# Options/Search

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This page provides options for Search. Note that configuration changes will apply automatically to new searches. However, any currently loaded searches must be reloaded to pick up the new configuration change.

You can also test your configuration changes by going to this link: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Earth* or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Earth*

For more infomation, visit the Search help page

Save

## Search

Results per page: [1] |
Run database search in background: [2] |
Auto-wildcard: [3] |
Default url search arguments: [4] |
Multi-wiki search wikis: [5] | <any>|<self>,*.wiktionary
Multi-wiki sort order: [6] | <any>|<self>,*.wikipedia,*.wikivoyage,*.wiktionary,*.wikisource,*.wikiquote,*.wikibooks,*.wikiversity,*.wikinews

## Notes

1. ^ Enter number of results to show per page: (default is `20`) .
2. ^ Choose one of the following: (default is `checked`) .
   - checked: XOWA continues while database searches are done in the background. These searches return results faster, especially for big queries.
   - unchecked: XOWA waits until the database search completes. This will often be slower, but will be more stable than background searches.
3. ^ Choose one of the following: (default is `checked`)
   - checked: Search will automatically append wildcard if no wildcards are present. For example:
       `Earth` will become `Earth*`
       `Ea*rth` will stay `Ea*rth` b/c it already has a wildcard
   - unchecked: Search will not apply any automatic behavior
4. ^ Enter default args for every search: (default is ) . Examples include:
   - ns*=1 will search across all namespaces (current default is to search main namespace only)
   - ns0=1&ns14=1 will search across the main (0) and category (14) namespaces
5. ^ Enter wikis to search: (default is `<any>|<self>`) .
   - For example:

       en.wikipedia.org|<same_lang>
       en.wiktionary.org|<same_type>
       fr.wikivoyage.org,en.wikivoyage.org|<self>,en.wikipedia.org
       <any>|<self>

   - Line 1 means "For English Wikipedia, seach all English wikis, such as English Wiktionary, English Wikisource, English Wikivoyage, etc."
   - Line 2 means "For English Wiktionary, search all Wiktionarys, such as English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary, German Wiktionary, etc."
   - Line 3 means "For French Wikivoyage and English Wikivoyage, search the current wiki and English Wikipedia"
   - Line 4 means "For any wiki, search only the current wiki"
   The multi-wikis criteria has the following format:
   - Line-based: Each line represents a separate rule. A wiki will be compared against the rule, and if it matches, only that rule will apply. If it doesn't match, it goes on to the next line.
   - Match: The match part is the text before the first pipe (`|`). Think of this as "when in this wiki...". This can be a wiki domain (en.wikipedia.org), a languages wildcard (en.*), a type wildcard (*.wikipedia) or the reserved word <any>). In addition, multiple terms can be chained together (en.wikipedia.org,fr.wikipedia.org).
   - Include: Think of this as "...search these wikis". This can use any term as Match (domain, wildcard, reserved word) but can also use the reserved words: `<self>`, `<same_lang>` `<same_type>`
   Terms:
   - `<any>`: matches any wiki. For example, in en.wikipedia.org, any wiki is matched, including home, en.wikipedia.org, fr.wiktionary.org, de.wikisource.org, etc..
   - `<self>`: matches only the current wiki. For example, in en.wikipedia.org, only en.wikipedia.org is matched.
   - `<same_lang>`: matches wikis with the same language. For example, in en.wikipedia.org, en.wiktionary.org, en.wikisource.org, etc. are matched. However, fr.wiktionary.org and de.wikisource.org are not matched.
   - `<same_type>`: matches wikis with the same type. For example, in en.wikipedia.org, fr.wikipedia.org, de.wikipedia.org, ru.wikipedia.org, etc. are matched. However, en.wiktionary.org, en.wikisource.org, etc. are not matched.
   - `{language}.*`: matches all wikis of that language. For example, "en.*" will match en.wikipedia.org, en.wiktionary.org, en.wikisource.org, etc regardless of the current wiki
   - `*.{type}`: matches all wikis of that type. For example, "*.wikipedia" will match en.wikipedia.org, fr.wikipedia.org, de.wikipedia.org, etc
6. ^ Enter sorting-order for multiple wikis: (default is `<any>|<self>,*.wikipedia,*.wikivoyage,*.wiktionary,*.wikisource,*.wikiquote,*.wikibooks,*.wikiversity,*.wikinews` ) . The sort criteria has the following format:
   - Line-based: Each line represents a separate rule. A wiki will be compared against the rule, and if it matches, only that rule will apply. If it doesn't match, it goes on to the next line.
   - Match: The match part is the text before the first pipe (`|`). Think of this as "when in this wiki...". This can be a wiki domain (en.wikipedia.org), a languages wildcard (en.*), a type wildcard (*.wikipedia) or the reserved word <any>). In addition, multiple terms can be chained together (en.wikipedia.org,fr.wikipedia.org).
   - Sort: Think of this as "...sort according to following order".
   - For example, consider if the following wikis are searched: en.wikipedia.org and en.wiktionary.org. Since en.wikipedia.org matches *.wikipedia.org, it will be sorted before en.wiktionary.org (which matches *.wiktionary.org)

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