GDDB Tips, Warnings and Info

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The Geelong and District Database is a wonderful collection of databases and indexes covering the region we call "Geelong and District".

WARNING: If you're using Internet Explorer 9 make sure you click on the Compatibility View icon - everything works when you do!

The following will help you get the most out of searching this database:

FUNCTION FIELD DESCRIPTION
WHAT YOU WILL FIND Records

The records in this database come from a number of sources - the detailed results MAY include:

  • all details from the source [Directories are normally fully transcribed]
  • little more than you see in your initial search BUT the detail screen will provide more information about the source and how you can get more information - this may be from a library, research centre, or a local family or historical society
  • more detail that will help you with your research
SEARCH Index Entry

MANDATORY FIELD

Enter any part of a name or text that may be found in the name / subject of the record - you should enter a MINIMUM of 3 characters

Searching is not case sensitive.

Searching is by a TEXT STRING.

Example: BBOT - will find all entries for ABBOTT, IBBOTSON etc.

Example: RICH - will find all entries for JONES, Richard; RICHARD, George; RICHARDSON, Mary etc.

WILD CARD: you can use a Wild Card ... % ... to further refine your search

Index Title

Enter any part of a word or text that may be found in the Title of the index.  The Title of the index is the name given to a group of records or the Title of a book - e.g. Colac, Geelong, orphan, school etc.

GROUP

Select one of the options from the drop-down box or leave blank to search all.

  • Books DB
  • Bellarine Peninsula DB
  • Burials / Headstones DB
  • Directories DB
  • GDHA Church Records DB
  • Pioneers DB
  • Potpourri DB
  • Surnames of Interest DB

BEWARE: if possible do NOT limit your search to one of these groups - you may be surprised at the entries you find in this new combined database and by limiting your search to either Index Title or Group or both you may miss some important results

SEARCH RESULTS Grid The search results are pre-sorted by Index Title and an invisible field called Sort Year - IF a year is present and the Index Title fields are identical, the entries will then be sorted chronologically
Index Entry A name or subject
Date Relevant date for the entry if available
Index Title The name given to a group of records or the Title of a book or directory
GROUP The major groups / databases listed above
View Click on this link to see the entry DETAILS
SCROLLING through multiple pages Pages

Up to 50 entries are displayed per page

At the bottom left of the page you will see navigation buttons for First page, Previous page, Next page and Last page.  You can also enter a page number to jump directly to that page of results

Hover your mouse of the different icons to view their function

At the bottom right of the page you will see the number of pages and the total number of entries found.

SORTING Columns

WARNING: you will lose the initial sort [by Index Entry and Sort Year] if you sort any of the columns

You can sort by any column shown in the grid - either ascending or descending

Once you have selected ascending or descending for a column you can then select "Group By This Field" then "Show in Groups" - experiement to see the results!  This works particularly well for the Index Title and Group fields.

PRINTING Results Grid

WARNING: The print icon to the right of the navigation arrows at the bottom of the results will print ALL entries and not just those that you can see on that page - in landscape mode this will print approximately 20 entries per page - for 1,000 entries this means 50 printed pages.

Before you hit print try just printing Pages 1-2 [about 40 entries] or similar until you know how much printing you really want to do!

DETAILS for selected entry "Lightbox"

When you click "View" for a particular entry the details will pop up in a "Lightbox"

A heading and detail will only appear if there is data relevant to that heading.

If the detail was truncated on the Grid display, the full detail will display here.

The headings contain DIFFERENT information for each GROUP and for many groups it will differ for each Index Title.  The headings are:

  • Record ID - this will always appear and is unique to EACH record
  • Index Entry
  • Date
  • Other Names
  • Place
  • Comments
  • GROUP ID - IMPORTANT: make a note of this so that you can search by this number to see other surnames being researched by the Submitter.
  • GROUP
  • Index Title
  • Reference
  • Reference Detail
  • Contact Submitter [Surnames of Interest DB only]
  • More Information - appears for every record - FOLLOW THIS LINK to find out the source of the information and how you may be able to get more details

 


 

 

Last Updated on Monday, 13 March 2017 05:53