the term.

    Note that wildcard and boolean operators are handled separately and are not affected by this punctuation indexing behavior.

    Zing indexes some punctuation marks as part of some words to improve search results for common search terms.

    Table 1. Punctuation indexed as part of a word
    Punctuation Indexed to find Search behavior
    Ampersands [&] Company names Zing locates terms containing punctuation characters that are common in company names: ampersands (&), plus signs (+), or hyphens (-).

    For example, a search for H&R Block locates exact matches to the search term.
    Apostrophes ['] Proper names Zing ignores trailing possessives and retains most others to find company names.

    For example, a search for O'Reilly's locates matches to O'Reilly and O'Reilly's.
    Hyphens [-] Company names Zing locates terms containing punctuation characters that are common in company names: ampersands (&), plus signs (+), or hyphens (-).

    For example, a search for Coca-Cola locates exact matches to the search term.
    Product numbers Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores (_), hyphens (-), or periods for punctuation.

    For example, a search for PROD-10-987 locates exact matches to the search term.
    Numbers [123] Product numbers Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores (_), hyphens (-), or periods for punctuation.

    For example, a search for PROD10987 locates exact matches to the search term.
    Record numbers Zing locates record numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must start with a recognized record number prefix.

    For example, a search for INT1234567 locates exact matches to the Incident record.
    Periods [.] Acronyms Zing locates acronyms whether they are separated by periods or not.

    For example, a search for u.s.a. locates matches to usa or u.s.a.. Note that wildcard searches may affect acronym handling.

    In another example, a search for u.s.* may yield better results than a search for u.s*.
    Host names Zing locates sequences of letters and numbers separated only by periods.

    For example, a search for en.myhost123.com locates exact matches to the search term.
    IP addresses Zing locates numbers that follow a typical IPv4 address pattern.

    For example, a search for 10.0.0.1 locates exact matches to the search term.
    Product numbers Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores (_), hyphens (-), or periods for punctuation.

    For example, a search for PROD.10.987 locates exact matches to the search term.
    Plus signs [+] Company names Zing locates terms containing punctuation characters that are common in company names: ampersands (&), plus signs (+), or hyphens (-).

    For example, a search for Google+ locates exact matches to the search term.
    Underscores [_] Product numbers Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores (_), hyphens (-), or periods for punctuation.

    For example, a search for PROD_10_987 locates exact matches to the search term.
    Note:
    The punctuation handling described here doesn't affect wildcard and boolean operators. These operators provide separate Zing functions.