Searching with TOPCAT

You can search for records using TOPCAT's searching options. Click a search option from the search menu. The search options are Basic Search, Guided Keyword Search, and Course Reserve. These searches are library defined so the names and availablity of what is described in this help and what you see on your display file might vary.

Guided Keyword Search

A Guided Keyword search finds records using keywords located anywhere in a record, or only in specific fields.To perform a Guided Keyword Search:

1. Type in the search term(s) you want to find in the Search For  free text field. (Punctuation, case, and word order are ignored.) Your search terms are automatically truncated on the right, so you don't need to use a question mark (?) for truncation.
2. Default search criteria can be modified for your search:
• Select from the Search In drop-down list whether you want to search for all the search terms, any of the search terms, or the search terms as a phrase.
• Select which Boolean operator you want applied to the next search term(s): AND, OR, or NOT.
• Narrow your search by further limiting by entering information in the following free text fields and selecting options and boolean operators from the drop down menu as needed.
• Click the Limits icon if you want to limit your keyword seach based on other criteria.
• Change the number of records displayed per page if desired

Click the Search button to begin your search. Click the Reset button to clear the search page.

Basic Search ˇ Course Reserve Search
Help Contents ˇ TOPCAT Icons ˇ Search History
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