The search page allows you to search on any field or combination of fields.
| Archive ID | A unique id number assigned to each record in the collection. |
| Classified | Identifies if the record has been classified. A record is considered classified when all information about that record has been entered into the database. If a record is copyrighted, the notes field may not contain copyrighted material. Only "Yes" and "No" may be entered. |
| Condition* | Identifies the condition (Average, Poor, Very Fine, etc.) of the stamp. Can be up to 20 characters in length. |
| Copyrighted | Identifies if the record is copyrighted. If the record is flagged as copyrighted, no images or attachments will be shown. Only "Yes" and "No" may be entered. |
| Creator* | Name of the company or person that created the original item. Can be up to 50 characters in length. |
| Date Acquired | The date the item was acquired. The date must be entered in a "m/d/yyyy" or "mm/dd/yyyy" format. For example: 1/5/1904 or 12/20/2001. |
| Date Created | The date the item was created. If the item is a photograph, its the date the image was taken. The date must be entered in a "m/d/yyyy" or "mm/dd/yyyy" format. For example: 1/5/1904 or 12/20/2001. |
| Date Entered | The date the record was entered into the local database. This is not the date the record was uploaded to the web site database. The date must be entered in a "m/d/yyyy" or "mm/dd/yyyy" format. For example: 1/5/1904 or 12/20/2001. |
| Description | Describes the record. Can be up to 100 characters. This is the only information required to have a valid record. |
| Format* | The format (Advertisement, Correspondence, Pamphlet, Photograph, Postcard, Magazine, etc...) of the record. Can be up to 20 characters in length. |
| In Color | Identifies if the record is in color. Only "Yes" and "No" may be entered. |
| Month Created | The month the item was created in. |
| Notes | Unlimited text. |
| Number of records to display | Specifies the number of records to be displayed on the search result page. You can select "25", "50", "75" or "100". The default is 25. |
| Size* | Size of the item. Can be up to 20 characters in length. |
| Source* | Name of the company or person that provided the item. Can be up to 50 characters in length. |
| Subject | Each record can have an unlimited number of subjects assigned to it. A subject can be up to 50 characters in length. |
| Year Created | The year the item was created. Must be entered as 4 characters. For example: 1885, 1965 or 2008. |
*When searching on this field you can perform either a straight search or use the wildcard characters asterisk '*' or question mark '?'.
A straight search will only return those records that exactly match the search phase entered. For example: entering 'Postcard' in the Format field and clicking the Perform Search button will return all records that have 'Postcard' in its Format field.
Asterisk '*' - matches any number of characters. It can be used any where in the character string.
| Mac* | Return all records starting with the letters mac (Mac, MacIntosh, Mackenzie) |
| J*n | Return all records starting with the letter J and ending with the letter n (Jon, Johnson, Jason, Juan) |
| *sam* | Finds values with 'sam'" anywhere in the string (Sam, Samson, Grossam) |
Question mark '?' - matches any single alphabetic character.
| ?dam | Return values with exactly four characters, the last three being 'dam' (Adam, Odam) |
| Mac? | Return values with exactly four characters, the first three being 'Mac' (Mack, Macs) |
Next to the Description, Notes, Format, Condition, Creator, Size and Source fields is a Not = check box. If this box is checked, the program will return all records where the corresponding field is not equal to the search condition. For example, if you enter 'Photograph' in the format field and check the Not = checkbox next to it, the program will return all records that does not have a Format of 'Photograph'.
The Archive ID, Date Acquired, Date Entered, Date Created and Year Created fields allows searches using the "=" (equal to), "After" (greater than), "Before" (less than), "Between" and "Not =" operators.
If no operator is selected, the search program will perform an "=" search.
Will return all records created in 1956. When entering a date, the year must be four characters.
Will return all records that were acquired before February 2, 2008. When entering a date, the year must be four characters.
Will return all records created after 1980. When entering a date, the year must be four characters.
Will return all records not created on December 25, 1885. When entering a date, the year must be four characters.
Will return all records that were created between October 25, 1918 and November 14, 1920. When entering a date, the year must be four characters.
Clicking on the label to the right of the Condition, Creator, Format, Size, Source or Subject fields will display a summary page listing a all the values in that database and the number of records that have that item.