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Copy to

The copy_to parameter allows you to copy the values of multiple fields into a group field, which can then be queried as a single field. This is useful when you frequently search across multiple fields and want to simplify your queries.

Note the following important considerations:

  • During copying, the raw field value (not the tokens produced during analysis) is copied.

  • The original _source field is not modified to reflect the copied values.

  • The same value can be copied to multiple fields using "copy_to": ["field_1", "field_2"] syntax.

  • You cannot copy recursively through intermediary fields. For example, if field_1 is copied to field_2 and field_2 is copied to field_3, indexing into field_1 does not result in values appearing in field_3. Instead, use copy_to directly from the originating field to multiple target fields.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate using the copy_to parameter.

Basic copy_to usage

Create an index that copies first and last names into a full_name field:

PUT /user_profiles
{
  "mappings": {
    "properties": {
      "first_name": {
        "type": "text",
        "copy_to": "full_name"
      },
      "last_name": {
        "type": "text",
        "copy_to": "full_name"
      },
      "full_name": {
        "type": "text"
      }
    }
  }
}

Index a document with separate name fields:

PUT /user_profiles/_doc/1
{
  "first_name": "Jane",
  "last_name": "Doe"
}

The first_name and last_name fields can still be queried individually, but the full_name field allows you to search for both names together. To search using the combined field, send the following request. The and operator requires both terms to match:

GET /user_profiles/_search
{
  "query": {
    "match": {
      "full_name": {
        "query": "Jane Doe",
        "operator": "and"
      }
    }
  }
}

The response contains the matching document:

{
  "took": 7,
  "timed_out": false,
  "_shards": {
    "total": 1,
    "successful": 1,
    "skipped": 0,
    "failed": 0
  },
  "hits": {
    "total": {
      "value": 1,
      "relation": "eq"
    },
    "max_score": 0.26152915,
    "hits": [
      {
        "_index": "user_profiles",
        "_id": "1",
        "_score": 0.26152915,
        "_source": {
          "first_name": "Jane",
          "last_name": "Doe"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Copying to multiple target fields

To copy the field contents to multiple target fields, create an index that copies the title field into both the searchable_content and display_text fields. The body field is copied only to searchable_content:

PUT /content_library
{
  "mappings": {
    "properties": {
      "title": {
        "type": "text",
        "copy_to": ["searchable_content", "display_text"]
      },
      "body": {
        "type": "text",
        "copy_to": "searchable_content"
      },
      "searchable_content": {
        "type": "text"
      },
      "display_text": {
        "type": "text"
      }
    }
  }
}

Index a document containing the title and body fields:

PUT /content_library/_doc/1
{
  "title": "OpenSearch Documentation Guide",
  "body": "This comprehensive guide covers mapping parameters and their usage in OpenSearch."
}

You can search both title and body content using the searchable_content field:

GET /content_library/_search
{
  "query": {
    "match": {
      "searchable_content": "OpenSearch mapping parameters"
    }
  }
}

The response contains the matching document. The document’s original _source field still contains only the title and body fields:

{
  "took": 21,
  "timed_out": false,
  "_shards": {
    "total": 1,
    "successful": 1,
    "skipped": 0,
    "failed": 0
  },
  "hits": {
    "total": {
      "value": 1,
      "relation": "eq"
    },
    "max_score": 0.44133043,
    "hits": [
      {
        "_index": "content_library",
        "_id": "1",
        "_score": 0.44133043,
        "_source": {
          "title": "OpenSearch Documentation Guide",
          "body": "This comprehensive guide covers mapping parameters and their usage in OpenSearch."
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}
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