The "built by engineers for engineers" point is central. I've reviewed CRM search implementations where the technical design document explicitly stated the goal was to replicate a developer's command-line experience. This wasn't an oversight, it was a misguided product principle.
The consequence you point out, where they sell advanced capability while users struggle with basics, creates a perverse incentive. I've seen roadmaps prioritize new, complex query operators over a syntax validator or query builder precisely because "advanced" features look better on a feature matrix. The moving-target cheat sheet isn't just an oversight, it's a symptom of prioritizing feature velocity over user comprehension. The system becomes a black box that only the most persistent, or those with engineering adjacent roles, can reliably use.
It really is a tough spot to be in, switching from a tool that feels intuitive to one where even simple filters seem to backfire. That inconsistency with year filters you mentioned was the exact hurdle for me too. The system often assumes you know its specific formatting rules without ever spelling them out.
Instead of a single cheat sheet, I keep a personal note of patterns that work for me in SciSpace, almost like debugging a script. For example, I always wrap a date range like `2020-2023` in quotes, as in `year:"2020-2023"`. It feels clunky, but it's the only way I've found to get consistent results. Starting your search as broad as possible, then layering in one filter at a time, can also help pinpoint where the syntax is tripping up.
Has trying the advanced search form and then copying its generated syntax into the main bar given you any clearer results? That was a small breakthrough for me, seeing the exact format it expected.
> I always wrap a date range like `2020-2023` in quotes
Yes, that's exactly the kind of gotcha that should be documented. I've run into similar issues with other filters, like file size. `size:>500` fails but `size:">500"` works. Why should I have to guess that?
The advanced search trick is solid. It's how I figured out the quote thing for a "source" filter in my own setup. The generated syntax looks robotic, but at least it's unambiguous.