---
title: Zing indexes punctuation as part of some words
description: Zing indexes some punctuation marks as part of some words to improve search results for common search terms.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-administration/search-administration/c\_PunctuationForSearchResults.html
release: australia
product: Search Administration
classification: search-administration
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-03-12"
reading_time_minutes: 4
breadcrumb: [Zing indexes words, Zing text indexing and search engine, Search administration, Configure core features, Administer the ServiceNow AI Platform]
---

# Zing indexes punctuation as part of some words

Zing indexes some punctuation marks as part of some words to improve search results for common search terms.

<table id="table_vyb_g1w_1q"><thead><tr><th>

Punctuation

</th><th>

Indexed to find

</th><th>

Search behavior

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Ampersands \[&amp;\]

</td><td>

Company names

</td><td>

Zing locates terms containing punctuation characters that are common in company names: ampersands \(&amp;\), plus signs \(+\), or hyphens \(-\). For example, a search for `H&R Block` locates exact matches to the search term.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Apostrophes \['\]

</td><td>

Proper names

</td><td>

Zing ignores trailing possessives and retains most others to find company names. For example, a search for `O'Reilly's` locates matches to O'Reilly and O'Reilly's.

</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">

Hyphens \[-\]

</td><td>

Company names

</td><td>

Zing locates terms containing punctuation characters that are common in company names: ampersands \(&amp;\), plus signs \(+\), or hyphens \(-\). For example, a search for `Coca-Cola` locates exact matches to the search term.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Product numbers

</td><td>

Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores \(\_\), hyphens \(-\), or periods for punctuation. For example, a search for `PROD-10-987` locates exact matches to the search term.

</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">

Numbers \[123\]

</td><td>

Product numbers

</td><td>

Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores \(\_\), hyphens \(-\), or periods for punctuation. For example, a search for `PROD10987` locates exact matches to the search term.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Record numbers

</td><td>

Zing locates record numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must start with a recognized record number prefix. For example, a search for `INT1234567` locates exact matches to the Incident record.

</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="4">

Periods \[.\]

</td><td>

Acronyms

</td><td>

Zing locates acronyms whether they are separated by periods or not. For example, a search for `u.s.a.` locates matches to usa or u.s.a.. Note that wildcard searches may affect acronym handling.

 In another example, a search for `u.s.*` may yield better results than a search for `u.s*`.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Host names

</td><td>

Zing locates sequences of letters and numbers separated only by periods. For example, a search for `en.myhost123.com` locates exact matches to the search term.

</td></tr><tr><td>

IP addresses

</td><td>

Zing locates numbers that follow a typical IPv4 address pattern. For example, a search for `10.0.0.1` locates exact matches to the search term.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Product numbers

</td><td>

Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores \(\_\), hyphens \(-\), or periods for punctuation. For example, a search for `PROD.10.987` locates exact matches to the search term.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Plus signs \[+\]

</td><td>

Company names

</td><td>

Zing locates terms containing punctuation characters that are common in company names: ampersands \(&amp;\), plus signs \(+\), or hyphens \(-\). For example, a search for `Google+` locates exact matches to the search term.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Underscores \[\_\]

</td><td>

Product numbers

</td><td>

Zing locates product numbers that follow a typical pattern. To meet this pattern, search terms must contain frequent numbers and only include underscores \(\_\), hyphens \(-\), or periods for punctuation. For example, a search for `PROD_10_987` locates exact matches to the search term.

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>**Note:** The punctuation handling described here doesn't affect wildcard and boolean operators. These operators provide separate Zing functions.

**Parent Topic:**[Zing indexes words](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-administration/search-administration/zing-indexes-words.md)

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