diff --git a/build.gradle.kts b/build.gradle.kts
index a56e96da..48ecd49a 100644
--- a/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/build.gradle.kts
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ intellijPlatform {
     
     changeNotes = """
     <h2>Version $currentVersion</h2>
+    - Add option to ignore characters from search
     - Update dependencies
     """.trimIndent()
     
diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md
index 1df50eab..08cd5a0a 100644
--- a/changelog.md
+++ b/changelog.md
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # Changelog
 ## Version 1.4.0
+- Add option to ignore characters from search
 - Update dependencies
 
 ## Version 1.3.0
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/Fuzzier.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/Fuzzier.kt
index d615ed39..3295e853 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/Fuzzier.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/Fuzzier.kt
@@ -265,12 +265,13 @@ open class Fuzzier : FuzzyAction() {
         stringEvaluator: StringEvaluator, listModel: DefaultListModel<FuzzyMatchContainer>,
         searchString: String, task: Future<*>?
     ) {
+        val ss = FuzzierUtil.cleanSearchString(searchString, fuzzierSettingsService.state.ignoredCharacters)
         runBlocking {
             withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
                 filesToIterate.forEach { iterationFile ->
                     if (task?.isCancelled == true) return@forEach
                     launch {
-                        stringEvaluator.evaluateFile(iterationFile, listModel, searchString)
+                        stringEvaluator.evaluateFile(iterationFile, listModel, ss)
                     }
                 }
             }
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/FuzzyMover.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/FuzzyMover.kt
index 76c4ab0d..b5e7a4f6 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/FuzzyMover.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/FuzzyMover.kt
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ import com.intellij.refactoring.move.moveFilesOrDirectories.MoveFilesOrDirectori
 import com.mituuz.fuzzier.components.SimpleFinderComponent
 import com.mituuz.fuzzier.entities.FuzzyMatchContainer
 import com.mituuz.fuzzier.entities.StringEvaluator
+import com.mituuz.fuzzier.util.FuzzierUtil
 import com.mituuz.fuzzier.util.FuzzierUtil.Companion.createDimensionKey
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils
 import java.awt.Point
@@ -250,10 +251,11 @@ class FuzzyMover : FuzzyAction() {
     private fun process(project: Project, stringEvaluator: StringEvaluator, searchString: String,
                         listModel: DefaultListModel<FuzzyMatchContainer>, task: Future<*>?) {
         val moduleManager = ModuleManager.getInstance(project)
+        val ss = FuzzierUtil.cleanSearchString(searchString, fuzzierSettingsService.state.ignoredCharacters)
         if (fuzzierSettingsService.state.isProject) {
-            processProject(project, stringEvaluator, searchString, listModel, task)
+            processProject(project, stringEvaluator, ss, listModel, task)
         } else {
-            processModules(moduleManager, stringEvaluator, searchString, listModel, task)
+            processModules(moduleManager, stringEvaluator, ss, listModel, task)
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/components/FuzzierSettingsComponent.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/components/FuzzierSettingsComponent.kt
index bc8a8594..6f2a6b74 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/components/FuzzierSettingsComponent.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/components/FuzzierSettingsComponent.kt
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import com.intellij.ui.components.JBLabel
 import com.intellij.ui.components.JBTextArea
 import com.intellij.util.ui.FormBuilder
 import com.intellij.openapi.ui.ComboBox
+import com.intellij.ui.components.JBTextField
 import com.mituuz.fuzzier.components.FuzzierSettingsComponent.SettingsComponent
 import com.mituuz.fuzzier.entities.FuzzyMatchContainer.FilenameType
 import com.mituuz.fuzzier.settings.FuzzierSettingsService
@@ -54,6 +55,16 @@ class FuzzierSettingsComponent {
             e.g. "kt" excludes all files/file paths that contain the "kt" string. (main.<strong>kt</strong>, <strong>kt</strong>lin.java)
     """.trimIndent())
 
+    val ignoredCharacters = SettingsComponent(JBTextField(), "Ignored characters",
+        """
+            Exclude characters from affecting the search. Any character added here will be skipped during the search.<br>
+            This could be useful for example when copy pasting similar file paths.<br>
+            <strong>Note! </strong>This is case insensitive, everything is considered as lowercase
+            <br><br>
+            e.g. "%" would transform a search string like "%%%kot%%lin" to "kotlin"
+        """.trimIndent(),
+        false)
+
     val newTabSelect = SettingsComponent(JBCheckBox(), "Open files in a new tab")
 
     val recentFileModeSelector = SettingsComponent(ComboBox<RecentFilesMode>(), "Show recent files on start", """
@@ -96,7 +107,7 @@ class FuzzierSettingsComponent {
             <br>
             <strong>file</strong>  <i>(path/to/file)</i>
             <br>
-            <strong>Note!</strong>This is more performance intensive, you should not use too high file list limit with this option.
+            <strong>Note! </strong>This is more performance intensive, you should not use too high file list limit with this option.
     """.trimIndent(),
         false)
 
@@ -196,6 +207,7 @@ class FuzzierSettingsComponent {
         jPanel = FormBuilder.createFormBuilder()
             .addComponent(JBLabel("<html><strong>General settings</strong></html>"))
             .addComponent(exclusionSet)
+            .addComponent(ignoredCharacters)
 
             .addSeparator()
             .addComponent(newTabSelect)
@@ -309,6 +321,10 @@ class FuzzierSettingsComponent {
             return component as JBTextArea
         }
 
+        fun getJBTextField(): JBTextField {
+            return component as JBTextField
+        }
+
         fun getCheckBox(): JBCheckBox {
             return component as JBCheckBox
         }
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/components/TestBenchComponent.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/components/TestBenchComponent.kt
index 864c47a6..a4315f26 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/components/TestBenchComponent.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/components/TestBenchComponent.kt
@@ -171,7 +171,8 @@ class TestBenchComponent : JPanel() {
 
     private fun processProject(project: Project, stringEvaluator: StringEvaluator,
                                searchString: String, listModel: DefaultListModel<FuzzyMatchContainer>) {
-        val contentIterator = stringEvaluator.getContentIterator(project.name, searchString, listModel, null)
+        val ss = FuzzierUtil.cleanSearchString(searchString, liveSettingsComponent.ignoredCharacters.getJBTextField().text)
+        val contentIterator = stringEvaluator.getContentIterator(project.name, ss, listModel, null)
 
         val scoreCalculator = stringEvaluator.scoreCalculator
         scoreCalculator.setMultiMatch(liveSettingsComponent.multiMatchActive.getCheckBox().isSelected)
@@ -186,7 +187,8 @@ class TestBenchComponent : JPanel() {
                                searchString: String, listModel: DefaultListModel<FuzzyMatchContainer>) {
         for (module in moduleManager.modules) {
             val moduleFileIndex = module.rootManager.fileIndex
-            val contentIterator = stringEvaluator.getContentIterator(module.name, searchString, listModel, null)
+            val ss = FuzzierUtil.cleanSearchString(searchString, liveSettingsComponent.ignoredCharacters.getJBTextField().text)
+            val contentIterator = stringEvaluator.getContentIterator(module.name, ss, listModel, null)
 
             val scoreCalculator = stringEvaluator.scoreCalculator
             scoreCalculator.setMultiMatch(liveSettingsComponent.multiMatchActive.getCheckBox().isSelected)
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/entities/ScoreCalculator.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/entities/ScoreCalculator.kt
index 18049376..f88c03c3 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/entities/ScoreCalculator.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/entities/ScoreCalculator.kt
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ class ScoreCalculator(searchString: String) {
     private var matchWeightStreakModifier = settings.matchWeightStreakModifier
     private var matchWeightPartialPath = settings.matchWeightPartialPath
     private var matchWeightFilename = settings.matchWeightFilename
+    private var ignoredCharacters: Set<Char> = settings.ignoredCharacters.toSet()
 
     var currentFilePath = ""
     private var longestStreak: Int = 0
@@ -222,4 +223,8 @@ class ScoreCalculator(searchString: String) {
     fun setTolerance(value: Int) {
         tolerance = value
     }
+
+    fun setIgnoredCharacters(characterString: String) {
+        ignoredCharacters = characterString.toSet()
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsConfigurable.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsConfigurable.kt
index eab5fac7..87b400cc 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsConfigurable.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsConfigurable.kt
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ class FuzzierSettingsConfigurable : Configurable {
 
         val combinedString = state.exclusionSet.joinToString("\n")
         component.exclusionSet.getJBTextArea().text = combinedString
+        component.ignoredCharacters.getJBTextField().text = state.ignoredCharacters
         component.newTabSelect.getCheckBox().isSelected = state.newTab
         component.recentFileModeSelector.getRecentFilesTypeComboBox().selectedIndex = state.recentFilesMode.ordinal
         component.prioritizeShortDirs.getCheckBox().isSelected = state.prioritizeShorterDirPaths
@@ -71,6 +72,7 @@ class FuzzierSettingsConfigurable : Configurable {
             .toSet()
 
         return state.exclusionSet != newSet
+                || state.ignoredCharacters != component.ignoredCharacters.getJBTextField().text
                 || state.newTab != component.newTabSelect.getCheckBox().isSelected
                 || state.recentFilesMode != component.recentFileModeSelector.getRecentFilesTypeComboBox().selectedItem
                 || state.prioritizeShorterDirPaths != component.prioritizeShortDirs.getCheckBox().isSelected
@@ -97,6 +99,7 @@ class FuzzierSettingsConfigurable : Configurable {
             .filter { it.isNotBlank() }
             .toSet()
         state.exclusionSet = newSet as MutableSet<String>
+        state.ignoredCharacters = component.ignoredCharacters.getJBTextField().text
         state.newTab = component.newTabSelect.getCheckBox().isSelected
         state.recentFilesMode = RecentFilesMode.entries.toTypedArray()[component.recentFileModeSelector.getRecentFilesTypeComboBox().selectedIndex]
         state.prioritizeShorterDirPaths = component.prioritizeShortDirs.getCheckBox().isSelected
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsService.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsService.kt
index 35808061..d28e0b2d 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsService.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsService.kt
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ class FuzzierSettingsService : PersistentStateComponent<FuzzierSettingsService.S
 
         var splitPosition: Int = 300
         var exclusionSet: Set<String> = setOf("/.idea/*", "/.git/*", "/target/*", "/build/*", "/.gradle/*", "/.run/*")
+        var ignoredCharacters: String = ""
         var newTab: Boolean = false
         var prioritizeShorterDirPaths = true
         var debouncePeriod: Int = 80
diff --git a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/util/FuzzierUtil.kt b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/util/FuzzierUtil.kt
index 7a96ff9a..3b5e0557 100644
--- a/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/util/FuzzierUtil.kt
+++ b/src/main/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/util/FuzzierUtil.kt
@@ -54,9 +54,11 @@ class FuzzierUtil {
             return "${baseDimensionKey}_${screenBounds.width}_${screenBounds.height}_${screenBounds.x}_${screenBounds.y}"
         }
 
-        fun fileIndexToIterationFile(iterationFiles: ConcurrentHashMap.KeySetView<IterationFile, Boolean>,
-                                     fileIndex: FileIndex, moduleName: String, task: Future<*>?, 
-                                     isDir: Boolean = false) {
+        fun fileIndexToIterationFile(
+            iterationFiles: ConcurrentHashMap.KeySetView<IterationFile, Boolean>,
+            fileIndex: FileIndex, moduleName: String, task: Future<*>?,
+            isDir: Boolean = false
+        ) {
             fileIndex.iterateContent { file ->
                 if (task?.isCancelled == true) {
                     return@iterateContent false
@@ -67,6 +69,15 @@ class FuzzierUtil {
                 true
             }
         }
+
+        fun cleanSearchString(ss: String, ignoredChars: String): String {
+            var ret = ss.lowercase()
+            for (i in ignoredChars.toSet()) {
+                ret = ret.filterNot { it == i.lowercaseChar() }
+            }
+
+            return ret;
+        }
     }
 
     /**
@@ -81,14 +92,17 @@ class FuzzierUtil {
      *
      * @return a sorted and sized list model
      */
-    fun sortAndLimit(listModel: DefaultListModel<FuzzyMatchContainer>, isDirSort: Boolean = false): DefaultListModel<FuzzyMatchContainer> {
+    fun sortAndLimit(
+        listModel: DefaultListModel<FuzzyMatchContainer>,
+        isDirSort: Boolean = false
+    ): DefaultListModel<FuzzyMatchContainer> {
         val useShortDirPath = isDirSort && prioritizeShorterDirPaths
         var comparator = getComparator(useShortDirPath, false)
         val priorityQueue = PriorityQueue(listLimit + 1, comparator)
 
         var minimumScore: Int? = null
         listModel.elements().toList().forEach {
-            if (minimumScore == null || it.getScore() > minimumScore) {
+            if (minimumScore == null || it.getScore() > minimumScore!!) {
                 priorityQueue.add(it)
                 if (priorityQueue.size > listLimit) {
                     priorityQueue.remove()
@@ -154,7 +168,8 @@ class FuzzierUtil {
         var prevModule: ModuleContainer? = null
         for (currentModule in moduleList.sortedBy { it.basePath }) {
             if (prevModule != null && (currentModule.basePath.startsWith(prevModule.basePath)
-                        || prevModule.basePath.startsWith(currentModule.basePath))) {
+                        || prevModule.basePath.startsWith(currentModule.basePath))
+            ) {
                 if (currentModule.basePath.length > prevModule.basePath.length) {
                     currentModule.basePath = prevModule.basePath;
                 } else {
@@ -192,7 +207,7 @@ class FuzzierUtil {
         return contentRoots.firstOrNull()?.path
     }
 
-    data class ModuleContainer(val name:String, var basePath:String)
+    data class ModuleContainer(val name: String, var basePath: String)
 
     private fun listToMap(modules: List<ModuleContainer>): Map<String, String> {
         return modules.associateBy({ it.name }, { it.basePath })
diff --git a/src/test/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsConfigurableTest.kt b/src/test/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsConfigurableTest.kt
index f4e53354..467347cd 100644
--- a/src/test/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsConfigurableTest.kt
+++ b/src/test/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/settings/FuzzierSettingsConfigurableTest.kt
@@ -77,6 +77,13 @@ class FuzzierSettingsConfigurableTest {
         assertTrue(settingsConfigurable.isModified())
     }
 
+    @Test
+    fun excludedCharacters() {
+        pre()
+        state.ignoredCharacters = "abc"
+        assertTrue(settingsConfigurable.isModified())
+    }
+
     @Test
     fun newTab() {
         pre()
diff --git a/src/test/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/util/FuzzierUtilTest.kt b/src/test/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/util/FuzzierUtilTest.kt
index 199cdf54..cd865904 100644
--- a/src/test/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/util/FuzzierUtilTest.kt
+++ b/src/test/kotlin/com/mituuz/fuzzier/util/FuzzierUtilTest.kt
@@ -258,6 +258,20 @@ class FuzzierUtilTest {
         assertEquals("file3", result[3].filename)
     }
 
+    @Test
+    fun `Test ignored characters`() {
+        val searchString = "HELLO/THERE/GENERAL/KENOBI"
+        val ignoredChars = "H/"
+        assertEquals("elloteregeneralkenobi", FuzzierUtil.cleanSearchString(searchString, ignoredChars))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `No ignored characters`() {
+        val searchString = "!#¤%(&`Soqwe'"
+        val ignoredChars = ""
+        assertEquals(searchString.lowercase(), FuzzierUtil.cleanSearchString(searchString, ignoredChars))
+    }
+
     private fun addElement(score: Int, fileName: String) {
         val fuzzyScore = FuzzyScore()
         fuzzyScore.streakScore = score