# Is it possible to do a text query against a (pre)defined set of fields? **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [January 8, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-it-possible-to-do-a-text-query-against-a-pre-defined-set-of-fields/15141 "2014-01-08T11:18:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ville\_Mattila](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/ville_mattila/32/1457_2.png) [@Ville\_Mattila](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Ville_Mattila)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-it-possible-to-do-a-text-query-against-a-pre-defined-set-of-fields/15141/1 "2014-01-08T11:18:51Z")
Hi, I am indexing some large documents in an index. When making full text queries, I've generally used {"text": {"\_all": "some text search"}} to find all possible results. However, the document contains a few "private" fields that should be queryable only by a certain user group. What I was wondering is if there is a possibility to define some kind of alias for a set of fields (or even better - all fields except the set of fields) in the mapping definition. I could then do a query {"text": {"alias\_for\_public\_fields": "some text search"}} while the private fields would not be searched for. I do not know if this is possible already now? I know that it's possible to list all fields in the query and leave out the privates, but as there can be hundreds of fields that should be queryable but only 2-3 private fields, listing fields explicitly adds significant overhead to the queries. Best regards, Ville -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/8dc6c390-b483-40d0-bc4e-264380743aef%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/8dc6c390-b483-40d0-bc4e-264380743aef%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![brian\_yoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f1d935/32.png) [@brian\_yoder](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/brian_yoder)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-it-possible-to-do-a-text-query-against-a-pre-defined-set-of-fields/15141/2 "2014-01-08T17:23:28Z")
Ville, Perhaps: Don't include the private fields in \_all. Then a query against \_all would be restricted to the (perhaps hundreds) of "public" fields. A query that includes the private fields would need to list \_all and then the private fields. But since you have only 2 or 3 private fields, there shouldn't be much overhead on the query. Brian -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/0692b19c-2c81-441b-ba2c-c7d33f98648c%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/0692b19c-2c81-441b-ba2c-c7d33f98648c%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![Ville\_Mattila](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/ville_mattila/32/1457_2.png) [@Ville\_Mattila](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Ville_Mattila)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-it-possible-to-do-a-text-query-against-a-pre-defined-set-of-fields/15141/3 "2014-01-08T17:56:41Z")
Hi, Well - I think I've understood something wrong here. Isn't \_all a special key that includes all indexed fields? Is there possibility to change the fields included in \_all? Ville Ville, > Perhaps: Don't include the private fields in \_all. Then a query against > \_all would be restricted to the (perhaps hundreds) of "public" fields. > > A query that includes the private fields would need to list \_all and then > the private fields. But since you have only 2 or 3 private fields, there > shouldn't be much overhead on the query. > > Brian -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/d326a968-9ed9-44e9-8640-9b00d9507c05%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/d326a968-9ed9-44e9-8640-9b00d9507c05%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![brian\_yoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f1d935/32.png) [@brian\_yoder](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/brian_yoder)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-it-possible-to-do-a-text-query-against-a-pre-defined-set-of-fields/15141/4 "2014-01-08T21:05:23Z")
Ville, By default, the \_all field includes all of the indexed field. Then, for your private fields, explicitly exclude them from the \_all field by adding the following to their properties: "include\_in\_all" : false See the ES guide for more details, Specifically, this[http://www.elasticsearch.org/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/mapping-all-field.html](http://www.elasticsearch.org/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/mapping-all-field.html)might help. I typically disable the \_all field completely to cut down dramatically on disk space and build times. But everything else in ES has worked like a charm, so I'm sure this would work for you without too much trouble. Good luck! Brian -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). To view this discussion on the web visit [https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/54d7375c-2644-4b81-8e0e-51e74140f0aa%40googlegroups.com](https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/elasticsearch/54d7375c-2644-4b81-8e0e-51e74140f0aa%40googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/is-it-possible-to-do-a-text-query-against-a-pre-defined-set-of-fields/15141/5 "2017-07-06T01:57:52Z")
Closed on July 6, 2017, 1:57am UTC