If you’ve ever needed to find all documents that were either created or modified after a certain date in NetDocuments, you’ve probably discovered the problem: the standard Advanced Search interface gives you a Created Date field and a Last Modified Date field, but no obvious way to combine them with OR logic in a single search.
The good news is that NetDocuments’ raw query syntax makes this entirely possible. This post walks you through exactly how to do it — including how to verify the search is actually behaving as a true OR.
Understanding NetDocuments Field Code Syntax
NetDocuments’ search engine supports raw field code queries that go beyond what the standard search UI exposes. Each profile field has a numeric code, and you can target specific fields directly using the format:
=FIELDCODE(value)
For date-based searches, the two most important field codes are:
| Field Code | Field Name | What It Searches |
| =5 | Created Date | The date the document was first saved to NetDocuments |
| =7 | Last Modified Date | The date the document was last edited or updated |
How NetDocuments Represents Dates
NetDocuments stores dates as serial numbers — the same system used by Microsoft Excel. In this format, each day is represented by an integer counting up from January 1, 1900. For example:
- April 16, 2026 = 46128
- May 8, 2026 = 46150
To find the serial number for any date, you can open Excel, type the date into a cell, and format it as a number — or use the DATEVALUE function.
To specify a date range in a query, use a hyphen between the start and end serial numbers. To indicate “on or after” a specific date, prefix the start value with a caret (^):
^46128-46150 means: on or after 4/16/2026, up to 5/8/2026
Building the Individual Date Queries
Putting the field code and date range together, the individual searches look like this:
Created Date on or after 4/16/2026:
=5(^46128-46150)
Last Modified Date on or after 4/16/2026:
=7(^46128-46150)
Combining Them with OR
To find documents that match either condition — created in the range OR modified in the range — combine them using NetDocuments’ OR operator:
=5(^46128-46150) OR =7(^46128-46150)
A few important notes on syntax:
- OR must be uppercase
- Each field condition requires its own = prefix — don’t drop it on the second condition
- Enter this query directly in the NetDocuments search bar, not through the Advanced Search date fields
How to Verify It’s a True OR (Not AND)
Before trusting your results, it’s worth confirming that NetDocuments is actually treating the query as OR and not silently converting it to AND. The method is simple: run all three searches separately and compare the counts of results.
| Search | Query | Example Results |
| Created date only | =5(…) | 2,000+ |
| Modified date only | =7(…) | 2,400+ |
| Combined OR query | =5(…) OR =7(…) | 2,500+ |
Since the combined OR result (2,500+) is larger than either individual search, you know it’s a genuine OR — it’s catching documents that satisfy either condition. If it were AND, the combined result would be smaller than either individual search, since it would include only documents that meet both criteria simultaneously.
The relatively small increase from the modified-only result (2,400+) to the combined OR result (2,500+) makes sense: most documents created in the date range were also modified in that range, so there’s heavy overlap. The ~100 additional results represent documents that were modified but created before the start of the range.
When This Search Is Most Useful
This type of combined date query is particularly valuable in a few common scenarios:
- Migration delta audits — confirming which documents were touched after a cutoff date during a phased migration
- Post-implementation reviews — finding all activity in NetDocuments since the go-live date
- Compliance and records audits — identifying all documents created or modified during a specific period
- Change tracking — understanding what was touched during a specific project or matter phase
Need Help with Your NetDocuments Search or Migration?
Optiable has completed 550+ NetDocuments implementations for law firms since 2010. If you have questions about advanced search, migrations, or getting the most out of your NetDocuments environment, schedule a consultation.