DialogWeb Help: Begin Databases

The Begin Databases page displays when you submit a BEGIN command. The page contains

• a drop-down list box of the databases accessed
• a Bluesheet link to complete database documentation
• a link to the Rate information in the database Bluesheet
• tables and lists of the Fields, Formats, Sorts, Limits, and Tags for the selected database
• the Command text box and the Submit and Previous buttons

The Database List Box
The Database list box contains a list of the databases accessed by the last BEGIN command. Databases are listed in numeric order. The Bluesheet, Fields, Formats, Sorts, Limits, and Tags links are specific to the current selection.

Bluesheet
The Bluesheet option displays the complete text of the Bluesheet for the current database selection.

Rates
The Rates option displays the complete rate information from the database Bluesheet.

Fields
The Fields option displays a table of Main Search Fields (the most commonly used search fields) for the current database selection. The More Search Fields list box displays a list of all the available search fields for the selected database.

Formats
The Formats option displays a table of Named Formats. The Dialog format equivalent and the data returned are also provided. The Named Formats are:

• Free - includes all available free information.
• Short - usually equivalent to Dialog Format 8 (for bibliographic records, this format normally provides a title, word count, publication date, and indexing)
• Medium - usually equivalent to Dialog Format 3 (for bibliographic records, this format normally provides a bibliographic citation and word count)
• Long - usually equivalent to Dialog Format 5 or 7 (for bibliographic records, these formats normally provide the bibliographic citation, lead paragraph, and abstract but not the text)
• Full - usually equivalent to Dialog Format 9 (for bibliographic records, this format normally provides the full record including the text) and indexing.

The Format Numbers list box displays a list of all the formats, with a brief description of each format available for the selected database.

Sorts
The Sorts option displays a table of the Sort Fields available for the selected database.

Limits
The Limits option displays a table of the Limit Fields available for the selected database.

Tags
Tags displays a list of field tags available for the selected database.