Using a Thesaurus in a Query Application

When you define a custom thesaurus, you can process queries more intelligently. Because users of your application might not know which words represent a topic, you can define synonyms or narrower terms for likely query terms. You can use the thesaurus operators to expand your query into your thesaurus terms.

There are two ways that you can enhance your query application with a custom thesaurus so that you can process queries more intelligently. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages.

• Load your custom thesaurus and enter queries with thesaurus operators

• Augment the knowledge base with your custom thesaurus (English only) and use the ABOUT operator to expand your query.