Exclusion negative searches: exclude multiple terms and how to use word list?

[Mikrodots]

Thank you in advance for your help.

Exclusion/negative searches - how do I exclude multiple terms and how to use word list file to do so?

This is in the manual:
Exclusion/negative searches
You can precede a search term with a hyphen character to exclude that search term from being
included in your search results. For example, a search for "cat -dog" would return all pages containing
the word "cat" but not the word "dog".

I need to exclude many terms. Is this the format?

cat -dog -rabbit -bird -lion

or

"cat -dog -rabbit -bird -lion"

What is the format in a word list?

Can I use a word list for this?

Are there limitations to exclusions, negative searches?

Is there a better way to remove files (or cull or redact) from a case that contain restricted / excluded / privileged terms?

Thank you.

[David (PassMark)]

Yes, you can precede a search term with a hyphen character to exclude that search term from being included in your search results. You don't need quotes. So just,
cat -dog -rabbit -bird -lion

A Word List File allows the user to specify a file containing a list of terms to search for in the currently selected index. This effectively performs a bulk search on the list of terms automatically. Results from the bulk search will appear in the History View from where they can be opened and viewed.

The word list file is a text file. By default the text files are stored in this folder.
C:\ProgramData\Passmark\OSForensics\SearchLists

The word list file should place each search on a new line. Lines starting with # are comment lines and will not be searched. A double # at the beginning of a line can be used if you actually need the search term to start with a #. Example search word lists have been provided and will appear in the default directory when selecting a file. For easy access it is recommended you put your own search word list files in this same directory.

Here is an example from one of the provided files.

#Example list of banned sports drugs
#Source: World-Anti-Doping-Program 2011
#
#ANABOLIC AGENTS - Exogenous
androstenediol
androstenedione
bolandiol
bolasterone
boldenone
boldione
calusterone
clostebol
danazol

Is there a better way to remove files

Maybe. If you know in advance which folders / files should not be indexed, they can be excluded. If it was a critically important issue for you and you have a budget to work with there are is another option, where we can hard code / customise an exclusion word list to pass into the indexer.

[shwnkeller]

This is also exactly what I need to do. Thanks for the assist.