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Help - How to search the system

There are several ways to search the Policies & Procedures system.

Help for the following topics is available:

Search tips

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Searching at the system level

Selecting the system level Search option returns a form that allows you to select the scope of your search (all manuals or a specific manual) and enter your search criteria.

  1. In Step 1, select the scope of your search. Select all manuals to find sections in all manuals currently available in the system. Select a specific manual to find sections only in that manual.
  2. In Step 2, enter your search term or terms. Use an asterisk (*) to truncate a search term. For example, to find sections containing the term environment or environmental, you could use the search term environment*.
  3. Finally, in Step 3, select the Search button to start your search. If you have chosen to search all manuals, the search may take several minutes.

If sections are found that match your criteria, a list of manual titles will be displayed. The right-hand column shows the number of sections in each manual that match your search criteria. Select the title of a manual to display a Search Results list.

If you would like to search a subset of the manuals in the system or specify a specific time period, you should use Advanced Search.

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Searching while using a specific manual

When you are using a specific manual, a simple search form is always available at the top of the left-hand menu bar. Enter a word or words in the box and select the Search button. If documents are found that match your search criteria, a search results list will be returned.

The search results list contains the title and revision date of each section. By default, the sections are ordered by relevance. Select the title of a section to view full text of the section. While you viewing a document, the back/next links at the top right-hand side of the window will take you to the previous/next section in your search results. The print version link allows you to download a PDF version of the section for printing.

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Using the advanced search form

The advanced search form is designed to allow you to create specific searches.

  1. In Step 1, specify the scope of your search. At the system level, select a manual from the "available Manuals" list on the left, then select the single right arrow to add it to the "Selected Manuals" list. Similarly, you can select a manual from the "Selected Manuals" list, then select the single left arrow to remove it from the list. Finally, the double right and double left arrows add and remove all manuals, respectively.
  2. In Step 2, enter your search criteria. The effects of the various search operators are described below.
Operator Effect
contains any At least one of the search terms must be in the section (equivalent to a Boolean OR).
contains all All search terms must be in the section, but not in any particular order (equivalent to a Boolean AND).
contains the phrase All search terms must be in the section, in the order specified, including stop words.
contains in order All search terms must be in the section, in the order specified, excluding stop words.
includes The search term must be in the section.
  1. In Step 3, you have the option of restricting your search by revision date. By default, sections revised on or after the date specified are included. You can also choose to find sections revised on or before the date specified. You must enter a complete date (for example, 10/3/2000).
  2. In Step 4, you have the option of selecting the ordering criteria for the search results. By default, documents are ordered by relevance. This means that sections that contain more occurrences of your search criteria appear toward the top of the list.
  3. Finally, in Step 5, select the Search button to start your search. If you have selected more than a few manuals, the search may take up to 2 minutes.

If sections are found that match your search criteria, a list of manual titles will be displayed. The right-hand column lists the number of sections in each manual that match your search criteria. Select the title of a manual to display the search results for that manual.