If you've used Google for very long, you've probably learned that in some ways it's like a spoken language in that there are a lot of ways to aska question and that sometimes how you ask the question has a major bearing on the reply(s) you get. You've probably also learned that there are a number of useful shortcuts. And finally you may have observed that occasionally it seems that you can aska question the same way several times and get different responses.

What I'd like to do here is create a place where we can share experiences and, more to the point, describe on things that work and things that don't.

For example, it's possible to limit search results to a specific area by using the number range feature with Zip or postal codes being the ranges. An example might be something like this:

resume java (filetype:doc) 30004..30199

Will get records that have resume and java and the filetype of doc that also possess a number range between 30004 and 30199. As we all know, there's no quarantee that the number range will get documents with Atlanta Zip codes, but the probability is high. This is a useful tool.

Now let's say you want to get fancy and create a long string and stick the number range in the middle:

resume java resume|cv(filetype:pdf | filetype:doc | filetype:rtf) | (intitle:resume | inurl:resume) 30004..30199 (experience reference resume)

What happens now is that you get an error message:

We're sorry...

... but your query looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application. To protect our users, we can't process your request right now.

I've never been able to find anything other than anecdotal references to this error message and only by trial and error did I figure out that there is some connection between the terms intitle: and/or inresume: and the number range operator.

With this said, using number range can be an affective tool but as Paul Harvey would say "now you know the rest of the story", well, maybe part of it.

Ken