Confusing results from using three quoted strings in query

[Shoolie]

I am just beginning to use Agent Pro. I am very confused about what it returns.

I want to research apple trees in New York City’s Central Park. I want to to target these three elements very specifically. My query is:

“new york city” AND “central park” AND “apple tree”

I do not understand why the Topics list and Topic Map do not seem to focus on the three elements of my query:

new york city
central park
apple tree

“New York City” does not appear in the topics list, or in any Topic Map. Why not? Why do “New York,” “York City,” “York,” “New,” and “City” appear instead?

“Apple Tree” appears in the topics list, as do “Apple” and “Tree.” “Central Park” appears in the topics list, as do “Central” and “Park.” But, not “New York City.”

With “York” selected in the topics list, the Topic Map shows “York,” “New,” “City,” and so forth, but not “New York City.” Why not?

When “Apple Tree” or “Central Park” are selected in the Topics list, there is no Topic map. Why not?

“Street,” “Nyc,” and “Music” appear in the Topics list, even though I did not ask for them. Why not?

The query “new NEXT york NEXT city” AND “central NEXT park” AND “apple NEXT tree” produces no results. Why not?

The query “new NEXT york” AND “central NEXT park” AND “apple NEXT tree” produces no results. Why not?

I’m really confused. I don’t know what Agent is presenting to me.

See the screen shots.

Many thanks for any enlightenment that you can offer.

[cgrunenberg]

@Shoolie

I do not understand why the Topics list and Topic Map do not seem to focus on the three elements of my query:

The Topics list is automatically generated based on the contents of the found results, therefore it might or might not contain the search terms.

“New York City” does not appear in the topics list, or in any Topic Map. Why not? Why do “New York,” “York City,” “York,” “New,” and “City” appear instead?

Topics are currently limited to words and phrases with two words.

When “Apple Tree” or “Central Park” are selected in the Topics list, there is no Topic map. Why not?

This is not yet supported.

The query “new NEXT york NEXT city” AND “central NEXT park” AND “apple NEXT tree” produces no results. Why not? The query “new NEXT york” AND “central NEXT park” AND “apple NEXT tree” produces no results. Why not?

This should be (new NEXT york NEXT city) AND (central NEXT park) AND (apple NEXT tree) as operators inside phrases are not possible.

[Shoolie]

When “Apple Tree” or “Central Park” are selected in the Topics list, there is no Topic map. Why not?

This is not yet supported.

“New York City” does not appear in the topics list, or in any Topic Map. Why not? Why do “New York,” “York City,” “York,” “New,” and “City” appear instead?

Topics are currently limited to words and phrases with two words.

“New York City” does not appear in the topics list, or in any Topic Map. Why not? Why do “New York,” “York City,” “York,” “New,” and “City” appear instead?

Topics are currently limited to words and phrases with two words.

Do you mean that presenting a string longer than two words in the Topic List and longer than one word in the Topic Map is not supported, and therefore the Topic List shows “New York” and “York City,” and the Topic Map shows “New,” “York,” and “City,” and neither shows “New York City”? Or, by “not supported,” do you mean that phrases longer than two words somehow impact the results, or are ignored, or something else? (In other words, is this simply a design or implementation issue, or is it an issue that affects the search process and results returned?)

And, how can I then see results for the complete string “New York City” in either the (new NEXT york NEXT city) or the “new york city” query, or is this impossible?

This should be (new NEXT york NEXT city) . . . as operators inside phrases are not possible.

Are (new NEXT york NEXT city) and “new york city” equivalent queries? They produce different results (see attached screenshots); are these different results due to the minute-by-minute shifting nature of web content, or are the queries not equivalent?

Why is a Topic Map displayed for the Topic “New” in the query “new york city”, but no Topic Map is displayed for the same Topic in the query (new NEXT york NEXT city)?

Many thanks.

[cgrunenberg]

@Shoolie

Do you mean that presenting a string longer than two words in the Topic List and longer than one word in the Topic Map is not supported, and therefore the Topic List shows “New York” and “York City,” and the Topic Map shows “New,” “York,” and “City,” and neither shows “New York City”?

That’s right and…

And, how can I then see results for the complete string “New York City” in either the (new NEXT york NEXT city) or the “new york city” query, or is this impossible?

…therefore this is impossible.

Are (new NEXT york NEXT city) and “new york city” equivalent queries?

They’re identical for DEVONagent but search engines might return different results (as most of them don’t support advanced operators or wildcards, the queries have to be simplified before sending them to the engine).

Why is a Topic Map displayed for the Topic “New” in the query “new york city”, but no Topic Map is displayed for the same Topic in the query (new NEXT york NEXT city)?

As topics depend on the results (but not on the query), different results cause usually different topics.

[Shoolie]

I gather from your response that Agent Pro’s inability to show strings longer than two words in the Topic List and Topic Map is one of implementation at the presentation level.

Please consider this an enhancement request for displaying strings longer that two words in the Topic List and Topic Map.

If there is a concern that such a string would be “too long” to display, I suggest showing the first two words followed by an ellipsis, and showing the entire string in a tooltip when the mouse pointer hovers over the partial string.

Example:

• search string “new york city”
• “new york…” is displayed in the Topic List and Topic Map
• “new york city” is shown in a tooltip when the mouse pointer hovers over “new york…” in either the Topic List or Topic Map.

Thank you.