2. Customize your search

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Refine your search query using filters and operators to narrow your search.

In this section, you learn how to: 2.1 Use search filters 2.2 Get more specific results with search operators

2.1 Use search filters

Refine your search queries by using filters. For example, you can filter your search to show content created in Docs or within a certain time period.

1. In the search box, enter your search query.
2. Above the search results, select a content source to filter by, such as Mail or Drive.
3. Choose an option to open search tools:

   • On the web, click Search tools.
   • On a mobile browser, tap MoreSearch tools.
   • On the Android or iOS app, tap Any time or Everything.

4. From the search tools lists, choose one or more filters. You can filter by time, ownership, or file type.
5. To remove filters, select Clear.
6. To return to all results, select All.

Filters for non-Google Workspace sources

For non-Google Workspace content, the search results you see are based on the sharing model set up by your organization. In the top right, click Filter. From the panel that appears on the right, select one or more filters.

2.2 Get more specific results with search operators

To get more specific results, add search operators to your search terms. For non-Google Workspace data sources, your organization can set up custom search operators. To learn more, contact your administrator.

1. In the search box, enter your search terms and leave a space at the end.
2. Add the operator and its value to the end of your search text and press or select Enter.

List of search operators

Symbols and standard operators

Use all capital letters for standard operators or they're treated as search terms instead of operators.

Operator	Examples	Description
""(quotes)	"market analysis"	Find content that includes the exact word, or set of words, in the same order as what's inside the quotes.
- (minus)	payroll -reports inventory -owner:me sales contenttype:doc -owner:me	Find content that does not include the specific word or operator term. Note: This operator doesn't work alone. You need to use it with a search term or another operator.
AND	sales reports sales AND reports	By default, only pages that include all of your search terms are returned. You don’t need to include AND between the terms.
OR	sales OR marketing sales from:(marysmith OR johndoe)	Find content that includes at least one of the words or operator terms.

Cloud Search operators

• Use lowercase for operator names.
• When entering more than one value for the same operator, group them together in parentheses; for example, from:(username1 OR username2).

Operator	Examples	Description
source:	training source:mail	Find content from a particular source. For G Suite sources, values are Mail, Drive, Sites, Groups, or Calendar. For non-G Suite sources, contact your administrator for the custom values set up by your organization.
contenttype:	training contenttype:doc	Find particular types of content, such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations, images, folders, and attachments.
site:	training site:drive.google.com	Find Google Sites content.
owner:	reports owner:me reports owner:marysmith	Find content you own or that’s been shared with you.
from:	reports from:me source:drive reports from:(marysmith OR johndoe)	Find emails or calendar events: From you. From a particular person or group to you. Find other types of content: Created by you. Created by a particular person and shared with you.
to:	reports to:me from:marysmith reports to:golf-club-members	Find emails or calendar events: Sent to you (sent directly to you, to a group you belong to, or to someone else and you were copied). Sent to a particular person by you or by someone who copied you.
before:	orders before:09/30/2015 or orders before:2015/09/30	Find content created or edited before a certain date: (MM/DD/YYYY) or (YYYY/MM/DD).
after:	orders after:09/30/2015 or orders after:2015/09/30	Find content created or edited after a certain date: (MM/DD/YYYY) or (YYYY/MM/DD).