12a - Lucene query quick reference – Help Center

Info: This article is work in progress and subject to change.

This appendix is a working reference for the Lucene query syntax used in every condition slot in the Workflow Assistant Configurator — Disable conditions, Required conditions, Display conditions on Notifications, and Query options on Query buttons.

For the conceptual material on conditions, see 02d — How conditions work.

The Workflow Assistant uses a Lucene-compatible parser called Liqe. Everything in this reference works in both standard Lucene and Liqe; the small number of cases where Liqe differs from full Lucene are flagged inline.

Basic field-value match

Query	Reads as
`status:Final`	The `status` field has the value `Final`
`assetDomain:image`	The `assetDomain` field has the value `image`
`cf_clearanceLevel:approved`	The custom field `cf_clearanceLevel` has the value `approved`

The pattern is field:value — field name on the left, colon, value on the right. The field name is case-sensitive.

Multi-word values

Wrap multi-word values in double quotes:

Query	Reads as
`status:"Awaiting publish"`	The status is the multi-word value “Awaiting publish”
`creatorName:"Jane Smith"`	The creator’s name is “Jane Smith”

Without quotes, Lucene treats each word as a separate term:

Query (without quotes)	What it actually means
`status:Awaiting publish`	`status:Awaiting AND publish` — almost always wrong

Boolean operators

Combine clauses with AND, OR, NOT. Always in capitals.

Query	Reads as
`status:Final AND assetDomain:image`	Both conditions are true
`status:Draft OR status:Review`	Either condition is true
`status:Final AND NOT cf_archived:true`	Final, and not archived
`NOT status:Approved`	The status is not `Approved`

Group with parentheses when combining:

Query	Reads as
`(status:Draft OR status:Review) AND assetDomain:image`	The asset is an image, and the status is Draft or Review

Tip: Always parenthesise mixed AND/OR queries. A AND B OR C is ambiguous to readers (and to some parsers); (A AND B) OR C is unambiguous.

Existence and emptiness

Query Reads as

credit:* The credit field has any value (it is set)

NOT credit:*

or
credit:""

The credit field is empty

_exists_:credit The credit field exists in the metadata schema (rarely needed)

The field:* pattern is the most common existence test. Use field:"" for empty-field conditions, especially in Notifications.

Ranges

Use square brackets for inclusive ranges, curly braces for exclusive:

Query	Reads as
`cf_priority:[1 TO 5]`	Priority is between 1 and 5 inclusive
`cf_priority:{1 TO 5}`	Priority is strictly between 1 and 5 (so 2, 3, 4)
`created:[2024-01-01 TO 2024-12-31]`	Created in 2024

Note: Date range syntax in Liqe expects ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD). If your date metadata is stored in a different format, check the Configurator’s reference for your version before assuming a range query works.

Wildcards

Query	Reads as
`creatorName:Jane*`	Creator name starts with “Jane”
`cf_skuCode:*1234`	SKU code ends with “1234”
`title:?at`	Three-letter title ending in “at” — `?` matches one character

Use wildcards sparingly in conditions — they are slower than exact matches and harder to read.

Path-based queries

Asset folder paths are queryable via the ancestorPaths field:

Query	Reads as
`ancestorPaths:"/Projects/WIP and Final"`	The asset is in this folder or a subfolder of it
`ancestorPaths:"/Approved" AND assetDomain:image`	Approved-folder images

Multivalue fields

For fields that hold multiple values (Tags, multi-select Dropdowns):

Query	Reads as
`tags:marketing`	The `tags` field contains the value `marketing` (among any others)
`tags:marketing AND tags:europe`	The `tags` field contains both `marketing` and `europe`
`tags:(marketing OR europe)`	The `tags` field contains at least one of `marketing` or `europe`

The single-clause form (tags:marketing) is the most common.

Substitution from the selected asset

In Query button queries and in some Lucene contexts, {fieldName} is replaced with the value from the currently selected asset’s metadata at runtime:

Query	Reads as
`cf_wbsCode:{cf_projectCode}`	Match assets whose WBS code equals the WBS code of the currently selected asset
`ancestorPaths:"/Projects" AND isbn:{isbn}`	Match briefs in `/Projects` with the same ISBN as the current selection
`creatorName:"{creatorName}"`	Match assets with the same creator name (quoted to handle multi-word names)

Note: Substitution applies only to Query buttons and similar runtime evaluations — it is not supported in Notification text. See 05c — Notifications reference for the workaround.

Escaping special characters

Lucene’s special characters are: + - && || ! ( ) { } [ ] ^ " ~ * ? : \

To use any of these literally in a value, escape with a backslash:

Query	Reads as
`creatorName:"O\\'Connor"`	Creator name `O'Connor`, apostrophe escaped
`description:"two \\(2\\) items"`	Description contains `two (2) items`

Common pitfalls

Pitfall	Symptom	Fix
Lowercase boolean (`and`, `or`, `not`)	The query parses, but the boolean operator is treated as a search term	Use capitals: `AND`, `OR`, `NOT`
Field-name typo or wrong case	Condition never fires, or always fires false	Use the autocomplete in the Configurator to confirm exact casing
Multi-word value without quotes	Only the first word is matched as the value	Quote multi-word values
Missing `AND` between clauses	Two clauses are treated as `OR` (default operator)	Add `AND` explicitly
Wildcard at the start of a value (`*Final`)	Slow query; some versions reject it	Avoid leading wildcards. Use a different field or refactor

Test queries in Assets first

The most reliable verification is to paste the query into Assets’ search bar in another browser tab. If Assets returns the assets you expect, the query is well-formed. If it returns the wrong assets — or none — fix the query in Assets before pasting it back into the Configurator.

Cross-references

02d — How conditions work — Lucene primer
05b — Actions and buttons reference — for the Query button’s Query option
05c — Notifications reference — for display-condition patterns
06b — Disabling components and writing disable conditions — for disable-condition patterns
06c — Requiring values and validating input — for required-condition patterns

Revisions

7 May 2026: First publication of the manual