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# Similarity Search

Find terms that are similar to the Find text. Select this checkbox, and then click the Similarities button to define the similarity options.

For example, a similarity search can find words that differ from the Find text by two characters.

To access this command...

#### From toolbars:

On the Table Data bar, click Find Record icon, then Similarity search check box, then click the Similarities button (database table view).

On the Form Navigation bar, click Record Search icon, then Similarity search check box, then click the Similarities button (database form view).

#### From the keyboard:

On the database table view, press Command Ctrl+F, select Similarity search check box, then click the Similarities button.

#### From the menu bar:

Choose Edit - Find & Replace - Similarity search check box, then click the Similarities button.

#### From the keyboard:

Press Command Ctrl+H, select Similarity check box, then click the Similarities button.

#### From the sidebar:

Open the Find deck, click on Search Options, select Similarity check box and click Similarities button.

## Similarities

Define the criteria for determining if a word is similar to the search term.

### Exchange characters

Enter the number of characters in the search term that can be exchanged. For example, if you specify 2 exchanged characters, "sweep" and "creep" are considered similar, when exchanging "sw" and "cr".

### Add characters

Enter the maximum number of characters by which a word can exceed the number of characters in the search term. For example, if you specify 3 additional characters, "long" and "longest" are considered similar, but not "longitude".

### Remove characters

Enter the number of characters by which a word can be shorter than the search term.For example, if you specify 3 removed characters, "longitude" and "longest" are considered similar, but not "long".

### Combine

Searches for a term that matches any combination of the similarity search settings.

Using Combine better meets a user's expectations from looking at the settings, but may return false positives. Not using Combine may match less than expected, but does not return false positives.

A Weighted Levenshtein Distance (WLD) algorithm is used. If Combine is not checked, then settings are treated as an exclusive-OR (strict WLD). If Combine is checked, then settings are treated as an inclusive-OR (relaxed WLD).

Be careful when using Replace All with Similarity Search. Best to be certain first about what will be found.

Related Topics

Levenshtein Distance algorithm in Wikipedia

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