# Keyword Search - Keyword could not be parsed due to special characters

**URL:** <https://sleuthkit.discourse.group/t/keyword-search-keyword-could-not-be-parsed-due-to-special-characters/3800>\
**Category:** Autopsy Help\
**Created:** [June 9, 2023, 3:14pm UTC](https://sleuthkit.discourse.group/t/keyword-search-keyword-could-not-be-parsed-due-to-special-characters/3800 "2023-06-09T15:14:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Nol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Nol](https://sleuthkit.discourse.group/u/Nol)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 3:14pm UTC](https://sleuthkit.discourse.group/t/keyword-search-keyword-could-not-be-parsed-due-to-special-characters/3800/1 "2023-06-09T15:14:37Z")

</div>

I am currently working on cases, where I need to perform an Exact Match Keyword Search for Keywords that contain special characters like question marks, asteriks, etc. When trying to add these Keywords to a Keyword List, I get an Error Message saying “Keyword could not be parsed. Please review and try again.”.

After some research concerning Solr’s query syntax, I noticed that these characters have a special meaning in queries and need to be escaped by prepending a backslash. However, escaping these characters with a backslash also does not work for me.

Is there any known workaround for this?

Tested with Autopsy 4.19.3 and 4.20.0 on Windows 10.

Edit: I was able to nail down the scenarios. The Keyword is rejected, if

1. The word starts or ends with an Asterisk, e.g., \*test
2. The word contains paranthesis, which are not properly closed, e.g., te(st