See Also: Help Contents Jump To: Search Screen |
The main search option will search all of the catalogue, accession and index entries in Seax for a single word or phrase, or any combination you want. Seax will display a maximum of 1,000 hits, so if your search returns 1,000 hits you may wish to refine your search with dates or additional words. Those entries with images attached are indicated by an icon of picture frames. Essex Archives Online automatically searches certain parts of the catalogue to try to locate the most helpful results for your search. You can increase the search results by clicking on the Search full catalogue description box. This will search all parts of the catalogues and will locate less specific results. To return to the normal search feature, click in the box again to remove the tick. The Accession Search allows you to search the uncatalogued collections. It is important to remember that not all uncatalogued collections may be available for public consultation. All accessions will be produced at the discretion of the searchroom archivist. The Image Search only searches catalogue entries with digital images of documents attached. Click on the image or Click here to enhance this image to see a larger version of the image and to use the image manipulation options. The Advanced Mode option allows you to search for different words or phrases by filling in the fields on screen as required. This can be easier than using the key words and quotation marks which you may need to search for more than one word in a full text search. Using a combination of these fields can refine your search to find the most helpful results. - Example 1. If you wish to locate an electoral register for a certain year, type electoral register in the second field [This phrase] and the name of the parish in the first [All of these words]. Type the date required in the first date field and click on Search to view the results.
- Example 2. You can also search for one term in combination with other alternatives. Type world war in the second field [This phrase] and first 1st one 1 I great in the third field [Any of these words] to search Seax for all the references to the First World War.
- Example 3. You can also exclude certain items from your search. If you wished to search for tithe records other than maps, for example, type in tithe in the first field [All of these words]. Type in the word map in the fourth field [None of these words] and search again and these documents will not be displayed.
- Example 4. You can also search for a term or terms within a specific catalogue or category of records. For example, type in Chelmsford in the first field and SA in the second. Seax will then search for all references to Chelmsford within the Sound Archive catalogue.
Click on the Switch to Normal Mode button to return to the normal search option. The Index Searches for Personal Names, Place Names, Subjects, Institutions and Document Types allow you to choose to search for terms specifically added by the archivists. These searches can produce more helpful results, but remember that at present only a small percentage of the total catalogue entries have been indexed. |  |
 | If you know the reference of the document or catalogue that you want you can type it in to the Document Reference box at the top of the screen and click on the Go button. The Browse Catalogues option allows you to search through all of the records on Essex Archives Online by catalogue reference. Click on the underlined headings or the View Child Documents button to move downwards through the catalogues. Click on the View details button to see the full catalogue description, and the Order item button to order documents. Click on the Retrieve button at the top of the screen and you can return to your saved searches or favourite documents at any time. You will be able to see the date that you saved the search and the number of items found. By clicking on Load you can make the same search of Seax. You can also remove any saved searches by clicking on Delete. |