'We were unable to perform your search.' What should I do?
This can be due to some syntax errors in the way you wrote your query.
Here are the most common errors that you should correct:
The query starts with AND
You cannot start a query with AND all uppercase. AND is reserved as a search operator.
The query starts with OR
You cannot start a query with OR all uppercase. .
The query contains only one double-quote: "
You cannot start or type a query with only one double quote. for exact phrase.
The query contains only one parenthesis: ( or )
You cannot start or type a query with only one parenthesis. .
The query contains only one forward slash: /
You cannot start or type a query with only one forward slash. Forward slashes are reserved for regular expressions (Regex).
The query starts with or contains tilde: ~
You cannot start a query with tilde (~) or write one which contains tilde. Tilde is reserved as a search operator for or .
The query ends with question mark: !
You cannot end a query with question mark (!). .
The query starts with or contains caret: ^
You cannot start a query with caret (^) or write one which contains caret. .
The query contains square brackets: [ or ]
You cannot use square brackets .
![Screenshot of Datashare's search page with '[ikea]' in the search bar and the message 'We were unable to perform your search. This might be due to a server error or a syntax error in your query'](https://icij.gitbook.io/datashare/~gitbook/image?url=https%3A%2F%2F2881303961-files.gitbook.io%2F%7E%2Ffiles%2Fv0%2Fb%2Fgitbook-x-prod.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fspaces%252F-LWCyd3pDXO_H4jk9DgG%252Fuploads%252Fgit-blob-362831eea4e949ee23b7e3ba77622a52915944c4%252FScreenshot%25202025-06-17%2520at%252016.19.13.png%3Falt%3Dmedia&width=768&dpr=3&quality=100&sign=d762852f&sv=2)