# Combine 'should' with 'filter' (search API)
**URL:** https://discuss.elastic.co/t/combine-should-with-filter-search-api/139129
**Category:** Elasticsearch
**Created:** [July 9, 2018, 10:02am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/combine-should-with-filter-search-api/139129 "2018-07-09T10:02:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@cweinberger](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/cweinberger)
#### Post date: [July 9, 2018, 10:02am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/combine-should-with-filter-search-api/139129/1 "2018-07-09T10:02:46Z")
When combining should with filter, the conditions in should are ignored. When using must, the filter works as expected.
**Query _without filter_:**
```auto
{
"query": {
"bool": {
"should": [
{
"match": {
"address": "mill"
}
},
{
"match": {
"address": "lane"
}
}
]
}
}
}
```
**Hits: 19**
**_Example including filter:_**
```auto
{
"query": {
"bool": {
"should": [
{
"match": {
"address": "mill"
}
},
{
"match": {
"address": "lane"
}
}
],
"filter": {
"range": {
"balance": {
"gte": 20000,
"lte": 30000
}
}
}
}
}
}
```
**Hits: 217** (basically ignoring the _should_ condition)
Thanks for your help,
Christian
---
### Author:  [@abdon](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/abdon)
#### Post date: [July 10, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/combine-should-with-filter-search-api/139129/2 "2018-07-10T12:53:04Z")
The `should` clause of the `bool` query is for _ **optional** _ search criteria. Let's say you are looking for hotels and would prefer for the hotel to have a swimming pool, but you would also like to see hotels without a swimming pool in the search results, then the query for swimming pool would be in the `should` clause. Elasticsearch will give the documents that match more `should` queries a higher score, so those documents will be ranked higher in the search results.
When you only have a `should` clause (as in your first query), then at least one of the `should` clauses must match for a document to be considered a hit.
When you combine a `should` clause with a `filter` than all `should` clauses are optional, so even documents that only match the filter will be returned. You can change that behavior by [setting `minimum_should_match`](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/query-dsl-minimum-should-match.html) on the `bool` query. You could set that for example to `1` to make it mandatory for at least one `should` clause to match. The docs have an example of that: [https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/query-dsl-bool-query.html](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/query-dsl-bool-query.html)
---
### Author:  [@cweinberger](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/cweinberger)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2018, 9:07am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/combine-should-with-filter-search-api/139129/3 "2018-07-11T09:07:58Z")
Great @abdon, Thanks a lot!
---
### Author:  [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2018, 9:07am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/combine-should-with-filter-search-api/139129/4 "2018-08-08T09:07:59Z")
This topic was automatically closed 28 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.