WilsonDisc for Windows User's Guide

IV. Commands

This chapter provides a brief definition for each button and menu item in WilsonDisc for Windows.

Add to List...

The Add to List... button appears on the Thesaurus screen. This button lets you add the controlled vocabulary term you looked up to the list of terms to search.

Automatic Records Display

The Automatic Records Display menu item is available on the Options menu at the Search screen, Browse screen and Thesaurus screen. This menu item lets you choose whether to have retrieved records display immediately after you perform a search.

When the Automatic Records Display feature is turned on, a check mark will appear in front of the menu item. To disable Automatic Records Display, choose the item again; the check mark disappears.

By default, when you start WilsonDisc for Windows the Automatic Records Display feature is turned on.

Brief Display

The Show Brief Display button appears on the Search screen and Browse screen. This button lets you show a brief set of fields; for example the default field set or a user-selected set of fields.

If the Auto Full Screen option is on in the Retrieved Records Options dialog box or the WilsonDisc for Windows Reconfiguration program, clicking the Show Brief Display button returns the Retrieved Records area to its original size.

After you click the Show Brief Display button, the button changes to Show Full Display.

Browse

The Browse menu item is available on the Views menu at the Search screen and Thesaurus screen. The Browse button appears on the button bar. Select either the button or the command to open the Browse screen.

Change...

The Change... button appears on the Browse screen. Change... displays the Available indexes dialog box from which you can choose a different Index to search.

Change Index...

The Change Index... menu item is available on the Options menu at the Browse screen. Change Index... lets you display the Available Indexes dialog box from which you can choose a different list to search.

Clear...

The Clear... button appears in the Search History area at the search screen. Clear... lets you erase all or a selected portion of your current search history.

Clear Search Area

The Clear Search Area menu item is available on the Edit menu at the Search screen, Browse screen, and Thesaurus screen. This menu item lets you erase text from the text entry area of a screen.

To clear the text entry area of a screen, choose Clear Search Area from the Edit menu or press Ctrl+Del.

Clear Search History...

The Clear Search History... menu item is available on the Edit menu at the search screen. This command lets you erase all or a selected portion of your current search history.

Clear Term List

The Clear Term List menu item is available on the Edit menu of the Thesaurus screen. This command lets you delete all terms you added to the Selected Term List for later searching.

Clear Thesaurus History

The Clear Thesaurus History option is available on the Edit menu at the Thesaurus screen. This command lets you clear the list of terms you viewed while in the Thesaurus.

The Thesaurus History is a list of each term you viewed while in the Thesaurus. You can use the history to return to a term. To view the Thesaurus History, select Show Thesaurus History from the Options menu at the Thesaurus screen.

Colors...

The Colors... menu item is available on the Options menu at the Search screen, Browse screen and Thesaurus screen. This menu item lets you change the color scheme of the WilsonDisc for Windows display.

Copy

The Copy menu item is available on the Edit menu at the Search screen, Browse screen and Thesaurus screen. Use this menu item to copy text to the Clipboard for later pasting.

Database

The Database button appears on the button bar. This button accesses the Available Databases dialog box, enabling you to change databases.

You can change databases by clicking the Database button, by pressing F8, or by choosing Select Database... from the File menu.

Delete Saved Searches...

The Delete Saved Searches... menu item is available on the File menu at the Search screen. With this menu item, you can erase previously saved search histories from a floppy or hard disk.

End of Record

End of Record lets you move to the end of the current record. This menu item is available at the Search screen and Browse screen.

The current record is the active record being displayed. To make a record the current record, click anywhere on it. The current record changes automatically as you scroll through records.

Choose End of Record from the records menu or press Ctrl + End to move to the end of the current record.

The Records Full Screen menu item is available on the Views menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you expand the Retrieved records area so that it fills the screen.

Choose Records Full Screen from the Views menu, press F4, or click the Full Screen button at the bottom of the Retrieved Records area to expand the screen. When you display records using the full screen, a check mark appears in front of the Records Full Screen menu item and the Full Screen button is highlighted.

To return the retrieved records area to its original size, choose Split Screen or Search History Full Screen from the Views menu, or click one of the corresponding buttons at the bottom of the retrieved records area.

Note: Clearing the current search from the search history returns the retrieved records area to its normal size.

Exit

Choosing Exit from the File menu will display the Exit WilsonDisc for Windows dialog box. You can quit WilsonDisc for Windows without saving any of your work or you can quit WilsonDisc for Windows after saving some or all of your work. Before using Exit, see if your library has any special procedures for ending a search session. To start a new search session, choose Restart... from the File menu.

Fields to Search...

The Fields to Search... menu item is available on the Utilities menu at the Search screen. This menu item lets you restrict your search to specific fields or pre-defined groups of fields (fieldsets), such as Citation.

Full-Text Only Button

The Full-Text Only button displays full text of the record. The default is a brief display of the record.

Full Display

The Show Full Display button appears on the Search screen and the Browse screen. This button is a quick way to show all fields for displayed records.

Note: If the Auto Full Screen option is on in the Retrieved Records Options dialog box or the WilsonDisc for Windows Reconfiguration program, the Show Full Display button also enlarges the Retrieved Records area to use the full screen.

After you click the Show Full Display button, the button changes to Show Brief Display. Click Show Brief Display to return to the original field display.

Guide

The Guide provides unique and specific information about the database or databases you are currently using. H.W. Wilson Guides use the standard Windows Help interface.

Help

Help provides information about using the WilsonDisc for Windows software. The Help in WilsonDisc for Windows uses the standard Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 Help interface. You can press F1 to get Help on the currently active window or dialog box. You can also choose a Help topic from the Help menu or click the Help button in a dialog box.

Highlight and Search

The Highlight and Search button appears on the Search screen and the Browse screen. This button lets you perform a lateral search; that is, it enables you to add a highlighted term or phrase to the search: text entry area on the search screen.

You can highlight words or phrases from records in the Retrieved Records display area and click Highlight and Search to add them to the Search: text entry area.

Limit...

The Limit... button appears in the Search History area of the Search screen.

Limit fields are specially Indexed fields that contain a relatively small number of possible values. They are useful for narrowing the scope of your search.

Load and Run Searches...

The Load and Run Searches... menu item is available on the File menu at the Search screen. This menu item lets you reuse a search you previously saved to a hard or floppy disk. The system administrator can determine if this menu item will be available. The menu item is grayed out if it is unavailable.

Mark Record

The Mark Record menu item is available on the Mark menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you select an individual record for later printing or saving to a floppy or hard disk.

With the cursor in the record, choose Mark Record from the Mark menu, press Alt, M, R, or click on the book icon beside a record to mark a record.

When you mark an record, a check mark appears on the book icon at the top of the record to indicate the record is marked, and the Mark Record option changes to Unmark Record.

Next Hit

The Next Hit menu item is available on the Records menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. The Next Hit button is available at the bottom of the screens.

Next Hit lets you move to the next occurrence of the term you searched.

Next Record

The Next Record menu item is available on the Records menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you move to the record immediately following the current record.

The current record is the active record being displayed. To make a record the current record, click anywhere on it. The current record changes automatically as you scroll through records.

Choose Next Record from the records menu, press Ctrl + PgDn, or click the double down arrow in the scroll bar to view the next record. When you move to the next record, the status bar at the top of the Retrieved Records area is updated automatically to indicate the current record number.

The OK button appears to the right of the text entry areas on the Browse screen, the Search screen, and the Thesaurus screen.

At the Browse screen, typing a term in the text entry area and clicking OK displays the records associated with the term you typed.

At the search screen, typing a term in the text entry area and clicking OK performs the search you typed.

At the Thesaurus screen, typing a term in the text entry area and clicking OK displays the portion of the Permuted Index beginning with the term you typed.

Note: If you type a term in the text entry area of the Browse screen, Search screen or Thesaurus screen and then change to the Browse or Thesaurus screen, the term will be looked up automatically.

Paste

The Paste menu item is available on the Edit menu at the Search screen, Browse screen and Thesaurus screen. Choose Paste from the Edit menu or press Ctrl+V to insert the contents of the Windows Clipboard at the insertion point. Paste is only available if you have copied something to the Clipboard.

You can use Paste to place copied text into the Search: text entry area, the Browse: text entry area, or the Thesaurus: text entry area.

Previous Hit

The Previous Hit menu item is available on the records menu at the Search screen and Browse screen, and the Previous Hit button is available at the bottom of those screens.

Previous Hit lets you move to the previous occurrence of the term you searched.

Previous Record

The Previous Record menu item is available on the records menu at the Search screen and the Browse screen. This menu item lets you move to the record immediately preceding the current record.

The current record is the active record being displayed. To make a record the current record, click anywhere on it. The current record changes automatically as you scroll through records.

Choose Previous record from the records menu, press Ctrl + PgUp, or click the double up arrow to move to the previous record. When you move to the previous record, the status bar at the top of the Retrieved Records area is updated automatically to indicate the current record number.

The Print button appears on the button bar. This button enables you to print marked or displayed records by accessing the Print records dialog box.

You can display the Print records dialog box by clicking the Print button, by pressing F6, or by selecting Print Records... from the File menu.

Print Options...

The Print Options... menu item is available on the Options menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you select which fields to print, how to print field names, which text style to use, and whether or not to print your search history.

To access the Print Records options, click the Options... button in the Print Records dialog box, or choose Print Options... from the Options menu. Choosing Print Options... from the Options menu sets the options for all later printing during the current search session.

Print Records...

The Print records... menu item is available on the File menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you print the currently displayed records or any records you may have marked. You can select which records to print, which printer to use, page orientation, paper size and source, how to set up the printer, advanced printer setup options, as well as how the printed records will appear.

Print Selected Text

The Print Selected Text option is available on the File menu at the Search screen. This menu item allows you to select any part of a record and then print it.

Print Setup...

The Print Setup... menu item is available on the File menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you select which printer to use, page orientation, page size, paper source, where to print, print margins, whether to include headers on the page, and how to scale.

Print Setup... also lets you set advanced options for True Type fonts. The appearance of the Print Setup dialog box will vary according to your printer.

Reset Thesaurus

The Reset Thesaurus menu item is available on the Options menu at the Thesaurus screen. Choose Reset Thesaurus to return the Thesaurus to its startup condition. Choosing this menu option will clear the Thesaurus screen, term lists, and Thesaurus histories.

Restart...

The Restart... menu item is available on the File menu at the Search screen. Use Restart. . . to begin or end a search session. Restart. . . returns you to either the Database Title screen or the Database Selection dialog box, depending on how many databases are available at your workstation. Your search history and any field sets you have created are erased, and all options are reset to their default values.

When you select Restart. . . from the File menu, or press F7, WilsonDisc for Windows will display the Restart WilsonDisc for Windows dialog box asking you if you want to save marked records or if you want to save your search history.

Retype

The Retype button appears in the Search History area of the search screen. Retype displays the text of an earlier search in the Search: text entry area, enabling you to edit the statement and search again without retyping the entire statement.

Save

The Save button appears on the button bar. This button accesses the Save Records dialog box, enabling you to save displayed records. This button is disabled if there are no records displayed in the Retrieved Records area.

You can also press F11 or choose Save Records... from the File menu to Save.

Save Options...

The Save Options... menu item is available on the Options menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you select which fields to save, how to save field names, and whether or not to save your search history (for viewing only).

Save Records...

The Save Records... menu item is available on the File menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you save the results of your current search to a hard or floppy disk.

The Search button appears on the Browse screen. Use this button to search for the term or statement.

Note: Although retrieved records are displayed at the Browse screen, to add the terms to the search history, you must use the Search button to perform the search.

Search +

The Search + button appears on the Browse screen. Use this button to perform alternate searches in most Wilson databases and biographical searches (Biography Search +) in Current Biography, World Authors, and Famous First Facts.

Save Search History...

The Save Search History. . . menu item is available on the File menu at the search screen. This menu item lets you save your search history to a floppy or hard disk. You can then reuse that saved search history later, in another search session, by using the Load and Run Searches. . . menu item on the File menu.

You can choose where to save your search history depending on the way the system is set up. If you are saving to a floppy disk, insert the disk before beginning the procedure.

Search History Full Screen

The Search History Full Screen menu item is available on the Views menu at the search screen or you can click the Search History Full Screen button at the bottom of the screen. Search History Full Screen lets you enlarge the Search History area to fill the screen.

Search List

The Search List button appears on the Thesaurus screen. Search List allows you to search for the Thesaurus terms you have selected and added to the list of terms to search.

You add terms to the list by clicking the Add to List... button. You can view terms on the list by clicking the View List... button.

Search Now

The Search Now button appears on the Thesaurus screen. Use this button to search for a highlighted term.

Searches

The Searches menu item is available on the Views menu at the Search screen, Browse screen and Thesaurus screen. This menu item lets you move to the search screen. The Searches button appears on the button bar.

Display the search screen by clicking the Searches button, by pressing F2, or by selecting Searches from the Views menu.

Select Database...

The Select Database... menu item is available on the File menu at the search screen. Select Database... lets you choose the database or databases you want to use from a list of available databases.

If your workstation has access to more than one database, the Available Databases dialog box is displayed when you first start WilsonDisc for Windows. Choose Select Database..., click the Database button, or choose Restart.

Show

The Show button appears in the Search History area on the Search screen and in the Browse Terms area on the Browse screen. Use this button to display records associated with the highlighted search statement or browse term.

At the Search screen, clicking the Show button displays records for the highlighted search statement.

At the Browse screen, highlight a term in the Browse Terms area and click the Show button to display records.

Show Hits Per Database

The Show Hits Per Database menu item is available on the Options menu at the search screen. When multi-database searching, you can use this option to view the number of records your search retrieved from each database. If you turn on this option, the number of records from each database is listed in the Search History area.

Show Intermediate Results

The Show Intermediate Results menu item is available on the Options menu at the search screen. When Show Intermediate Results is turned on, each term of your search statement is displayed in the Search History area of the search screen.

Show Marked Records

The Show Marked Records menu item is available on the records menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you show only the records you marked in the searches you performed.

Show Options...

The Show Options... menu item is available on the Options menu at the Search screen and the Browse screen. This menu item lets you customize the display of retrieved records by specifying which fields to display, how to display field names, whether to indent text, whether to automatically show records in the full screen, and how text will appear. When you change Show Options, the changes stay in effect until you change them or restart your search session.

Show Thesaurus History

The Show Thesaurus History menu item, available on the Options menu only at the Thesaurus screen, displays the Thesaurus History dialog box containing a list of Thesaurus terms you have already viewed. You can select any of the terms on the list and redisplay that section of the Thesaurus.

Sort Records...

The Sort Records... menu item is available on the records menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you specify whether or not you want to sort retrieved records, and, if so, the field to sort on, such as by Author.

You can sort records in ascending order (1 - 100, or a-z) or descending order (100-1, or z-a).

Split Screen

Use the Split Screen menu item, on the Views menu, to change the view of the screen back to its default appearance with retrieved records displayed on the bottom half of the screen and the Search History area (or Browse) on the top. This is the default appearance of the WilsonDisc for Windows screen.

You can also press the Split Screen button at the bottom of the screen.

Start of Record

Start of Record lets you move to the beginning of the current record. This menu item is available at the Search screen and Browse screen.

The current record is the active record being displayed. To make a record the current record, click anywhere on it. The current record changes automatically as you scroll through records.

Choose Start of Record from the records menu or press Ctrl + Home to move to the beginning of the current record.

Term Information

The Term Information button appears on the Thesaurus screen. Use this button to see details about a highlighted term, such as broader and narrower terms.

Thesaurus

The Thesaurus menu item is available on the Views menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you display the database’s online Thesaurus.

The Thesaurus button appears on the button bar.

You can display the Thesaurus screen by clicking the Thesaurus button, by pressing F9, or by selecting Thesaurus from the Views menu.

Note: If you are searching more than one database and they are from different families, the Thesaurus menu item and button will be disabled. They will also be disabled if the database doesn’t have a thesaurus.

Undo Last Move

Undo Last Move lets you cancel the last action you performed. This menu item is available on the Records menu at the Search screen and Browse screen.

Choose Undo Last Move from the Records menu or press Ctrl + U to cancel the last action you performed.

Unmark All

The Unmark All menu item is available on the Mark menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you unmark all marked records. Selecting Unmark All immediately unmarks any records you marked in the current search as well as in previous searches.

When you choose Unmark All, the check mark on the book icon disappears to indicate the records are no longer marked. You can use this menu item to unmark all marked records at any time, such as after printing or saving records.

Unmark Record

The Unmark Record menu item is available on the Mark menu at the Search screen and Browse screen. This menu item lets you clear (unmark) individual marked records.

When you choose Unmark Record, the check mark on the book icon at the top of the record disappears to indicate the record is no longer marked.

View List...

The View List... button appears on the Thesaurus screen. View List... displays the Selected Term List dialog box, allowing you to view the list of Thesaurus terms you have selected for searching.

View Loaded Databases...

The View Loaded Databases... menu item is available on the Utilities menu at the Search screen, Browse screen, and Thesaurus screen. This menu item lets you display the Loaded Databases dialog box, which lists the database(s) loaded currently.