Search by meaning finds records on a subject even when they don't contain the words you typed. It adds to regular search: it helps a lot with some searches and very little with others. This article explains how to tell them apart.
What it does
Regular search looks for the words you typed. Search by meaning compares what your query means with what the texts on the platform mean, and shows the closest ones in a separate section, "Related records". Your regular results stay where they are; it only adds up to ten records to them.
"Related" here means close in subject. This search doesn't find relatives or connect people to each other.
You don't have to write the query in the language of the document. For example, the English query emigration of families to Canada finds Ukrainian files about leaving for Canada.
When to use it
Use it when you're looking for a subject and don't know how the records word it. Write a few words, as you would explain it to a person:
resettlement of families to Siberia
Jewish community of a small town
cemetery of First World War soldiers
Regular search finds little or nothing for queries like these, because few records contain exactly those words. Search by meaning finds community registers, resettlement files and lists of war graves.
When it won't help
Surnames and given names. A surname has no meaning to compare with a text, so this search can't find a person. If the surname is in the records, regular search shows them and the related section usually stays empty. If it isn't, you'll see records that have nothing to do with it, even if there are ten of them.
Reference codes, numbers and exact titles. These have to match letter for letter, so use regular search.
If a surname finds nothing, try other spellings, an older form, part of the surname or a nearby place. You can also start from the village: open its page and look through its sources.
Why the section can be empty
Regular and related records compete for the same top places. When regular search finds many exact matches, no room is left for related records. That isn't a fault: make the query more specific or try another subject.
Where it looks
Search by meaning covers sources, documents, transcribed page text, memorials, cemeteries, photos, authors, researches, collections and place descriptions. It doesn't look in Entries, Persons, Repositories or the Glossary. If you select only those, the control is turned off; if you select them along with other types, it works on the other types. It can't find pages that have no transcription.
How to read the results
Related records are suggestions, not exact matches. They may not contain any of your words, so open each one and check the place, the dates and the people.
Where to find it
On the search page, open "Advanced filters" and tick "Search by meaning". If a search finds nothing, the same button appears there. On a source or document page, turn on "Also search by meaning" below the search field.