Getting Familiar with the Common Features
Before we move on to the real-life examples of flexible searches made through graph search, let's get familiar with all the common options available for general users.Result Set Formats
First, we'll take a look at the result set formats available within graph search. These result formats are broadly divided into two different types as shown below.

- List format - This format is ideal for viewing result set on smaller monitors. You get the results in card format which are loaded continuously as you scroll down. Users with slower internet connections will also find this result format much better than the grid format as the latter format consumes more bandwidth.
- Grid format - Facebook users with widescreen monitors must switch to this view as it packs more data in the available space. Whenever you hover your mouse on a result set entry, the associated information and options pop out like a slider. It's my preferred format on my laptop.
For each profile included in the result set, you also get an option to search within the profile viz., interests, friends' list, photos and much more. And all this can be done without any need to leave the result set.

Refine Your Search through Options/Parameter Box
Although graph search is quite flexible and adjusts your typed query in the correct format to display the relevant results, you can still use its powerful collapsible and expandable parameter box to supply custom options for your query.

For example, the 'Age Range' parameter is populated with few default entries that can be quickly selected to save your time. But, you can also supply a custom age range to this parameter to suit your needs. This box should be used to strengthen and optimize your existing query.
Extend Your Search Easily
It's not just the default search result that matters while finding information through graph search, but the supplementary result sets can broaden your search and can easily help you find the exact information you're looking for. That's where 'Extend This Search' section comes handy.

It's like a shortcut to peek into people's activities, likes, associations and several other kinds of information. I normally use it to find groups and pages liked by the profiles in the result set. So these were some of the prominent features of graph search. Now let's move on the real part.
Taming Facebook Graph Search
This powerful feature is as effective as your ability to craft the right kind of queries needed to pull the required information. Instead of focusing on the syntax and semantics of the query structure, we'll pay all our attention to the practical examples presented here. That way, you'll quickly learn about formatting the queries in a correct way.We'll take all types of queries including some fun and unusual searches to let you know the flexibility of the graph search. So let's get started.
Example #1: Recruitment agency searching for potential candidates.

- You can use and operator to combine multiple parameters for a single attribute.
- You can easily filter out residents (not hometown or visited) of a particular city.
- All the parameters supplied to the graph search algorithm are always in bright white color.
Example #2: Finding customers to connect, network and promote your products.

- You can not only search for residents of a particular city but can also segregate them on the basis of their gender.
- To avoid any confusion or irrelevant results, you must provide the country name of the city as well whose name is used by other cities in different parts of the globe.
Example #3: Find your old colleagues.

- You can easily provide time frames to graph search algorithm to pick the relevant results.
- You can even exclude a time slice using the before and after operators.
- You can also provide multiple time frames in a single query.
Example #4: Find best restaurants in your city serving your favorite recipes.

- Graph search is just not limited to profiles. You can use it to find geographical locations too.
- Search queries like these are very helpful for tourists and strangers visiting an alien city.
Example #5: Find a date in your city.

- It's not just about people, places, and their interests; graph search also lets you build relationships.
- You can literally get tons of dating options through graph search.
This is just a tip of the iceberg shown in these examples. You can literally find almost anything through it provided you experiment with search queries and learn the syntax.
If you're looking to build a complex query, start with an easy one and then use parameter box in the sidebar to populate it with additional parameters. Since this feature is extremely flexible, I'll request you to use it carefully such that you do not invade anyone's privacy without his or her permission.
If you have some more interesting and unique graph search queries, do share them with us in the comments below.