Digital Collections

Browsing Collections
Using Advanced Search
Viewing Results
Viewing Items
Viewing Compound Objects
Changing Preferences

Browsing Collections

Use the browse option for viewing items in a collection without specifying search criteria. Change the way you view collections while browsing by selecting Preferences.

If column headings are hyperlinked, they can be used to sort results. An arrow indicates the direction of the sort for that field.

To view a different collection, select a collection from the drop-down list and click Go.

Each letter below corresponds to a definition of that element.

A. Global Navigation
Global navigation for searching, browsing, and working with items in collections.

B. Collection List
Select a collection to browse and click Go.

C. Number of Results
Displays the number of items you are browsing in the collection, as well as how many display on the current page.

D. Select All, Clear All, Add to Favorites
Use these links to add items to My Favorites. Select All activates all the check boxes on the current page. Clear All removes all checks from the check boxes. To add items to CONTENTdm My Favorites, check the boxes next to the items you want (or click Select All to check all items on the page) and then click Add to Favorites. See My Favorites for more information.

E. Page Navigation
If the collection contains more items than can be displayed on a single page, click the hyperlinked page numbers to view other pages.

F. Previous and Next Page
If the collection contains more items than can be displayed on a single page, click Next or Previous to view other pages.

G. Column Headings
Click a hyperlinked title heading to sort. An arrow indicates sort order.

Using Advanced Search

You have several options for searching within a single collection or across multiple collections. You can quickly search for items by using the general search box, or click Advanced Search to use other types of searches.

The search box (in the heading of the page) searches across all fields in all collections for any term that you put in the search box, in any order. For example, if you search for "westward migration", the search engine searches for items containing "westward", or "migration".

Both the search box and Advanced Search support the use of a wildcard operator that enables you to search for approximate terms. Using an asterisk (*) at the end of a search term will search for results with none, or any number of any characters appended to the root search term. For example, test* will find results with the words "test," "tests," "tested" and so on.

The Advanced Search page enables you to select specific collections to search. First determine which search to use (across all fields, by selected fields, by proximity, or by date [by date may not always be available]). The default selection is to search across all fields. Then choose from the available search types and specify the collections to search.

Advanced Search offers four search types (types presented differ based on your initial choice of which search to use):

• All of the words — searches for all of the words in any order. Using Boolean logic, this search is similar to using "AND". For instance, if you entered "President Theodore Roosevelt" in this search box, the search results would contain only those items containing all three terms. Do not include "AND" with your search terms. The Boolean operator "AND" is used automatically with the All of the words search and will be ignored if it is entered as a search term.
• The exact phrase — searches for all of the words in the exact order. This is similar to using quotation marks in other search engines. For instance, if you were searching for "President Theodore Roosevelt", search results would contain only those items that contain the phrase "President Theodore Roosevelt".
• Any of the words — searches for any of the words entered in the search box. Using Boolean logic, this search is similar to using "OR". For instance, if you entered "President Theodore Roosevelt" in this search box, the search results would contain all items containing any of the three terms, including results with only "President", only "Theodore", and only "Roosevelt". Do not include "OR" with your search terms. The Boolean operator "OR" is used automatically with the Any of the words search and will be ignored if it is entered as a search term.
• None of the words — use this option with any of the other search boxes to exclude a term. Using Boolean logic, this search is similar to using "NOT". For instance, if you entered "President Roosevelt" in the exact phase search box and "Franklin" in this search box, the search results would contain all items containing "President Roosevelt" that do not contain the word "Franklin". Do not include "NOT" with your search terms. The Boolean operator "NOT" is used automatically with the None of the words search and will be ignored if it is entered as a search term.

The search options presented differ based on your initial choice to search across all fields, by selected fields, by proximity or by date. The default selection is to search across all fields.

Search Across All Fields

When you select Search Across All Fields, a screen similar to the one below appears. Each letter below corresponds to a definition of that element.

A. Global Navigation
Global navigation for searching, browsing, and working with items in collections.

B. Search Mode
Click an option to specify your search preference. Search across all fields, selected fields, by proximity, or, if available, by date within collections. Whether you have access to the date range search depends on the content of the collection, so this option may not be available. The default mode searches across all fields.

C. Search Operators
Choose to search for all of the words, the exact phrase, any of the words, none of the words, or a combination.

D. Search Text Boxes
Type your search terms in the appropriate text boxes.

E. Search
Click Search when you have finished specifying your search criteria.

F. Clear All
Click Clear all to reset all the search fields.

G. Available and Selected Collections
Depending on the number of available collections, you'll see either a check box or list box option for selecting collections.

• Check boxes — Choose which collections to search by clicking check boxes next to collection names. To remove a collection from your search, uncheck the box.
• List boxes — Select a collection name and click Add. Collections will appear in the Selected collection list box. To select multiple collections from a list box, press Ctrl from your keyboard while selecting collection names. To select a block of collections, select the first collection and then press Shift while clicking the last item in the block. Click Add or Remove.

H. Select All
Select all collections. Click select all to search across all collections.

I. Clear All
Clear all collections. In order to perform a search, you must have at least one collection selected.

Search Selected Fields

When you select Search Selected Fields, a screen similar to the one below appears. Each letter below corresponds to a definition of that element.

A. Global Navigation
Global navigation for searching, browsing, and working with items in collections.

B. Search Mode
Click an option to specify your search preference. Search across all fields, selected fields, by proximity, or, if available, by date within collections. Whether you have access to the date range search depends on the content of the collection, so this option may not be available. The default mode searches across all fields.

C. Search Operators
Use the drop-down list to choose from the types of queries available. You may choose to search for all of the words, the exact phrase, any of the words, none of the words, or a combination.

D. Search Text Boxes
Type your search terms in the appropriate text boxes.

E. Field Names
Use the drop-down list to specify which field you want to search or whether to search all fields

F. Show Terms Link
The Show Terms link is available only when searching a single collection. Click Show Terms to open a list of indexed words that appear in the field you selected from the Field Names drop-down list. Click a word in the index list to automatically place the word in the search text box. Click Search.

G. + More Fields| - Fewer Fields
Add more search fields by clicking More Fields. Reduce the number of search fields by clicking Fewer Fields. You can have as many as four fields and as few as one field.

H. Search
Click Search when you have finished specifying your search criteria.

I. Clear All
Click Clear all to reset all the search fields.

J. Available and Selected Collections
Depending on the number of available collections, you'll see either a check box or list box option for selecting collections.

• Check boxes — Choose which collections to search by clicking check boxes next to collection names. To remove a collection from your search, uncheck the box.
• List boxes — Select a collection name and click Add. Collections will appear in the Selected collection list box. To select multiple collections from a list box, press Ctrl from your keyboard while selecting collection names. To select a block of collections, select the first collection and then press Shift while clicking the last item in the block. Click Add or Remove.

K. Select All
Select all collections. Click select all to search across all collections.

L. Clear All
Clear all collections. In order to perform a search, you must have at least one collection selected.

Search by Proximity

When you select Search by Proximity, a screen similar to the one below appears. Each letter below corresponds to a definition of that element.

A. Global Navigation
Global navigation for searching, browsing, and working with items in collections.

B. Search Mode
Click an option to specify your search preference. Search across all fields, selected fields, by proximity, or, if available, by date within collections. Whether you have access to the date range search depends on the content of the collection, so this option may not be available. The default mode searches across all fields.

C. First Search Text Box
Type your search term in the text box.

D. Proximity Choices
Use the drop-down list to choose the number of words the search term in the first search text box can be from the search term in the second search text box.

E. Second Search Text Box
Type your search term in the text box.

F. Field Names
Use the drop-down list to specify which field you want to search.

G. Search
Click Search when you have finished specifying your search criteria.

H. Clear All
Click Clear all to reset all the search fields.

I. Available and Selected Collections
Depending on the number of available collections, you'll see either a check box or list box option for selecting collections.

• Check boxes — Choose which collections to search by clicking check boxes next to collection names. To remove a collection from your search, uncheck the box.
• List boxes — Select a collection name and click Add. Collections will appear in the Selected collection list box. To select multiple collections from a list box, press Ctrl from your keyboard while selecting collection names. To select a block of collections, select the first collection and then press Shift while clicking the last item in the block. Click Add or Remove.

Search by Date

Whether you have access to the date search depends on the content of the collection, so this option may not be available. Only the collections that are searchable by date can be selected and searched in this mode. When you select Search by Date, a screen similar to the one below appears. Each letter below corresponds to a definition of that element.

A. Global Navigation
Global navigation for searching, browsing, and working with items in collections.

B. Search Mode
Click an option to specify your search preference. Search across all fields, selected fields, by proximity, or, if available, by date within collections. Whether you have access to the date range search depends on the content of the collection, so this option may not be available. The default mode searches across all fields.

C. Text Choices
Use the drop-down list to refine your search by selecting phrasing options so that your results match.

D. Search Text Box
Type your search terms in the text box.

E. Field Names
Use the drop-down list to specify which field you want to search.

F. Selecting a Search-Range
Use the drop-down list to specify a date range, or to search after, before, or on a particular date.

G. Specify a Date-Range
Use the drop-down lists and the text box to specify the range of dates you want to use in your search. Entering a year is required to perform a search. The required format for year is yyyy. Although not required, selecting more options will narrow your search.

H. Search
Click Search when you have finished specifying your search criteria.

I. Clear All
Click Clear All to reset all the search fields.

J. Available and Selected Collections
Only the collections that are searchable by date are available in the by date search mode. Depending on the number of available collections, you'll see either a check box or list box option for selecting collections.

• Check boxes — Choose which collections to search by clicking check boxes next to collection names. To remove a collection from your search, uncheck the box. Only the collections that are searchable by date can be selected from the list of available collections.
• List boxes — Select a collection name and click Add. Collections will appear in the Selected collection list box. To select multiple collections from a list box, press Ctrl from your keyboard while selecting collection names. To select a block of collections, select the first collection and then press Shift while clicking the last item in the block. Click Add or Remove. Only the collections that are searchable by date will be included in the list of available collections.

Viewing Results

Results may be viewed in a variety of ways and can be changed using Preferences.

To view an item within the search results, click on a thumbnail image or the hyperlinked text describing the item.

Each letter below corresponds to a definition of that element.

A. Global Navigation
Global navigation for searching, browsing, and working with items in collections.

B. Search Results
Displays the search terms.

C. Search Again
Returns to the Advanced Search page and retains collection and preference settings from the previous search.

D. Refine Your Search
Provides a list of matches organized by common metadata. Click an option to further narrow the results within your original search. Refine Your Search options may display for some collections and in some results views only.

E. Number of Results
Displays the number of items in the collection(s) that match your search criteria, as well as how many display on the current page.

F. Page Navigation
If your search produces more results than can be displayed on a single page, click the hyperlinked page numbers to view other pages.

G. Previous and Next Page
If your search produces more results than can be displayed on a single page, click Next or Previous to view other results pages.

H. Select All, Clear All, Add to Favorites
Use these links to add items to My Favorites. Select All activates all the check boxes on the current page. Clear All removes all checks from the check boxes. To add items to CONTENTdm My Favorites, check the boxes next to the items you want (or click Select All to check all items on the page) and then click Add to Favorites. See My Favorites for more information.

I. Column Titles
When column titles are hyperlinked, they can be used to sort your results. An arrow indicates the direction of the sort for that field.

J. Check Boxes
Use the check boxes to add selected items to My Favorites within CONTENTdm then click one of the links at the top and bottom of your search results to add or clear the selected items.

Viewing Items

JPEG, JPEG2000, PNG and GIF files open in a window similar to the one shown below.

Portable Document Format (PDF) files open in a window that uses Adobe® Reader®, if inline viewing has been enabled by the creators of the collection. For more information, see Viewing PDF Files.

A. Global Navigation
Global navigation for searching, browsing, and working with items in collections.

B. Back to Results
Click Back to Results to return to the results page.

C. Add to Favorites
Add the item to My Favorites.

D. Image Toolbar
Use these operations to navigate the image. See Image Toolbar for more information.

E. Previous/Next
Click Previous or Next to go to the next item in your results page.

F. Reference URL
Click Reference URL to access a window that contains the URL of the item being viewed. Copy the URL within the text box and paste it into citations and other references.

G. Item Description
View descriptive information about the item. Depending on how the collection is configured, clicking on a hyperlinked word will launch a new search for that word within the collection where the item resides, across all collections, within the current field, or across all fields.

If the item cannot be shown in the item viewer, click a hyperlink to view the item, as shown below.

A. Global Navigation
Global navigation for searching, browsing, and working with items in collections.

B. Back to Results
Click Back to Results to return to the results page.

C. Add to Favorites
Add the item to My Favorites.

D. View Link
Click this link to view a file that cannot be displayed in the item or compound object viewers.

E. Previous/Next
Click Previous or Next to go to the next item in your results page.

F. Item Description
View descriptive information about the item. Depending on how the collection is configured, clicking on a hyperlinked word will launch a new search for that word within the collection where the item resides, across all collections, within the current field, or across all fields.

G. Reference URL
Click Reference URL to access a window that contains the URL of the item being viewed. Copy the URL within the text box and paste it into citations and other references.

Image Toolbar

Zoom, pan, rotate, hide/show thumbnail, and clip options may be available when viewing images in some collections.

Click the magnifying glasses to magnify or reduce the view. The zoom percentage is displayed in the text box.

Click the arrows to move left, right, up, or down within an image.

Click the page icons to view an image at 100 percent, view the entire image, or view the image within the page width.

Click the rotate icons to rotate an image 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.

Click the hide/show thumbnail icon to hide and show the small image used to navigate the larger image. The navigation thumbnail setting you select will be retained throughout your session when viewing single items.

Click the clip icon to open the clip viewer window that allows you to select a segment of the image to save, e-mail, or print. The selected segment may resize when displayed in the new window.

When the toolbar is visible you can click within the image to zoom in and center the view.

Viewing PDF Files

Adobe Reader displays PDF files alongside descriptive information within CONTENTdm.

Click Open PDF in new window to display the PDF file in a separate window.

Click Go to PDF description to jump to descriptive information about the PDF file. Depending on how the collection is configured, clicking a hyperlinked word launches a new search for that word within the collection where the item resides, across all collections, within the current field, or across all fields.

Viewing Compound Objects

Documents or multi-sided objects are displayed in viewers that provide additional navigation appropriate to the item being viewed. Objects in Portable Document Format (PDF) are displayed in a viewer that uses Adobe Reader.

Each letter below corresponds to a definition of that element.

A. Global Navigation
Global navigation for searching, browsing, and working with items in collections.

B. Back to Results
Click Back to Results to return to the results page.

C. Menu Off
Click Menu Off to hide the menu on the left side of the screen. When the menu is hidden, click the previous/next page links to view other pages. To show the menu, click Menu On.

D. Add Document to Favorites/Add Item to Favorites
Add the complete document or item to My Favorites.

E. Add Page to Favorites/Add Side to Favorites
Add only the current page or side to My Favorites.

F. Previous/Next
Click Previous or Next to go to the next item in your results page. Your zoom and navigation thumbnail settings will not be retained when you go to the previous or next item.

G. Search this Object
If full text searching has been enabled by the creators of the collection, you can search for words within an object. Type search words in the text box and click Search. Red brackets and an asterisk appear next to each page or side within the object that contains the word you searched for.

H. Hit(s)/Previous Hit/Next Hit
View the number of results found after a full text search. Then, use Previous Hit and Next Hit to navigate between the full text search results.

I. Image Toolbar
Use these operations to navigate the image. For an overview, see Image Toolbar.

In some collections, documents and newspapers may have additional data that allow you to highlight and view individual articles. In these collections you may move your mouse over an article and see it highlighted. Clicking on the highlighted article will display the entire article in a separate window. You can use the Hide/Show Article option to turn on and off article highlighting.

To view an article in a separate window:

1. Click on the Hide/Show Article icon on the image toolbar to activate article highlighting.
2. Mouse over the article you wish to view and click on the article you have highlighted.

J. View Drop-Down List
Use the drop-down list to choose between different views of the compound object:

• Document Description/Item Description — View descriptive information about the complete document or item.
• Page Description/Side Description — View descriptive information about a single page or view of a compound object.
• Page & Text — If a transcription of the page is available, view the image and a transcript of the page, side by side.
• Side by Side — View both sides of a two-sided object at once.
• Subset of Print Version — Select a subset of the complete document for viewing, saving, or printing. This option may be available for some items only.
• Complete Print Version — View a PDF of the entire document or item for printing. This option may be available for some items only.

K. Previous Page and Next Page
Go to the previous or next page within the document or item. Any thumbnail, zoom, or article view settings you have selected will be retained when you move between pages. These settings will not be retained if you go to the previous/next result, turn the menu on/off, or turn on the article view.

L. Object Navigation
Use the links in this section to navigate to specific pages or sides within the document or item.

M. Reference URL
Click Reference URL to access a window that contains the URL of the compound object being viewed. Copy the URL within the text box and paste it into citations and other references.

Subset Viewer

The Subset Viewer opens in a new window and enables you to choose pages of a compound object for viewing, saving, or printing in Adobe Reader. The Subset Viewer may be available for some items only.

Each letter below corresponds to a definition of that element.

A. Window Controls
Minimize, maximize, or close the Subset Viewer window.

B. Select Search Hits
Select a subset of the compound object pages that includes all pages with matches to a search performed in the compound object viewer. Click View Subset to view the PDF subset. This option only displays if a search in the compound object viewer returned results.

C. Select Pages
Select one or more pages of the compound object. Click View Subset to view the PDF subset in the viewing pane.

D. Specify Pages
Enter page numbers or page ranges separated by commas. For example: 1, 3, 5-12. Then click View Subset to view the PDF subset in the viewing pane.

E. Viewing Pane
View the PDF subset after making selections.

Changing Preferences

Use the drop-down lists to change the appearance and sorting of the search results and My Favorites pages. Changing settings in the My Favorites section also affect Slideshow and Compare.

In the Results Preferences section you can change:

• How the results are viewed.
• How the results are sorted.
• How many results are displayed per page.

Each letter below corresponds to a definition of that element.

A. Global Navigation
Global navigation for searching, browsing, and working with items in collections.

B. View Options
Use the drop-down list to choose how your results are displayed.

• Grid — Displays up to five fields or four fields and a thumbnail image.
• Thumbnails — Displays a thumbnail image and the item title.
• Bibliographic — Displays text from up to five fields without images.
• Titles — Displays only item titles.
• Hierarchical — Displays search results sorted in groupings. The fields that you select to sort by in preferences are the fields that are shown in this results view.

C. Sort Order
Use the drop-down lists to determine the sort order for your search results. Search results are displayed in sort order even if the fields you choose to sort by are not visible in the results view. Relevancy sorting is available for sorting search results only and does not apply when browsing a collection. Relevancy sorts the results according to their relevance to your specified search. When sorting by relevancy, sorting by fields does not apply.

D. Results per Page
Choose the number of results to view per page. The results options vary, depending on the type of view that is selected.

E. Delete Results Preferences Cookie
Click the check box to delete your stored preferences and to restore the default settings. This deletes the preferences cookie. The Restore Defaults button does not delete the preferences cookie. See Removing Favorites and Cookies below for more information.

F. Restore Defaults
Click Restore Defaults to restore defaults. This does not delete the preferences cookie. The default view is grid, sorted by title, with 20 results displayed per page.

G. Apply Changes
Click Apply Changes after changing the view options, sort order, results per page, and/or restoring defaults.

Removing Cookies:

If you want to delete changes you have made to the way your preferences are displayed, select the check box in My Results preferences and click Apply changes. This will delete the cookie that stores your settings. Selecting Restore Defaults, on the other hand, will update your cookie with the original default settings which will override any custom settings created by the collection owner.