Using the Database - Help Topics

• Using 'My List' or 'My Order'
• Finding a Date
• Online Searching
• Finding Words and Phrases
• And Or Not Droplist
• Using a Regular Droplist
• Case and Punctuation
• Submit Query Button
• Displaying Records After a Search
• Troubleshooting
• What the icons mean...

Using 'My List' or 'My Order'

'My List' allows users to create lists and groupings of records for subsequent use. Individual record references may be selected and items can be added or removed during a session.

Your list can be printed for personal use or e-mailed to the IWM to request additional information or to make an appointment to view material at first hand.

To start a list click on the Add item to My List button above the individual record in the Search Results screen. Scroll down through your records and decide if you need to add any more. To view your selection click on the View My List button – this will take you to the Items in My List screen.

To make sure that the content of your list reflects your latest selections be sure to click on the refresh link. If you wish to remove a record from your list just click on the Remove link in the column first from the right. To add more items just go back to your Search Results screen. You can of course do a new search and add items to your list from this.

Close the Items in My List window by either clicking on the X at the top right corner of the screen or clicking on the close this window link at the bottom of the screen. In either case the contents of your list will NOT be lost.

If you wish to order copies of photographs, please use 'My Order'.

'My Order' allows users to order copies of Imperial War Museum photographs via the Full Record Screen in the Photograph database.
The facility is only available when database records are accompanied by thumbnail images.
Copies are despatched as A4 prints within 10 working days of payment being received by the Imperial War Museum.
Each copy costs £7.50 plus VAT, postage and packing.
To order a photograph, click on View Or Order Image followed by the Add To My Order button.
Click on the View My Order button to view your selection.
Click on the Refresh link to confirm that My Order shows your current selection.
Click on the Remove link to delete an item from My Order.
To add more items to My Order, go back to the Search Results screen, or do a new search.
When you have selected all the photographs you wish to order, click on the Send My Order button to move to the Photograph Order Screen.
Enter the information requested in the mandatory fields. Do not include details of your credit or debit card at this stage.
When ready, click on the Send Now button to send the order to the Imperial War Museum.
The Imperial War Museum will contact you by return to acknowledge receipt, confirm cost and arrange payment.
The purchase of a photograph via this website does not include authority to reproduce it in any form.
If you wish to order a photograph which has no thumbnail, use the Photograph Archive's mail order facility available at: www.iwm.org.uk/collections/photos/ordering

Finding a Date

To find a date, use any reasonable format, including but not limited to the examples shown below:

31-Dec-98
Dec 31, 1998
1998 Dec
Dec 98 December
1998 12-98

Do not use a forward slash to separate date elements unless you surround the date with quotation marks ("12/31/98").

You can use the symbols & / ! between dates to do AND-OR-NOT searches. For example, May 1998 / June 1998 finds all dates in May or June 1998. Doing less than, greater than, and "between" searches

You can search for items greater than or less than a certain value, or within a range. This is most commonly done when searching for dates, but may also be done when searching for values or text. Use the symbols shown below. When used with a partial date, these symbols search from the beginning of the date (first day of the month or year). A range consists of two values, low and high, separated by a colon. Include spaces around the colon.

Online Searching

It's easy to find the information you want!

Type query criteria. If you fill in more than one box, results must meet all criteria.

Example:
1. Find documents that contain the word "tank" AND have a date of 10-11-98.
2. Click Submit Query.
3. Documents that meet your criteria are displayed as a report.
4. To change the way documents appear, pick a form from the droplist.

Finding words and phrases

Type the word you want to find or type a phrase  to find those words.
To find variations of word stems, type an asterisk at the end of one or more words, for example churchi* spitfi*). Use the symbols & / ! between words or phrases to represent Boolean AND, OR, NOT. Include a space before and after the symbol. Use the proximity operators w# (within) and p# (preceding) to find words near each other. See examples below:

unknown soldier a phrase (those words, in that order)
remembrance / commemoration either word (or both)
unknown & soldier items that contain both words (items that contain just one of the words will be ignored)
unknown soldier ! unknown warrior* “unknown soldier” but not “unknown warrior ”
unknown p5 soldier* “unknown” preceding “soldier” by 5 words or fewer. You can include an asterisk at the end of either word.
Do not string together phrases e.g. unknown soldier first world war
unknown w5 soldier “unknown” within 5 words of “soldier” (before or after). Do not include phrases.
Words joined by & / ! are evaluated in left-to-right order: red & white / blue finds items that are red and white, or items that are blue. Use parentheses to control evaluation order: red & (white / blue) finds items that are red and white or red and blue.

Using the AND-OR-NOT Droplist

If a search form includes an AND-OR-NOT droplist in front of each box, you can do more sophisticated searches. The Boolean operator you select for a box determines how the search criteria in that box will be combined with criteria already evaluated. Boxes are evaluated from top to bottom (first box to last).

Using a Regular Droplist

If a search form includes a droplist next to a box, you can open the list and select one item for which to search. To clear the box, open the list again and select the blank line at the very top of the list.

Finding a term (exact, complete match)

A term is a complete item, with no additional text before or after. To search for a term, precede it with an equal sign (=). For example, =unknown warrior finds only that complete term (does not find just "unknown” or just "warrior" or that phrase embedded in other text).

Case and Punctuation

Case in query criteria is usually ignored (a search for winston churchill finds Winston Churchill). Punctuation is also ignored, except for the and-or-not symbols (& / !) and the colon for range searches ( : ). If you want these characters to be interpreted literally, use quotation marks ("Home Guard") or replace the punctuation with a space (Home Guard).

To clear query criteria, click the Reset button on the search form.

Submit Query Button

To start your search, click the Submit Query button.

Displaying Records After a Search

A successful search finds one or more records, which are displayed as a report. Use the browser controls as you normally would, to browse, print, go back, etc. You can also:

Change the report's appearance - Select a form from the droplist on the page.
Jump to other locations - Click links on the report to display more detail or jump to other pages.
Display additional pages - Click the Next and Previous buttons on the report page.

Troubleshooting: Searches

Having trouble with a search?  Possible problems include:

Typographical errors
Mismatched quotes or parentheses
Extra Boolean search symbols (e.g., you should have typed war / graves instead of war / graves/ )
Missing quotation marks around symbols that can be misinterpreted.

If you cannot determine what caused the error, try a simpler search (e.g., just one word in a box) to see if it works.

If you used an asterisk, omit it and try an exact search instead (search for spitfire instead of spit*).

Try using a Boolean symbol (& / !) between words to construct more precise queries. For example, to find articles about hitler, not mussolini, search for hitler ! mussolini.

If the item you're searching for includes punctuation, substitute spaces for punctuation (search for 17th 21st Lancers, not 17th/21st Lancers) or surround the item with quotation marks ("17th/21st Lancers").

If you're searching for a date, don't use a forward slash between date components (for example, search for 12-12-98) or else surround the date with quotation marks ("12/12/98"). I didn't find any records.

Examine the contents of the search form (especially if it is longer than the screen) to verify that you don't have query criteria left over from a previous search.

If you are not sure of the spelling, use an asterisk after the first few characters (chan*) or separate several possible spellings with a forward slash (search for changi / changhi).

If you did a complex search, try simplifying it to eliminate confusion.

If you are searching for a URL, try typing it all in lower case.

If your search includes Boolean symbols (/ & !) or range searches (:), put spaces around the symbols.

Do not use words (and, or, not) for Boolean operators. You must use symbols (& / !).

Try using / instead of & between words. Using / means either word can be present (soldier / warrior finds soldier or warrior). Using & means both words must be present (soldier & warrior will not find just "soldier" or just "warrior").

Remember that range searches involving partial dates start from the beginning of the range. For example: <1998 means "before Jan. 1, 1998."

If the search form includes an "Enter password:" box, use a password that provides access to the fields you are searching. Contact the site's webmaster for a password. When I try to display records or change forms, I get the message, "Your current query has expired. Perform the search again."

The query set file that stored your search results has expired, so you'll have to do your search again. If this message occurs frequently, contact the webmaster for the site.

What the icons mean...

These small icons appear in the database records and indicate which collection the item belongs to:

Icon:	Collection:
	Aircraft, Vehicles and Engines
	Art
	Documents
	Exhibits and Firearms
	Film and Video
	Photographs
	Printed Books
	Sound