Simple Search (Standard)

 

The SIMPLE SEARCH screen is usually the default search screen displayed when you login to WebOpac, though your library may have chosen to display another search screen as the default.  The default search mechanism on this screen is a Keyword search (i.e. the search term can appear anywhere within the selected index), it is not starting with searching.

To do a basic search:

·                In the Search Term box enter the word or words on which you wish to search.  When the search results display, the term you have entered will be highlighted on the Hit List and in the Catalogue Display.

·                Select the index you wish to search from the Index dropdown box. - your library will have set a default for the Index box (e.g. Anyword, Title, Subject) - you can leave this default or select a new Index. 

·                Select the number of records to display per page (the default selection will have been set by your library)

·                If activated, you may also be able to select the Sorting Preference on this screen.

·                Press the SEARCH button (OR use the shortcut keys ALT+1) to start the search .   Note:  If you are not changing the displayed Index, you can press the Enter key or use ALT+1 after entering the search term to start the search (though this is not supported by all Browsers).

·                You can also Browse the Index to view index entries and link to Titles from an index entry. 

·                If your search does not find any hits, the Browse Index screen will be displayed with (where possible) closest matching terms.  If you wish, you can then click on one of these closest matching terms to view the Titles tied to those terms.

·                If it has been enabled by your library, a Smart Browser button may be displayed.  The Smart Browser shows Subjects related to your search term in a graphical spider web display. 

Filter options:

The following options to filter searches may have been enabled on the Simple Search screen:

 

·                PUBLICATION YEAR:   If you wish to restrict the search results to titles published within a specific time period, enter the years in the From and To fields.  Either the From field or the To field can be left blank to include records from the beginning, or to the end.  

·                SELECT LIBRARY:   This feature is commonly used to libraries who may have libraries within libraries, for example, a Childrens Library or Music Library as part of the main library.

·                LOCATION:  A single Branch or multiple Branches can be selected (via Ctrl+click or Shift+click) if you wish to limit the search to holdings at those particular Branches.  Note:  To cater for electronic resources and other material where a physical copy may not exist, records with no holdings will also be displayed in a search limited by Location.

·                SPECIAL COLLECTIONS:  Your library may have setup special Collections based on specified data within bibliographic records.   These will normally be based on criteria that is not normally available via any of the standard Search Indexes.

·                LANGUAGE:  If you wish to limit the search by a specified Language, select it from the list of available languages.

Phrase Searching:

·                Phrase Searching  (or Starting with searching) is an alternative to the usual Keyword searching and is applicable to Titles, Author, Series and Subject searches only.  The phrase entered must result in an exact match, or you must have an asterisk * at the END of the search term (you cannot enter just an asterisk* as the search term). 

·                Click on the Enable Phrase Searching checkbox to switch from Keyword to Phrase searching.  [Phrase Searching is an optional feature, so if this checkbox is not visible, it means your library has switched it off]

·                Example:  If you do a normal keyword Title search with a search term of Computer software all records with the words Computer AND Software in the Title will be retrieved and may result in say 20 hits.  If you Enable Phrase Searching and use the same search term of Computer software, only records with an exact Title of Computer software will be retrieved, which may result in, for example, 5 hits.  Phrase Searching will normally produce a smaller list of hits than Keyword searching.

Broadening your Search Term:

·                With normal searches you need to enter a full word or word/s, e.g. computer and the search will take place on just that term.  If however you want to broaden the search you can enter an asterisk * at the end of the search term.  For example, if you entered comp* as the search term, the search would include all words starting with comp such as computer, computerisation, computers, complete, compilation, etc.  If entering multiple words in the search term field, the asterisk * can be used on ONE WORD ONLY but this word can be in any position in the search term field.  If you enter multiple asterisks in a search term string, it is likely that no records will be retrieved. 

Wildcard Searching:

·                Wildcard searching using substitute characters ? or * within ONE single word is supported on the Simple Search screen in WebOPAC for the following Search Indexes:  Anyword, Author, Corporate Author, Combined Author, Title, Subject, Limited Subject, Extended Subject, Series, Notes, Serials Acronym

·                For Classification, Call Number, ISBN, ISSN and ISMN searches, an * can be used at the end of these terms, but in some cases will not always work if just one or two characters are used as the search term followed by the *.

Shortcut Keys:

·                Search:   Alt+1

·                Browse Index:  Alt+2

·                Clear Screen:  Alt+3

·                Smart Browse (if enabled):   Alt+4

Search History:

·                After doing a search, a "Search History" option will appear on a menu (which menu depends on how your library has set it up).  Click on the menu option, and the Show History page will appear with the searches in a structured list, showing Count, No. of Hits, Type, and Search Index/Term.  If you click on an entry in the Type column it will take you to the original Search screen with all the options filled out, from where other selections can be included if necessary, and the search re-run.  If you click on an entry in the Search Index/Term column, the Hit List for that search will be redisplayed (bypassing the search screen).