# Ampersand gets stripped out of search query
**URL:** https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ampersand-gets-stripped-out-of-search-query/366511
**Category:** Elastic Search
**Tags:** elastic-app-search
**Created:** [September 13, 2024, 7:06am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ampersand-gets-stripped-out-of-search-query/366511 "2024-09-13T07:06:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@kudumine](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/kudumine)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2024, 7:06am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ampersand-gets-stripped-out-of-search-query/366511/1 "2024-09-13T07:06:46Z")
I am having an issue where an ampersand is getting stripped out of the search query after the first run.
I had this issue in another spot where I was directly calling an endpoint and grabbing my searchterm from the params and fixed it by getting my search term from `SearchContext`
Now in another spot where the endpoint is hooked up in a connecter and I am grabbing the search query form the searchContext and in this one spot it doesn't work and strips out the ampersand. Everything sending in is correct.
Sending in hardcoded: "this & that"
```auto
const searchQuery = "this & that";
context.driver.setSearchQuery({ searchTerm: searchQuery });
```
Getting "this " returned:
```auto
import { SearchContext } from "@elastic/react-search-ui";
const context = useContext(SearchContext);
const searchTerm = context?.driver.state?.searchTerm;
console.log("searchTerm:", searchTerm);
```
Is there an argument or a way I can get searchui to ignore the ampersand?
---
### Author:  [@Artem\_Shelkovnikov](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Artem_Shelkovnikov)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2024, 12:10pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ampersand-gets-stripped-out-of-search-query/366511/2 "2024-09-13T12:10:01Z")
Hi @kudumine,
I think this topic might be relevant to you: [Searching with special characters doesn't work](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/searching-with-special-characters-doesnt-work/279631)
---
### Author:  [@Kathleen\_DeRusso](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Kathleen_DeRusso)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2024, 12:11pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ampersand-gets-stripped-out-of-search-query/366511/3 "2024-09-13T12:11:52Z")
Hey there @kudumine, you should pass in a [custom analyzer](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/analysis-custom-analyzer.html) that doesn't filter out the special characters you want.
---
### Author:  [@kudumine](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/kudumine)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2024, 1:01pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ampersand-gets-stripped-out-of-search-query/366511/4 "2024-09-13T13:01:27Z")
Thank you @kathleen for the response! Is there a way to set up a custom analyzer and pass it in on the front end? Or do you have any more examples of the implementation of that?
Thank you!
---
### Author:  [@Kathleen\_DeRusso](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Kathleen_DeRusso)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2024, 1:25pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ampersand-gets-stripped-out-of-search-query/366511/5 "2024-09-13T13:25:56Z")
The docs I link show how to set up analyzers, they're part of your mappings and transparent to the frontend.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2024, 1:26pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/ampersand-gets-stripped-out-of-search-query/366511/6 "2024-10-11T13:26:03Z")
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