The information provided here has been drawn from my experience with these tools, and from the help screens for the search tools themselves.
More details are available from the help provided by each of the search tools.
I've also created an accompanying summary chart that presents the most essential details on using the tools. You might want to use this page and the chart in a couple of ways. The tools presented here are those that I have found useful and that have also received positive reviews from a number of sources, including some of those listed on the page for More Information on Searching . The tools are listed from what I have subjectively determined is the simplest to use to the most sophisticated. This page has existed in some form since early 1996, and has changed over time as search tools have come, gone, and changed.