Google’s file type search operator disappeared Wednesday morning. Other search operators continue to work. SearchLiaison replies that it must be an error.
File type search operator
The file type search operator is a way to search for results that are restricted to specific file types such as text files, pdf files, .doc files, and many other file types.
@jeroenbosman on Twitter drew attention to the fact that the search operator stopped working a few days ago on February 26.
They he tweeted:
“Looks like two Google (search) options have been disabled: search by file type and view cache. The former will be especially missed, and searching for e.g. (policy) documents will be much more difficult in because of that.”
But then it must have been fixed because it was working on Tuesday evening because I used it. But it must have landed in the US a few hours later.
But then Wednesday morning (Eastern Time) SearchLiaison tweeted a response that must have been a mistake.
he he tweeted:
“It’s probably a file type error and we’re looking into it.”
Screenshot of missing file type search results
How to make the file type operator work
If the file type lookup operator hasn’t been fixed by Wednesday, there is a way to get it back.
The person who first reported the outage he tweeted:
“One correction (HT @lawliberg): You can still use filetype: as long as you also restrict to a domain using the site: command. It’s still a weird and deplorable restriction, just like the weird restriction that can’t use verbatim in combination with the date filter”.
This tweet was correct, combining the file search operator: with another search operator such as the site search operator: the file type: search operator works again.
Below is a screenshot of a search for a Microsoft Word document in the .doc file type, restricted to the .gov top-level domain (TLD).
Is the file type search error spreading?
There were reports of people around the world tweeting about the file type: search problem several hours earlier. It remains to be seen how serious this bug is and how long it will last.
Featured image by Shutterstock/photosince
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