Contents

	Search the online manual for general information:
	Searching with Menus Searching with Commands Displaying and Reporting Search Results
For Help at any time, Press F1


Opening a Database

The Select a Database menu displays when more than one DIALOG OnDisc database is located due to:

•	Multiple CD-ROM drives set up for searching

•	Discs such as DIALOG OnDisc Discovery™ or Standard & Poor's Corporations that contain multiple databases on a single disc

•	Networked CD-ROM drives

•	Custom Paths configured for databases

After accepting the terms of the license agreement on the first screen by clicking OK, a dialog box presents the databases available to you.

1.	Select the database you want to use by clicking on it; to deselect a database, simply click it again.

2.	If the Accounting feature is enabled, two additional fields are displayed: Enter User Account and Comment.  Depending on the Accounting Setup features selected, you will need to enter an authorized account name or any name you wish to use.  The Comment field is optional and will display on the accounting report.

3	Click Open (or simply double-click the database name).

The database copyright screen is displayed and you can now begin your search.

If you insert a new disc into a drive, click Refresh All to list the database as a searchable disc.

Related Topics:

Changing to a Different Database

Creating a Custom Path

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Changing to a Different Database or Account Name

To change to another database:

1.	Click the Open/Change Database icon or pull down the File menu and select Open/Change Database  (Ctrl+O).  The dialog box listing the available databases on the current disc is displayed.

2.	Select the database you want to use by clicking it.

3.	Click Open (or simply double-click the database name).  If you have just completed a search in the previous database, a dialog box asks if you want to repeat the same search strategy in the new database. If you click Repeat (or press Enter), the current strategy will be executed in the new database.

To change to another Account Name:

1.	Click Change Account Name from the Accounting menu.

2.	Type the new name in the Enter Account Name field.  If Accounting-On - Track Usage, Authorized Users Only is selected on the Accounting Setup dialog box, the Account Name entered must exist in the Authorized Account list.

3.	Enter any optional comments in the Comment field.

4.	Click OK.

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Searching Multiple Concepts

To create the best search strategy for your topic:

1.	Determine exactly what your topic is and what results you expect to obtain. Start by writing down a one-sentence description of the topic.

For example, assume that the one-sentence description of your topic is:

Information about the vision capabilities of robots.

2.	Determine what individual concepts are within the topic's description.

Not all words in the topic description represent concepts that are important to your final results.  For example, information about or research on are not concepts that need to be part of your search strategy.

3.	For each of the concepts, think of alternative words or synonyms.

For the term robots, variations such as robot or robotics would be good synonyms.  For the term vision, you could also use visual or sight.  Make a note of the terms you think of so that it will be easy to remember to use them during the search.

As you work through Steps 2 and 3, ask yourself: what words must a record contain in order to be relevant?

4.	Perform the search one concept at a time.

Related Topics:

Using Modify Options

How a Search is Processed

Modifying a Search That Uses Different Indexes

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Using Modify Options

The Modify Search menu displays when you have a set of records from a previous search.

•	Click New Search if you want to clear the records from the last search you performed and start a new search.

•	Click Modify Search if you want to keep the records from the previous search and modify them with additional terms.

•	Click Add Set if you don't want to clear the Search History, but you do want to start a new search.

There are three Modify Search Options you can use to modify the current set of records you have retrieved:

Limit by including additional criteria (AND)	Reduce the current number of records by including another term in the strategy.  This requires that both terms appear in the results: Term 1 AND Term 2.
	Example: robot AND vision
Limit by excluding additional criteria (NOT)	Eliminate records that contain a particular term: Term 1 NOT Term 2.
	Example: robot NOT military
	Note: Use the NOT option with great caution.  It's easy to eliminate good records by mistake.
Expand by including alternate criteria (OR)	Increase the current set of records by including more terms or synonyms for a concept.  This requires that at least one of the terms appear in the results: Term 1 OR Term 2.
	Example: robot OR artificial intelligence
The Limit to Same options allow you to further specify records by restricting your records to the same:

Document	Restricts your search to terms in the same document type as found in the previous search.
Field	Restricts your search to terms in the same field as found in the previous search.
Subfield	Restrict additional terms found in the same subfield as found in the previous search.

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How a Search is Processed

Each additional set that is created during your search is built upon the previous set.  For example, let's say the first set (S1) contains all the references in the database to robot or robots and the second set (S2) contains all the records from S1 that also contain the concept vision.  Any modifications you request using the Search/Modify menu are always applied to the most recent set.

Suppose that you wish to add artificial intelligence as an alternate term for the robot concept in set S1.  If you add it at this point in the search using the OR-logic choice on the Modify Search dialog box, you will not get the results you might expect.  The modification would be applied to the most recent set (S3) and not to the robot set (S1).  You would expand the scope of set S3 to include records that contain the term artificial intelligence but not necessarily any terms for the vision concept.

To correctly modify Set 1 to include artificial intelligence, you must do it before adding the vision concept.  To do this, use the Delete Steps... option on the Search History screen to back up to the set that you want to modify.  Then reenter the remaining concepts.  See Deleting Steps in a Search Strategy.

Note: If you don't want to clear the Search History, but you do want to start a new search, choose Add Step from the Modify Search menu.


Modifying a Search That Uses Different Indexes

You can combine search concepts that use different indexes from the Search/Modify menu.

Example:

To locate all articles about genetics by Isaac Asimov:

1.	Select the Word/Phrase Index from the Search/Modify menu.

2.	Select terms for genetics and click OK.

3.	Select the Author Name Index from the Search/Modify menu.

4.	Click Modify search.

5.	Using the Author Name Index that displays, select entries for Asimov and click OK.

For tips on selecting terms for the various search options that you see on the Search/Modify menu, see Selecting Search Terms.

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Selecting Search Terms

The search methods available to you will depend on the search option that you are using.  For example, searching on words and phrases can be done in many different ways, but searching on the name of authors or journals can only be done one way.  Search options are located under the Search/Modify menu and submenus.

DIALOG OnDisc menus provide five different methods for selecting search terms:

Selecting Terms from an Index

Selecting from the Related Terms List

Entering Terms Directly

Selecting Terms from Displayed Documents

Using Limit Options


Select Terms from an Index
Selecting Terms from an Index

To select terms from an index:

1.	Pull down the Search/Modify menu and select a search option.  An index screen is displayed.

2.	Type in a search term in the Enter: field.  As you type, the section of the index where that term appears fills up the screen.  (You may not need to enter the whole word in order to find it in the index.)

3.	Select terms from the list by clicking them.  Deselect terms by clicking them again.

Use the scroll bar to move up and down the index.

Use the # Records to the right of each term to see how many records it will retrieve.

Use # Related terms in databases containing a thesaurus to display additional terms.

4.	Click OK.

Related Topics:

Selecting Numeric Ranges

Selecting Exact Phrases

Selecting Terms from the Related Terms List

Non-Searchable Words in Indexes

Shortcuts and Tips

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 Using Command Search

To access command mode:

1.	Access the Search History window to bring it to the front.  You can do this by clicking the Search History option under the Windows menu on the toolbar.

2.	Click Show/Use Dialog Commands.

Notice the question mark prompt and input area that appears.  You are now ready to enter in a SELECT Command.

Related Topics:

Using the SELECT Command

Using the BEGIN Command

Using the SORT Command

Deleting Steps in Your Search Strategy

Printing Your Search Strategy

Saving and Reusing Search Strategies

Combining Command Search and Menu Search

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Enter your assigned Account Name.


This comment appears on the accounting report and is entered through the Accounting Setup dialog box.


Selecting Numeric Ranges

There are several methods for selecting numeric ranges:

•	Using an Index Screen

•	Using the Numeric Search Dialog Box

•	Using the Enter Range Dialog Box


Using Index Screens to Search Numeric Ranges

Most search options involving numeric ranges (publication years, SIC codes, dollar values, etc.) use index screen selection.

Example:

To retrieve journal articles in the ERIC database that were published in 1985:

1.	Pull down the Search/Modify menu and select Year of Publication.

2.	On the Year of Publication Index screen, enter 1985.

3.	Select the term by clicking it; to deselect a term, click it again.

4.	Click OK and view the results.

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Using Dialog Boxes to Search Numeric Ranges

Financial information databases often use dialog boxes for entering the high and low numbers for the desired range.  There are three options available on the Numeric Search dialog box:

Greater than:	Greater than or equal to
Less than:	Less than or equal to
Between:	Exact range of numbers between a high and low value
Example:

To retrieve records in the Standard & Poor's Public Companies database with sales between $300 and $500 million:

1.	Pull down the Search/Modify menu and select Sales.

2.	In the Numeric Search dialog box, click Between.

3.	Enter 300M in the first box.

4.	Press Tab, and enter 500M in the second box.

5.	Click OK and view the results.

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Selecting Exact Phrases

Terms appearing in an index can be single words or multiple-word phrases.  Occasionally, however, you may want to search an exact phrase that does not appear in the index screen you are using.  If this occurs, you can enter the terms directly using an alternate search method.

For example, assume you want to find records containing the phrase video card and it does not appear in the Word/Phrase Index.  An alternate option for searching phrases, Words & Phrases, is available in most databases.  Using the Words & Phrases search option, you can enter terms directly and specify that you want exact phrases or words in proximity to each other.  (You can also search truncated words when using this method.)  See Entering Terms Directly.

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Non-Searchable Words in Indexes

There are sixteen words that cannot be searched in DIALOG OnDisc databases:

a 	AN	AND	ARE	AS	BY	FOR	FROM	IN

OF	ON	THAT	THE	THIS	TO	WITH	WOULD

These words are called non-searchable words, or stop words.  When viewing an index screen, you will not see these words appearing as selectable terms in the index.  (A stop word may appear, however, as part of a longer phrase in the index.  For example, a phrase such as Gulf of Mexico is selectable from an index screen, but the single word OF is not.)

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Shortcuts and Tips for Selecting Terms from an Index

•	Enter only as much as you need.  For many terms, entering the first few characters will bring up the section of the index that you need to see in order to select appropriate entries.

•	If you can tell from the current index screen that you are near the term(s) you want to select, use the scroll bar to move up or down in the index.

•	To select more terms from the same index, either backspace or press Home and enter in another term.  Use this technique to include synonyms or alternate terms in your strategy as you go.

•	To select a term and go directly to displaying records, double-click the term.  This technique bypasses clicking OK.  If you are selecting several terms from the same index screen, double-click the last term you select to go directly to displaying records.

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Selecting Terms from the Related Terms List

Related Terms List (thesaurus) is available in some databases to help you locate alternate terms and synonyms for your search concepts using a standardized list of subject headings.  The Related Terms List is accessible from the Word/Phrase Index or the Subject Heading Index.

From a Related Terms list screen you can:

•	Select search terms just as you do on a standard index screen.  Click the line for each term.

•	View more related terms for a term on the list.  Click to the right of click:.

•	Return to the index screen.  Click Back to Index.

•	Return to the previous screen.  Click Back One.

•	Click Cancel or OK when you are done.  These work the same as on an index screen.

Not all terms in the Word/Phrase Index have related terms.  Only terms that are standardized subject headings or cross-referenced terms have related terms.  (For example, many words appearing in the Word/Phrase Index are words from the title or abstract of a record.)  If a term has related terms, you will see a number appearing under the column # Related Terms and the instruction click to see:.

Notice that after the number of records shown, there is a parenthetical note for each term, such as (Related), (Narrower) or (Broader).  This note indicates the type of relationship that exists between the term and the term shown after Terms related to: .

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Subject Headings and Related Terms

Subject headings are given special treatment because they are taken from the database's standardized list of indexing terms and can greatly improve the quality of your search results.  Using the Related Terms List feature helps find appropriate subject headings and greatly increases the number of records retrieved.  Subject headings are also referred to as descriptors and identifiers.

In some databases, each subject heading is entered multiple ways in the Subject Heading Index, using rotations of the term.  For example, the ERIC subject heading computer assisted testing is entered in the index three ways:

COMPUTER ASSISTED TESTING
TESTING// COMPUTER ASSISTED
ASSISTED TESTING// COMPUTER

The double slash (//) indicates the point at which the subject heading was rotated; the word appearing after the double slash is the first word in the subject heading phrase.  Rotation allows you to locate record(s) indexed under a particular subject heading by searching on any word in the subject heading.

Another special feature of subject headings in some databases is the presence of subheadings.  For example, in the MEDLINE® database, there are standard subheadings such as adverse effects, pathology, diagnosis, etc. that are used with many subject headings.  These appear in the index immediately after the heading, separated by a double dash (--):

BIRTH INJURIES--DIAGNOSIS
BIRTH INJURIES--PATHOLOGY
BIRTH WEIGHT--DRUG EFFECTS

In the Ei Compendex®  database, these are typical subject headings with subheadings:

AUTOMOBILE--COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN
AUTOMOBILE--MACHINING
PRINTED CIRCUITS--ROBOTIC ASSEMBLY

You will often find that after locating a few records, there are subject headings that would be useful to the strategy as additional synonyms.  You can make a note of appropriate subject headings found in this way and use them to modify the search.  This can also be done using the technique of Selecting Terms from Displayed Documents.

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Entering Terms Directly

Entering terms directly is an alternative to from an index screen and is especially useful when you have numerous synonyms and word variants to enter.

When entering terms directly, you can truncate words to retrieve different endings for a word stem.  For example, you can search the word stem robot and retrieve robot, robots, and robotics without having to enter the terms individually.  You can also use this method to specify that two words be no more than a specified number of words away from each other in the record, which is referred to as word proximity.  This is a powerful search method for full-text databases.

Example:

Retrieve records for robot, robots, robotic, robotics, and artificial intelligence in the Compendex®  database.

1.	Under Additional Search Options, select Word & Phrases.

2.	Enter ROBOT?.  The question mark is the 'wildcard' (or truncation) symbol.

3.	To Include the phrase artificial intelligence as an alternate term, press Tab to move to the next box and enter ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

4.	Click OK and view the results.

Note to Command Searchers: If you are an online searcher, this method will look familiar to you; however, the operators used are different.  For example, instead of (3W), you use three periods between words.

Related Topics:

Truncating Terms

Word Proximity

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Truncating Terms

You can truncate a term by entering a question mark at the end of the word stem.  This technique retrieves words of any length that begin with the root.  With DIALOG OnDisc, you can also specify the maximum length for the words you want to be selected.

Example:

To search on words that start with a word stem and that have no more than one character after the stem, enter ? ? (question mark, space, question mark).

ROBOT? ? retrieves:	robot
robots

To search on words that start with a word stem and that have no more than two characters after the stem, enter ?? (two questions marks).

ROBOT?? retrieves:	robot
robots
robotic

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Word Proximity

When you search on a phrase such as artificial intelligence, you retrieve records containing that exact phrase.  This is equivalent to specifying that you want those two words to appear next to each other (no intervening words) and in that order.  With DIALOG OnDisc, you can also specify that you are willing to allow for intervening words to occur in Menu searches.  This technique can effectively broaden your strategy while still retrieving relevant records.  Word proximity searching is especially effective in databases containing the complete text of publications.

Example:

To retrieve the phrase artificial intelligence, as well as phrases such as artificial machine intelligence, you must allow for one word to intervene.  To do this, one period must be located between the two words:

Enter: ARTIFICIAL.INTELLIGENCE

To broaden the strategy further, enter more periods between the terms.  The number of periods specifies the maximum number of intervening terms allowed.  In order to search on phrases that contain one or more stop words, you must replace each non-searchable word with a period.

To search the phrase cost of living:

Enter COST.LIVING

To search the phrase run for the money:

Enter RUN..MONEY

Note: The period proximity operator does not work in command search strings.

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Selecting Terms from Displayed Documents

The from Selected Display Text feature allows you to select a term appearing in the displayed record and then have that term searched.

Note: You can select text from any record display format except the Title List display.

Example:

To select terms from text:

1.	Drag the mouse across the term you want to select.  Be sure to drag from the first character of the term through to the last character; do not include any spaces or punctuation that precede or follow the term.

2.	From the Search/Modify menu, select from Selected Display Text.

3.	On the Modify Search dialog box, click Expand by including alternate criteria (OR).

4.	Click Modify Search.  The records resulting from this modified strategy display.

Note: In a database that uses a leading asterisk (*) to denote a major descriptor, you can include the asterisk in your selection if you want to restrict your search to major descriptors only.

Caution: When you select text to be used in a search modification, the field in which the text appeared in the record is applied to the strategy.  For example, if you select the term bicycling from the title of a record, and then use the from Selected Displayed Text feature, you will only retrieve records where bicycling appears in the title field.  You will not retrieve all records containing bicycling anywhere in the record.

In addition, the way in which fields are indexed also affects what text you can select for searching.  In general, descriptors and identifiers are indexed both by word and by the entire phrase.  However, fields like the title and abstract are only indexed by the individual words, so you can select only single words from these fields.  If you attempt to select more than one word from a title or abstract, you will see an error message.

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Using Limit Options

Limit Options allow you to restrict a set of records to several options, such as language or journal articles.  (The Limit Options are grayed out on the menu until you have selected a set of records.)  This method does not bring up another screen for entering terms, but works immediately on the current set of records.

Example:

To limit an existing set of records retrieved from the Ei Compendex® database to journal articles written in English:

1.	Pull down the Search/Modify menu and select Limit Options.

The submenu lists the Limit Options available.

2.	Click English Only.

(If you have multiple limits to apply, as in this example, you can enter them in any order.)  The limit works immediately on the current set of records.

3.	Pull down the Search/Modify menu and select Limit Options.

4.	Select Journal Articles Only.

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Using the Search History Window

The Search History window displays all the steps you have taken while creating the current search strategy.  When the Search History window is the active window, you can view the current search strategy, print the strategy, or delete steps in the strategy.

Also available as an option while in the Search History window is command searching.  Command Search is recommended for users who are already experienced searchers of The Dialog Corporation's DIALOG online service and thoroughly familiar with its command language.

The search strategy that appears in the Search History window can be saved and reused in another database.  For example, if you are researching a topic that is multidisciplinary, you may wish to search in more than one database without having to reenter your search terms.  For instruction on this capability, see Saving and Reusing Search Strategies.

Related Topics:

Viewing Your Search History

Printing Your Search History

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Viewing Your Search History

To view the Search History window, click any part of the window and it will be brought to the front as the active window. There are three column headings:

Step	Displays the set number.  S1 represents the first set, S2 the second set, etc.  This example has two sets.
Items	Shows how many records were retrieved for that set.
Description	Indicates what terms were used to create that set.
When you click Show/Use Dialog Commands, the display under Description changes to show you the commands that were used to process your search.

When you click Include Postings, a fourth column appears:

Postings	Indicates how many times the terms occurred in all the records.
An asterisk (*) appears next to the currently displayed set.  When you want to display records from another set in your search history, simply click the line of that set in the Search History window and the record display screen changes.

Note: This technique only affects which set is used for displaying records.  The current set for future search modifications remains unchanged.

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Changing to a Different Account Name

To change to another Account Name:

1.	Click Change Account Name from the Accounting menu.

2.	Type the new name in the Enter Account Name field.  If Accounting-On - Track Usage, Authorized Users Only is selected on the Accounting Setup dialog box, the Account Name entered must exist in the Authorized Account list.

3.	Enter any optional comments in the Comment field.

4.	Click OK.

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Printing Your Search History

To print a copy of your Search History, choose Print Search History from the File menu.

From this display, you can choose from the following Print Range options:

All:	Prints all search histories.

Selection:	Prints the highlighted search histories.

Pages:	Prints the pages specified in the From: and To: boxes.

From: Print records starting at n.

To: Print records ending at n.

Quality refers to the printer resolution required.

Print to File allows you to send the information to a hard disk file.

Copies allows you to enter the number of copies you want to print.

Collate Copies prints the document in order when multiple copies are requested.

Setup assists you in configuring available printers.

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Saving and Reusing Search Strategies

DIALOG OnDisc provides two methods for reusing a search strategy without having to reenter your search terms: temporary and permanent.  Each time you finish a search in one database and then open another, you are automatically asked if you want to repeat the search strategy in the new database.  The strategy is retained temporarily for this purpose.  However, a search strategy that appears in the Search History window can be saved permanently and reused in another database (or the same database) later.

A few tips are useful when preparing to search the same topic in multiple databases:

•	Keep in mind differences in the databases' search options.

•	For example, searching on words or phrases in a full-text database will typically retrieve more records than a bibliographic database simply because there are more words in the index.  Similarly, one database may have a company name index, but another one may not.  (A strategy will retrieve zero records if the specified field does not exist in the database.)

•	Remember that just as one database's subject focus differs from another, so will the requirements for appropriate search terms.

•	Don't rely solely on standardized subject headings (or descriptors) that can vary greatly from one database to another. The medical subject heading birth rate--trends may retrieve precisely the records you want from MEDLINE®, but it won't necessarily retrieve anything in the NTIS database.  Use synonyms and alternate terms in your strategy.

•	Consider deleting some search steps before saving the strategy in order to make the saved strategy less database-specific.

Related Topics:

Repeating Your Search Strategy in a Different Database

Saving a Search Strategy

Using a Saved Search

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Repeating Your Search Strategy in a Different Database

Each time you finish a search in one database and then open another database, you are automatically asked if you want to repeat the search strategy in the new database.

Example:

To repeat a search strategy in a second database:

1.	Click the Change Disc icon or pull down the File menu and select Open/Change Database (Ctrl+O).

2.	Select the new database.

3.	When the Repeat Search? dialog box is displayed, click Repeat (or press Enter).

The search strategy is immediately repeated in the new database.  The commands in the strategy are displayed as they are being executed.  When the processing is finished, the Search History window displays the usual summary of current sets.

Note: When using Menu Mode and the check box for Show/Use Dialog Commands has not been selected, if you repeat a search and the final modification results in zero records in the new database, then no sets are retained. To restore the search history, select the Show/Use Dialog Commands check box.

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Saving a Search Strategy

To save a search strategy:

1.	Pull down the File menu and select the Save Search Strategy... option.

The Save Search As dialog box is displayed.

2.	If you do not want to use the default directory (ONDISC), change the Drives and Directories dialog boxes to the location where you want the strategy saved.

3.	Enter a name for the search strategy. File names can be up to eight characters in length and the file type will default to .SRC.

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Using a Saved Search

To reuse a saved search strategy:

1.	Pull down the Search/Modify menu and select Use Saved Search.

If you already have a search in progress, you will be asked if you want to Start a New Search or Modify Existing Search.  Click your choice.

The Save User Display Format As dialog box displays all of your saved search strategies.

2.	To use one of the strategies, select it and click Open.  (Alternately, you can just double-click it.)

The commands in the strategy are displayed as they are being executed.  When the processing is finished, the results are summarized in the Search History window.  Notice that only the final step displays, along with the name of the saved strategy that was used.  To see all the steps in the strategy, click Show/Use Dialog Commands.

Note 1:  If you have a search already in progress and execute a saved search that refers to set numbers, the sets will be renumbered appropriately.

Note 2:  If in Menu Mode, a saved search has as its final search a result of zero records, no sets are retained. To restore the search sets, just select the Show/Use Dialog Commands check box.

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Ending the Search

When you are finished with a search topic, you can start with another topic, change to another database, or leave the DIALOG OnDisc program.

To start a search on a new topic:

1.	Pull down the Search/Modify menu and select the search option you want.

The Modify Search dialog box is displayed.

2.	Click Start a New Search.

To exit the program:

1.	Click Reset for New User to clear any special settings such as window positions or formats that you may have entered during the search.

2.	Pull down the File menu and select Exit (Alt+F4).

Related Topics:

Changing to a different database

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Using the SELECT Command

To use the SELECT command:

1.	Click the Search History window to bring it to the front.

2.	Click Show/Use Dialog Commands.

Notice the question mark prompt and input area that appear.

3.	Enter a SELECT command (SELECT ROBOTS) or use the abbreviation S.

As you type in a SELECT command, your entry automatically displays in upper case.

4.	Press Enter to execute the command.

5.	Click Include Postings to find out the number of occurrences of your terms.

6.	To view the text of a record retrieved, click the database name on the Windows menu.

Note: Refer to the Help index under Basic Index Fields for the database-specific options available.

Related Topics:

Using Command Search

Using the BEGIN Command

Using the SORT Command

Deleting Steps in Your Search Strategy

Printing Your Search Strategy

Saving and Reusing Search Strategies

Combining Command Search and Menu Search

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Using the SORT Command

The format for the SORT command is:

SORT <set number> / ALL / <field(s) for sorting, separated by commas>

Example:

To sort the records in set S2 alphabetically by author name, and within the same author name, by title, enter the following:

SORT S2/ALL/AU,TI

A new set is created.

If a record does not contain data in the field being used for the sort, it will be placed at the end of the set when a sort is processed.

Note: A maximum number of two sort fields can be entered in a SORT command.  Refer to the Help index under Sort Options for the database-specific sort fields available.

Related Topics:

Sorting by Ascending or Descending Order

Sorting by Frequency of Term Occurrence

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Sorting by Ascending or Descending Order

The order of the sort can be specified by using A for ascending order (A to Z for alphabetic entries, lowest to highest for numeric entries), or D for descending order (Z to A for alphabetic entries, highest to lowest for numeric entries).  If no order is specified, ascending order is assumed.

Tip	Click the sort icon on the toolbar to automatically sort your records.


Turning Accounting On and Off

To toggle the accounting timer on and off, click Stop Accounting Timer on the Accounting menu; the default setting is OFF.

To select the type of track usage you want, click Setup Accounting on the Accounting menu.

•	Accounting OFF: no usage statistics will be saved after you end your search session.

•	Accounting ON - Track usage, No Account Name Required: usage information is automatically collected and saved without requiring the user to enter any account name.  Choose this option if you simply want to collect information about how frequently your DIALOG OnDisc databases are used.

•	Accounting ON - Track usage, Any Account Name Accepted: users will be prompted to enter an account name of up to 16 characters before they can access DIALOG OnDisc databases.  Usage information is automatically collected and saved.  Choose this option if access to your CD-ROM workstation is limited to people who will enter consistent account names.  You will be able to create reports that show usage for each account name used.  Searchers can also enter a comment line at the time they enter their account name; this comment line is displayed on the Detailed Reports that can be generated.

•	Accounting ON - Track usage, Authorized Accounts Only: users will be required to enter an account name that matches one in the authorized list you create.  Usage information is automatically collected and saved.  Choose this option for maximum control of access to your CD-ROM workstation.

Related Topics:

Creating a List of Authorized Users

Creating a Rates Table

Generating Accounting Reports

Changing Account Names

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Sorting by Frequency of Term Occurrence

Use the PO parameter to sort by the Frequency of Qualifying Terms in Command Search.

Example:

To rearrange the current search results so that the records with the most occurrences of the search term display first, enter the following:

SORT/ALL/PO


Deleting Steps in the Search Strategy

Use the Search History window to delete steps from your search strategy.  This is useful when you want to eliminate the last step in your search strategy.

Example:

1.	Click Delete Steps....

The Delete Search Step(s) dialog box is displayed.

2.	Enter the number of the last set you want to retain.

3.	Click Delete Rest (or press Enter).

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Using the BEGIN Command

The BEGIN command is used to clear an existing search in Command Search and start a new search, while staying in the same database.

Example:

To use the BEGIN command, enter BEGIN (or B) at the ? prompt and press Enter.

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Combining Command Search and Menu Search

When you use Command Search, all of the features of DIALOG OnDisc menus are fully accessible at the same time.  You can go back and forth between Menu Search and Command Search within the same search, making it possible for you to tailor the search process to your needs.

Note: If you have been using commands exclusively and click off the Show/Use Dialog Commands box, any sets created using DIALOG commands will not display in the Search History window, even though they are still available.  These sets will reappear when you switch back to Command Search.

Some steps in the search process are more easily accomplished using Command Search; others are simplified by using Menu Search.

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Getting Help

If you can't find the answer to your question in the DIALOG OnDisc for Windows User's Guide or the online help, please send us an e-mail and let us know.

DIALOG OnDisc Documentation questions

And Customer Support:	ondisc@dialog.com


Displaying Records from a Previous Set

The records that display as you perform a search are the records resulting from the final step in the search strategy.  However, it is possible to display records from a previous set that you see listed in the Search History window.  The Search History window displays an asterisk next to the currently displayed set.  If you want to display records from another set, simply click the line of that set in the Search History window and the record display screen changes.

Note:  Although you can display records from a previous set, the last search set is always the current search.


Sorting Records

Before you decide to display, print, or save your search results, you may want to rearrange the records in a more useful order than the default order.  The sort option allows you to sort your records by the information (fields) in the records or the frequency of your search terms.

To sort by the information in the records in descending:

1.	Pull down the Sort menu and choose By Information in Records....

2.	Click a field to sort the information by.  You can optionally click a secondary field to sort by.

3.	Click Descending order.

4.	Click Sort.

Note: You can undo any sort by pulling down the Sort menu and selecting Undo Sort.

Related Topics:

Sorting by Information in Records

Sorting by Frequency of Search Terms

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Sorting by Information in Records

Sorting your search results alphabetically or numerically can greatly enhance their usefulness.

Example:

To sort records in alphabetic order by author, and within that in alphabetic order by title in ascending order.

1.	Pull down the Sort menu and choose By Information in Records....

A dialog box is displayed that lists all the fields that can be used for sorting in the current database.

2.	Click AU-Author in the left-hand column.

3.	Click TI-Title in the right-hand column.

At the bottom of the Sorting dialog box are options for the Order of the sort.  Ascending order means alphabetically from A to Z, or numerically from lowest to highest.  Descending order means alphabetically from Z to A, or numerically from highest to lowest.

4.	Click ASCENDING on both sides.

5.	Click Sort (or press Enter).

Numerical sorting works in precisely the same way as the alphabetical sorting.  If a record does not contain data in the field being used for the sort, it will be placed at the end of the set when a sort is processed.

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Sorting by Frequency of Search Terms

Sorting by Frequency of Search Terms places the records containing the most occurrences at the beginning of the set.  Since the frequency of your terms within a record often corresponds to the relevancy of the record, this technique can be used to view records that may be of particular interest.

To use this sort option, pull down the Sort menu and select Frequency of Qualifying Terms.  The set is sorted immediately and records with the most occurrences of your search terms display first.

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Using Predefined Formats

Predefined formats can vary greatly from one database to another.  There are, however, three general types of formats that are available in most DIALOG OnDisc databases: an Abbreviated format, a Key Words in Context format, and the Complete Record Tagged format.  Each of these is described in this section.

Related Topics:

Using the Abbreviated  Format

Using the Key Word In Context (KWIC) Format

Using the Complete Record Tagged Format

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Using the Abbreviated Format

Each database has one abbreviated format that is especially useful when you want a quick view of the full set of records.  The abbreviated format displays only one line of text from each record.  This makes it easy to verify that your search strategy is retrieving the kinds of records you want or to determine which records you want to see in a fuller format.

For most bibliographic and full-text DIALOG OnDisc records, the abbreviated format is the Title List format.  From the Title List, or other abbreviated format display, you can double click the text (not the number) of any item to display that record in the Complete Record format.  You can also click the text once and then pull down the Display menu to select a format in which to view that record.

For non-bibliographic databases, the abbreviated format varies.  For example, in the Standard & Poor's Public database, the abbreviated format is a Company Names.

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Using the Key Word In Context (KWIC) Format

The Key Word In Context (KWIC) format displays only the section(s) of each record where the terms you used in your search appear.  In addition, the Title field (or similar field) will display when you use KWIC.  The KWIC display option is effectively used to determine the context in which your search terms appear and to gauge the relevance of the results.

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Using the Complete Record Tagged Format

If you want to save the results of your search and, at some future time, manipulate or reformat the records using a database management software program, you may find it helpful to have the records in a tagged format.

The tagged format includes two-character tags at the beginning of each field, end-of-field markers (the pipe symbol), and subfield markers if applicable (the ^ symbol).  Subfield markers are used when there are multiple entries within the same field.

The tagged format is available when the complete record is displayed, or as an option with other formats when you save the records to disk.

Related Topics:

Saving Search Results to Disk

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Creating a User-Defined Display Format

The User-Defined Format allows you to specify precisely which fields in the records you want to display. When you create a User-Defined format, you can save it and reuse it with other searches.  You can also print and save records using a User-Defined format.

Example:

To create a User-Defined format:

1.	Pull down the Display menu and select User-Defined Format.

The User-Defined Format dialog box is displayed.

2.	To select the fields you want included in the User-Defined Format, click them.

•	To select a range of fields, drag the mouse through the range.

•	To select non-consecutive fields, hold down the Ctrl key and select the fields.

•	To deselect a field, click it again.

•	To deselect all fields, click Clear.

•	To find a field, click Find Field.

3.	Click OK Display.

To use a previously defined format, click Use Saved.

Related Topics:

Saving a User-Defined Display Format

Recalling a Previously Saved User-Defined Display Format

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Saving a User-Defined Display Format

To save a User-Defined Format:

1.	Pull down the Display menu and select User-Defined Format.

The User-Defined format dialog box is displayed with your previously selected fields.

2.	Click Save.

The Save User Display Format As dialog box is displayed:

3.	If you do not want to use the default directory (ONDISC), change the Drives and Directories dialog boxes to the location where you want the strategy saved.

4	Enter a name for the User-Defined Format.  File Names can be up to eight characters in length and the File Type must have a .UDF extension.

Note:  The User-Defined format will be saved to the default directory.  If you want to save the format to another directory, change the directory using the Drives: and Directories: boxes.

Related Topics:

Creating a User-Defined Display Format

Recalling a Previously Saved User-Defined Display Format

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Recalling a Saved User-Defined Display Format

Once you have created User-Defined formats, you can recall them during another search and use them as your display format.

Example:

1.	Pull down the Display menu and select User-Defined Format.

The User-Defined Format dialog box is displayed.

2.	Click Use Saved.

The Save User Display Format As dialog box displays the saved User-Defined formats.

3.	Click one of the User-Defined formats in the list, and click OK.  (Alternatively, you can double-click the format name.)

4.	When the user-defined format is displayed, click OK Display (or press Enter) to begin displaying records.

Related Topics:

Creating a User-Defined Display Format

Saving a User-Defined Display Format

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Recalling a User-Defined Report Format

To use a previously saved user-defined report format:

1.	Pull down the Display menu and select User-Defined Report.  The User Defined Reports screen is displayed.

2.	Click Use Saved. The Open Saved Report Format dialog box displays.

3.	Browse to the location of the .REP file format that you want to use and select it.

4.	Click Open to choose the report format.

5.	Click OK to display the report using the saved format.

Related Topics:

Creating a User-Defined Report Format

Saving a User-Defined Report Format

Printing Reports

Printing Wide Reports

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Creating a User-Defined Report Format

To create a user-defined report format:

1.	Pull down the Display menu and select User-Defined Report. The User-Define Reports screen is displayed.

2.	Select the fields to be displayed by double-clicking them (or alternately, you can click and then drag them to the display window at the top of the dialog box).  To locate a field, click Find Field.

Each field creates one column in the Report.

The Report Width Indicator updates as each field is added. If your report width exceeds 80 characters, the horizontal scroll bar is activated.  (The total width of a report format can be up to 650 characters, or 40 fields, whichever comes first.) Wide reports may need to be printed a few columns at a time.

•	Resize the report columns by dragging the lower right-hand corner of the field's box.

•	Remove a column by grabbing it and dragging it out of the dialog box.

•	Rearrange the order of the columns by grabbing one with the mouse and moving it to the left or right.

3.	To Save the report format to use again, click Save.  The Save Report Format As dialog box displays.

4.	Enter a filename of up to 8 characters for the report format. A .REP file extension is automatically applied to user-defined reports.

5.	Click OK Display.

Related Topics:

Saving a User-Defined Report Format

Recalling a Saved Report Format

Printing Reports

Printing Wide Reports

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Printing Reports

To print a report:

1.	Pull down the File menu and select Print Documents... or click the Print Documents icon on the Toolbar.

The Print Listings dialog box is displayed.

2.	Click All documents or enter a range.

3.	Click Print.

Related Topics:

Creating a User-Defined Report Format

Saving a User-Defined Report Format

Recalling a Saved Report Format

Printing Wide Reports

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Printing, wide reports; Reports, printing
Printing Wide Reports

If you create a report that is wider than the maximum number of characters per line that your printer can handle, you can print sections of the report one at a time.  If the report exceeds 80 characters (as shown by the Total Width Indicator), a horizontal scroll bar appears. Use this to reposition the report before printing; the columns that show in the display window will be reprinted.  In a very wide report, you may need to use Print Documents... a few times to print all the columns.  As an alternative, you can first save the report to disk and then use a word processing or spreadsheet program to reformat the data or change it to a smaller font.

Related Topics:

Creating a User-Defined Report Format

Saving a User-Defined Report Format

Recalling a Saved Report Format

Printing Reports

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Saving a User-Defined Report to a Disk

To save a user-defined report to disk:

1.	Pull down the File menu and select Save Documents... or click the Save Document icon on the toolbar.

The Save Document As dialog box is displayed.

Use this dialog box to specify:

•	where to save the report (which drive and directory); the default directory is ONDISC.

•	what to name the document that will be created from the report.  File names can be up to eight characters.

•	which records to save: all companies in the report or a range of companies within the report.

•	what data format you want.  If you plan to import the report into a spreadsheet application, the recommended data format is normally Tab Delimited or Comma (CSV) .

2.	In the File Name field, enter the name of the file.

3.	Click ALL to save all records.

4.	Click OK (or press Enter).

Related Topics:

Creating a User-Defined Report Format

Recalling a Saved Report Format

Printing Reports

Printing Wide Reports

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Changing Font Size for Display Results

The normal display of records on the screen uses a nine-point courier typeface.  You can change the font, font style (italics, bold), and font size (up to 15 points) using the Font menu.

Example:

To increase the font to 15 points:

1.	Pull down the Options menu on the main menu bar and select Font.

The Font dialog box displayed.

2.	Enter 15 in the Size: box (or selecting the number).

3.	Click OK.

The screen updates with the larger fonts.

Note: The point size used for the screen display will not affect the point size used for printing records.

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Marking Records for Printing or Saving

You may not want to print or save all the records retrieved by your search.  As you scan the displayed records, you can mark them for later printing or saving by clicking the Marked box at the bottom of the screen.  An X appears in the Marked box.

If you switch to the Title List (or other abbreviated format) display, marked records appear with their item numbers highlighted.  You can also mark a record while in the abbreviated display format by clicking its item number.  Clicking the number again will unmark the record.

You can easily display just the marked records (when using any format other than the abbreviated format).  Simply hold down the Ctrl key while clicking Next or Prev to jump to marked records only.

Note:  Sorting a set will unmark all the records in the set.  A maximum of 150 records can be marked at a time.

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Printing Search Results

To print a set of records that you've just created:

1.	Pull down the Display menu and select any format other than the abbreviated format.

2.	Pull down the File menu and select Print Documents (Ctrl+P) or click the Print Documents icon on the Toolbar.

The Print Listings dialog box is displayed.  Use this dialog box to specify:

•	which documents to print:

only the current record (the one just displayed)

or	all records in the set

or	a range of records within the set

or	only the marked records

•	whether to have page breaks between records

•	whether to include a header for each record (e.g., record 1 of nn, record 2 of nn, etc.)

•	whether to preface the printout with the search history

•	whether to add page numbers to the bottom of your print out

•	whether to include the database name as a banner at the bottom of your print out

3.	After entering your specifications in the dialog box, click Print.

Related Topics:

Creating a User-Defined Report Format

Recalling a Saved Report Format

Printing Reports

Printing Wide Reports

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Saving Search Results to Disk

To save a set of records to a hard or floppy disk:

1.	Pull down the Display menu and select any format other than the abbreviated format.

2.	Pull down the File menu and select Save Documents... or click the Save Document icon on the toolbar.

The Save Documents As dialog box is displayed.  Use this dialog box to specify:

•	where to save the records (which drive and directory)

•	what to name the document that will be created from the set of records

•	whether to have page breaks between records

•	whether to include a header for each record (e.g., record 1 of nn, record 2 or nn, etc.)

•	which records to save:

only the current record (the one just displayed)

or	all records in the set

or	a range of records within the set

or	only the marked records

•	what data format you want for the document

3.	In the File Name box, enter the name the document.

4.	Click All nn records in the set.

5.	Click OK to save the records.

Related Topics:

Using Non-Standard Formats for Saving Records to Disk

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Using Non-Standard Formats for Saving Records to Disk

There are five formats options available for saving records:

Standard Format

Tagged Format

Comma (CSV) Format

Tab Delimited Format

Fixed Format

If you want to import data from DIALOG OnDisc into another program, such as a spreadsheet program, consider creating a user-defined report format before saving your output.

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Standard Record Format

An example of the standard record format is shown below:

If you want to import data from DIALOG OnDisc into another program, such as a spreadsheet program, consider creating a user-defined report format before saving your output.

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Tagged Record Format

Tagged records include a two-character code, or tag, in front of each field in the record, as shown in the sample record below.  The tagged format includes the two-character tags at the beginning of each field, as well as end-of-field markers (the pipe symbol), and subfield markers, if applicable (the ^ symbol).  Subfield markers are used when there are multiple entries within the same field.  For example, in the preceding record, there are multiple descriptors, separated by the ^ marker.

The tagged format is available as an option when you save records to disk and also as a display or print format for the complete record.

If you want to import data from DIALOG OnDisc into another program, such as a spreadsheet program, consider creating a user-defined report format before saving your output.

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Comma (CSV) Record Format

The Comma (or CSV) data format produces stored records, such as the sample below.

If you want to import data from DIALOG OnDisc into another program, such as a spreadsheet program, consider creating a user-defined report format before saving your output.

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Fixed Record Format

Records in Fixed format appear as shown below:

If you want to import data from DIALOG OnDisc into another program, such as a spreadsheet program, consider creating a user-defined report format before saving your output.

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Opens the currently highlighted database.  To open a database, click on the database name to highlight it and then click Open.


Refreshes the list of available CD-ROM databases.


Clears the current set of records and starts a new search.


Keeps the current set of records and lets you limit or expand on them with new term(s).  Choose one of the Modify Search Options before clicking Modify Search.


Keeps the records from the previous search term(s)  AND the new term(s).


Keeps the records from the previous search term(s) that do NOT include the new term(s).


Keeps the records from the previous search term(s) OR the new term(s).


Restricts your search to terms in the same document type as found in the previous search.


Restricts your search to terms in the same field as found in the previous search.


Restrict additional terms found in the same subfield as found in the previous search.


De-selects all highlighted fields in the current User-Defined Format.


Choose a previously defined format that has been saved on the hard disk.  To use a previously defined format, click Use Save and select the format name.


Stores the user-defined format on the hard drive.  To save the format, click Save and give the format a name.


Searches the list of displayable fields for a specified field name.


Prints contiguous page numbers on the bottom of your print out.


Include all records in the document.


The amount of money, in dollars and cents, to charge per minute of search time.


Enter up to eight alphanumeric characters.  The password is not case sensitive.


Enter the first record number to include in the document.


Enter the last record number to include in the document.


Enter the text you want to display with the user's logon dialog box.


Click to edit the rate table.


Click to edit the authorized user table.


Prints multiple copies in document order.


Prints records on separate pages.


Inserts a header at the top of each page.


Inserts the search history before each record.


Selects the current record only.


Selects the marked records only.


Using DIALOG OnDisc Accounting

The Accounting option allows you to track usage on DIALOG OnDisc databases and generate reports based on that usage. This is an optional feature that does not have to be configured for you to use DIALOG OnDisc. You can enter rates for searching, viewing, and saving records, and generate accounting reports to bill those rates back to your clients or library patrons for searches performed.

To access the accounting features, click Accounting on the main menu bar.  To set up accounting:

1.	Select the accounting mode you want to use.

2.	Create a list of authorized users and databases to track.

3.	Create a rate table for each database.

4.	Select the directory for the files created by the accounting software.

Note to Network Administrators: Accounting files are written, as a default, to the same directory that has the DIALOG OnDisc executable program file.  If users can not, or should not, write to this directory, specify another writeable directory for the accounting files using the Set Accounting File Directory option on the Setup Accounting dialog box.  Archive files should also be set to a writeable directory using Set Accounting Archive Directory option on this same dialog box

5.	Password protect the accounting and preference setup (optional) by entering the same case-sensitive password in both fields.

Related Topics:

Creating a List of Authorized Users

Turning Accounting On and Off

Creating a Rates Table

Generating Accounting Reports

Changing Account Names

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To select the type of track usage you want, click one of the following:

Accounting OFF: no usage statistics will be saved after you end your search session.

Accounting ON - Track usage, No Account Name Required: usage information is automatically collected and saved without requiring the user to enter any account name.

Accounting ON - Track usage, Any Account Name Accepted: users will be prompted to enter an account name of up to 16 characters before they can access DIALOG OnDisc databases.

Accounting ON - Track usage, Authorized Accounts Only: users will be required to enter an account name that matches one in the authorized list you of users.


Creating a List of Authorized Users

If you choose Accounting ON - Track usage, Authorized Accounts Only on the Setup Accounting dialog box, you must create a list of account names, one of which must be entered before a user can gain access to a DIALOG OnDisc database.

To create an account name:

1.	Click Setup Accounting on the Accounting menu.

2.	Click Accounting ON - Track usage, Authorized Accounts Only to activate the accounting configuration radio buttons.

3.	Click Edit Authorized Users.

4.	Enter in an Account name up to 16 characters in length.  For example, enter Marketing.

5.	Press Tab or Enter to advance to the first Additional Information field.  The additional information fields are optional and can be used to specify the name of the searcher, project, or client, as needed (up to 25 characters in length).

6.	Click Add to add the user.

•	Click Update to revise information for the highlighted account name.

•	Click Delete to remove the highlighted account name.

•	Click Clear to erase information in the account name and additional information boxes.

7.	At this point you can add more account names by repeating Steps 3 through 6, or click OK to finish.

8.	To password protect the list of authorized account names, click Password Protect Accounting and Preference Setup on the Setup Accounting dialog box.  Enter the same password in both fields.

Related Topics:

Turning Accounting On and Off

Creating a Rates Table

Generating Accounting Reports

Changing Account Names

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Creating a Rates Table

You can enter rates for individual DIALOG OnDisc CD-ROM databases or set default rates to use for all databases.  The rates are then used to create totals on the generated report.

To enter rates for a database:

1.	Click Setup Accounting on the Accounting menu.

2.	Click Edit Rate Table on the Setup Accounting dialog box.

3.	Enter the rates for any or all options available.  Rates must be entered in decimal units representing dollar-and-cents and can range from 00.00 to 99.99. For example, a charge of $2.25 would be entered as 2.25.

4.	If the rates are to be used for the default, click OK.

5.	If the rates are to be used for a specific database, click Add. The list of available databases is displayed. With the database name highlighted, click OK and the rates are assigned to that database.

•	Use Copy to copy rates from one database to another.

•	Use Delete to remove rates from a database.

•	Use Zero to clear the amount in all rate fields.

Note: If Accounting ON - Track usage, Authorized Accounts Only is selected, the account name will be required in order to select a database.

Related Topics:

Creating a List of Authorized Users

Turning Accounting On and Off

Generating Accounting Reports

Changing Account Names

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Generating Accounting Reports

To generate an accounting report:

1.	Click Generate Accounting Reports from the Accounting menu.  The Accounting Usage Report dialog box is displayed.

2.	Verify the log file to be used for the report in the Select Report Source section of the dialog box.

•	The Current Log File is the accumulation of all database activity recorded when accounting is turned on.  It is saved to the CDUSAGE.ACT file.  This is the default.

•	The Archived Log File is the accumulation of all database activity recorded when the current log file is archived to CDUSAGE.ARC.    You can archive the current log file at any time by clicking Archive on this dialog box.

3.	Choose the time range of the report in the Select Time Filter section of the dialog box.

•	All includes data from the entire log file selected.

•	Today Only limits the data to the current date.  This is the default.

•	Specify Range allows you to enter a beginning and ending date to be included in the report.

4.	Choose the type of sort (by Database or by Account Name) for the report in the Select Report Options section of the dialog box.  You must select one of these to generate the report.

•	Sort by Database organizes the data in alphabetic order by database name.

•	Sort by Account organizes the data in alphabetic order by account name.

5.	Choose the type of report (Summary or Detailed) in the Select Report Options section of the dialog box.

•	Summary Report adds all of the transactions recorded under each database or account name (depending on what option you selected in Step 4) and produces a subtotal for each one, plus a grand total.

•	Detailed Report lists each search session individually by either database or account name (depending on what option you selected in Step 4).  The date and time of each search is sown along with a total cost. If the searcher has entered a Comment along with the Account Name, it appears in this report. Each database or account is printed on a separate page.

6.	Choose the type of output for the report in the Select Output Options section of the dialog box.

•	Printer brings up the standard printer dialog box, which allows you to select the printer, range and copies of the report.

•	Disk File - ASCII Text saves the data as an ASCII text file. The Save Accounting Report As dialog box displays with the default directory where the software is installed.

•	Disk File - Comma Delimited saves the data in a comma-delimited file. The Save Accounting Report As dialog box displays with the default directory where the software is installed.

7.	Click OK to print the generated the report and the Print dialog box displays the current printer setting.

8.	If you chose to save the report to a file, enter the filename in the Save Accounting Report As dialog box.

Related Topics:

Creating a List of Authorized Users

Turning Accounting On and Off

Creating a Rates Table

Changing Account Names

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Saves the file in a standard format.


Saves the file with the two-character tag code in front of each field.


Saves the file in a comma-delimited format.


Saves the file in a tab-delimited format.


Saves the file in a fixed format.


Enter a dollar amount between .00 and 99.99.  Click Zero to set all fields to 00.00.


Click the database name to highlight it and apply, add, copy or delete rates.


Click Add to apply rates the displayed rates to a specific database.

Click Copy to use the rates from the highlighted database to another database.

Click Delete to remove the current rates from the highlighted database.


Searching with Menus

Opening a Database

Searching Multiple Concepts

Selecting Search Terms

Using the Search History Window

Saving and Reusing Search Strategies

Ending the Search


Searching with Commands

Using Command Search

Using the BEGIN Command

Using the SELECT Command

Using the SORT Command

Deleting Steps in the Search Strategy

Combining Command Search and Menu Search


Displaying and Reporting Search Results

Displaying Search Results

Printing Search Results

Saving Search Results to Disk


Click Help to get more information about this subject.


Click to search network and magnetic drives for additional databases.


Click to reset the application back to its initial state.


Click to print your selection.


Click to sort your records.


Click to be notified when cited journals are located in your library.


Choose the current or archived log to report on.


Click ALL to include all data in the log.

Click Today only to include select only records with the current date.

Click Specify Range to enter a Start and End date in the format mm/dd/yy.


Click Archive to append the current log to the archive log.


Chose to sort the report by Database or Account Name.  You must choose one.


Chose Summary Report or Detailed Report format.  You must choose one.


Click Printer to access the standard printer dialog box, which allows you to select the printer, range and copies of the report.

Click Disk File - ASCII Text to save the data as an ASCII text file.

Click Disk File - Comma Delimited to save the data in a comma-delimited file.


Displaying Search Results

The records resulting from your search strategy automatically display after each step in the search process.  This automatic display always gives you the first record in the set and uses the display format most recently used in the search.  If no display format has been specified, the Complete Record format is used.

Example:

To display your search results in another format:

1.	Click Display menu and select another format by clicking it.

2.	To display subsequent records, click Next (next document).

3.	To back up one record at a time, click Prev (previous document).

Notice in the lower right-hand corner the indicator between the Prev and Next indicators. Look here to see which record within the set of records is on the screen.  You can also use this box to display a specific record number within the set.

4.	Enter 3 to display the third record of the set.

In all formats except the abbreviated format (Title List), the results always display one record per screen.  When a record is longer than one screen, the scroll bar is activated.  Use the scroll bar to see subsequent screens of the record.

Each database has several standard, or Predefined, formats you can use, as well as the capability for you to create your own User-Defined Format(s).  In some DIALOG OnDisc directory databases, you have an additional display format called User-Defined Report.  All available format options are listed when you pull down the Display menu.

Related Topics:

Displaying Records from a Previous Set

Sorting Records

Using Predefined Formats

Creating User-Defined Display Formats

Changing Font Size for Display Results

Marking Records for Printing or Saving

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Enter the second word or phrase to search.


Enter the third word or phrase to search.


Select a field to display.


Click to add an independent step to your search.


Enter the account name.  The additional information is optional and will appear on accounting reports.


Click Add to include the new account name entered.

Click Update to revise information for the highlighted account name.

Click Delete to remove the highlighted account name.

Click Clear to erase information in the account name and additional information boxes.


Highlight the user name you want to select.


Prints the name of the DIALOG OnDisc database searched at the bottom of each page.


Tab Delimited Record Format

Records in Tab Delimited format appear as shown below.  The box character represents the tab character in this record.


Click the browse button to locate the directory where you want to save the file.


Enter the maximum number of pages that can be printed during one search session.


Setting Preferences

The Preferences feature, located under the under the Options menu, allows you to determine the maximum number of pages a user can print and also to control where files are saved. This information is optional.

To configure this menu:

1.	Click Preferences from the Options menu.

2.	Enter the maximum number of pages that a user can print during one session.  For example, enter 25 and press Tab to advance to the next field.

3.	Enter the system address where you want to files saved to or click Browse to find it.  For example, if you only want the user to save their output to a floppy diskette, enter A:\ .  If you want all files saved to your ODWIN directory, enter C:\ODWIN\.

5.	Click Enable Library Holdings if you want to be notified when cited journal articles are available in house.  (You must run the lhold.exe program and configure the Library Holdings in order for this to work.)

6.	Set the path to the same directory where the Library Holdings Editor resides.

7.	Click OK.

Note: If you password protect the accounting options on the Setup Accounting dialog box, the preferences will be password protected as well.

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The amount of money, in dollars and cents, to charge per search step.


Options for Specifying a Custom Path

A custom path can contain one or more of the following path types separated by semicolons:

•	A Root Drive Letter.  This is useful if you have many mapped or local  drives and you want to specify just the ones that contain the DIALOG OnDisc databases. A root drive letter is specified as "D:\.

•	A UNC Path.  Use UNC paths if you don't want to map the network drive to local drives.  A UNC is specified as "\\server\share" (followed by directory if required), where server is your server's name, and share is the share name of the drive containing the DIALOG OnDisc database.  With Site Enhanced databases only the path to the first disc needs to be specified when using UNCs.  As long as the others disc have share names with the last character increasing by one, DIALOG OnDisc will automatically find the UNC paths to the other discs.  The hard disk(s) or CD-ROM(s) that contain the DIALOG OnDisc databases need to be made shareable on the server.  This can be done using the Share As… choice in the File Manager or My Computer.  The choice of share name that you pick is important.  Using the DIALOG OnDisc volume name may not be a good idea, since the first four characters represent the discs' date, which changes with each update for many products.

•	A Subdirectory on a Mapped Drive.  Many CD-ROM sharing solutions offer the option of placing multiple discs as subdirectories of a single shareable drive.  If you are using such a system, you must specify the drive and subdirectory on the custom path line.

•	Subdirectory Wildcards.  In most cases you can include an asterisk as a wild card if  all the databases are in the same subdirectory, or  for Site Enhanced databases if all of the subdirectories are consecutively named under a single directory.

•	UNC Wildcard Paths. The Wildcard can also be used with UNC paths.  Note that the Wildcard cannot be used with UNCs at the share level.  Specifying "\\server\*\ won't work.  In this case you will have to list all the shares with DIALOG OnDisc databases one by one for each product.

Related Topics:

Creating a Custom Path

Configuring Site Enhanced Products

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Configuring Site Enhanced Products

For Site Enhanced products, the last character of the share name that you pick must increase by  one.  For example, TMSCAN1, TMSCAN2, TMSCAN3, TMSCAN4, etc.

You can put each disc at the subdirectory level below a main DIALOG OnDisc directory.  In this case, the subdirectory name must be consecutive and each .DBS file must go into the correct subdirectory. If your directories are ODI, OD2, OD3 and OD4 then the file that ends with .DBS goes in the first subdirectory, the file that ends with .DB2 goes in the subdirectory OD2 and so on.

Related Topics:

Options for Specifying a Custom Path

Creating Custom Paths


Viewing Images

You can turn image view on and off by clicking Show Images on the Options menu.

An Image window is displayed, which can be moved, tiled, cascaded, minimized, or maximized, just like the Display and Search History windows.

•	Use the magnifying glass to zoom in on a specific section of an image.

•	Use the arrows to view the previous and next page when an image has multiple pages.  If a database does not have multiple images, the arrows will be grayed out.  If the image does have multiple images, a locator will be displayed to help you navigate.

•	Use the percentage number in the right hand corner to view the magnification level of the image being displayed.

To view images at the highest resolution, you may need 32 Mb Ram. If you have less Ram, you may get an error message saying there is not enough memory to display the image or you may see blank pages. If you are experiencing problems with images we suggest you alter your display settings on your P.C. as follows:

•	Initially set your colour palette to 256 colours. This usually works for computers with at least 8 Mb of Ram.

•	If you have more Ram, try increasing the resolution as appropriate. Generally speaking, if you have 16 Mb Ram you can set your colour palette to 16-bit colour, if you have 24 Mb Ram you can set your palette to 24-bit colour and so on.

Related Topics:

Printing Images

Saving Images

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Printing Images

To print the document and the currently displayed page of the image:

Click Print Documents from the File menu.  The image will automatically print after each record.

Note: To print only the image, or all images when one image is spread over multiple pages, select the IM-Image tag only on the User-Defined Format under the Display menu.  Then select Print Documents.

Related Topics:

Viewing Images

Saving Images

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Saving Images

You can save an image to a floppy or hard disk using the Save Image As dialog box. The image can be saved in a BMP or TIF format. You can then import the image into any application that supports BMP or TIFF images.

To save an image:

1.  Ensure that the image is displayed in the Image window.

2.  Click BMP or TIFF as the file type to be saved.

3.  Select the location where you want the image stored.

4.  Enter a file name for the image

5.  Click Save.

Related Topics:

Viewing Images

Printing Images

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Lists the available folders and files.  To see how the current folder fits in the hierarchy on your computer, click the down arrow.  To see what's inside a folder, click it.

The box below shows the folders and files in the selected location.  You can also double-click a folder or file in that box to open it.


Click the database you wish to open.


Saving Mailing Labels

Saving Mailing Labels creates an output file that can be the input to a mailing label generator, such as Microsoft Word or Excel.

To save the output of a search for mailing labels:

1. Create a search to retrieve the recipients of your mailing.

2. Click Save Mailing Labels from the File menu.  The Save Labels As dialog box is displayed. Configure the output of your mailing labels using the following options:

•	The Select Addressee Line provides several options for addressing the recipients of your mailing:

•	The Merge from Officer Field, provides a drop-down list of the titles from the Officer Field in the database.  You can use this option, for example, if your mailing is going to all Presidents at the companies on your list.

•	The Fixed Addressee field inserts the text entered in this field in the Addressee line of each address.

•	Click First Last if you want the name to appear as John Doe.

•	Click Last First if you want the name to appear as Doe, John.

•	Click Append title to name if you want the name to appear as John Doe, President

•	Label Output Format provides three options for saving your output. Your choice will depend on the options allowed in your mailing program.  Most programs accept Tab or Comma Delimited output.

•	Click Tab Delimited to separate fields with tabs.

•	Click Comma Delimited to separate the fields with commas.

•	Click CR to separate the fields with carriage returns.

•	Append Labels controls how the new labels are stored into the output file.

•	If the append box is not checked, and the file name assigned already exists, the contents of the file are overwritten with the new data.

•	If the append box is checked, and the file name assigned already exists, the new labels are added at the end of the existing data.

•	If the output file does not exist, or is empty, then this checkbox does nothing.

3. Enter a unique name in the File Name field.  The file name is limited to eight characters for Windows 3.1 users.  You can use any file extension, but a text (.TXT) extension is a recommended.

4. Use the browse button associated with the Save in field at the top of the display to choose where you want the mailing labels to be stored.  (Click Network on Windows NT networked systems.)

5. Click SAVE to store your results.

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Creating a Custom Path

To configure a Custom Path:

1.	Click Open/Change Database from the File menu.  The Select a Database dialog box is displayed.

2.	Click Custom Path List...  The Database Path dialog box is displayed.

3.	Enter the name of the path and the database(s) you want to customize.

Custom paths are retained once they have been specified, and remain as they were last entered until manually edited.

Related Topics:

Options for Specifying a Custom Path

Configuring Site Enhanced Products

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Appends the current search results to an existing file.


Type your search string and click OK.


Click on the field(s) you want to display.  To select non-consecutive fields, hold down the Ctrl key and click the fields.


Click on the second field you want to sort by.


Click on the first field you want to sort by.


Provides a place for you to type the name of a path.

You can use a root drive letter, a UNC path, or a subdirectory on a mapped drive.

You can use wilcards with subdirectories or UNC paths.


Click this to browse through folders to find the file you want.


Search all network drives for DIALOG OnDisc products.


Search all CD-ROM drives for DIALOG OnDisc products.


Select only databases that have been assigned a custom path.


Repeat the previous search in the new database.


Clears the previous search and opens the database for a new search.


Remove a specified number of steps from your search history.  To delete steps, click Delete Steps, enter the last step you want to keep, and click Delete Steps.


Displays the current sets and opens the DIALOG command field.


Displays the Postings field, which indicates how many times the terms occurred in the retrieved records.


A to Z for alphabetic entries, lowest to highest for numeric entries.


Z to A for alphabetic entries, highest to lowest for numeric entries.


Less than or equal to.


Greater than or equal to.


Exact range of numbers between a high and low value.


The number of terms that retrieved the total number of records.


The total number of records retrieved by the current search.


Subject headings, descriptors, and identifiers indexed as terms.


Number of records containing the selected term.


Thesaurus terms also related to the indexed term.


The lowercase a is a stop word; the uppercase A is not.


Currently selected display format.  To select another format, click Display from the main menu.


Click to mark the record for printing or saving.


Click to view the previous record.


Click to view the next record.


The displayed record's sequence in the set of records .


Click to return to the main index screen.


Click to go back one screen.


The indexed term that retrieved the related terms.


The lowest number in the range to search for.


The highest number in the range to search for.


Using the Enter Range Dialog Box

Use the Enter Range dialog box to specify a range of numbers to search.

Example:

To search for zip codes from 95000 through 96000:

1.	In the Starting with: box, enter 95000 (the lowest number to search) and press Tab.

2.	In the Ending with: box, enter 96000 (the highest number to search) and press Enter (or Click OK).

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Enter a range of numbers to search.


Click OK to accept.


Click on a term to select it from the index.  To de-select a term, click it again.


Record fields (with tag Ids) available for reports.  To select a field, click and drag it to the display window at the top of the dialog box.


The accumulated total of characters currently selected for the report.  Total width limits are determined by your printer.


Current report layout.


Search for non-numeric range.


Enter the low range to search.


Enter the high range to search.


History of search commands entered.


Text of record; click the scroll bar to see more.


Currently displayed record from the total set.


Currently displayed record format.


Enter the first word or phrase to search.