Applies to: Version 5.0, Version 4.0
The Query function allows you to search a field or combination of fields using a variety of conditions. You can search across all four catalogs (Objects, Photos, Archives and Library), selected catalogs, or an individual catalog. The search results can be viewed as full catalog records, exported to Microsoft Excel, and printed to a variety of formats. In PastPerfect 5.0, users can also view results’ images in a light box format (with the MultiMedia Upgrade), and add results to a Catalog List. PastPerfect 5.0 users can also query in Contacts and add results to a Contact List.
To create a query while working in a catalog, click on the “Query” button in the Navigation Bar at the top of the screen. Clicking this will open the Query screen where you can use the drop-down menus to select the field, condition, and what to search for, also known as value, to build a filter statement. To query across all four catalogs, start from the Main Menu and select Research | All Catalogs in version 4.0 or Research | All 4 Catalogs in version 5.
In the following examples, we will be searching across all catalogs.
Example 1 (using version 4.0):
You want to find all of the items in your collection that contain the phrase "Civil War" in the Description field.
- Go to Research | All Catalogs.
- Under Field, select "Description."
- Under Condition, select "Contains text."
- Under What, type “Civil War.”
- Click “Search Now”.
This will result in a list of all of the items in your collection with the phrase “Civil War” in the Description field.
Example 2 (using version 5.0):
You want to find all of the items in your collection that have an accession number that starts with either 1998 or 1999.
- Go to Research | All 4 Catalogs.
- Under Field, select "Accession#".
- Under Condition, select "Begins With."
- Under Value, type “1998.”
- Click “Add to Statement”.
- Select the radio button for "or" above the “Add to Statement” button.
- Go back to the Field drop-down menu and select "Accession#."
- Under Condition, select "Begins With."
- Under Value, type “1999.”
- Click “Add to Statement.”
- Now you have a two-line filter statement.
- Click "Run Query to Select Records.”
This will return a list of all of the items in the Objects, Photos, Archives, and Library catalogs that have an accession number starting with either 1998 or 1999.
Other features available when running a Query:
- You can select just the catalogs you want to search by unchecking the catalogs to exclude at the top of the screen.
- Once you have a list of items in Search Results, you can remove records from the list by clicking in the far left (narrow) column, then clicking “Remove Marked Records.”
- You can also print the Search Results as a list (with or without thumbnail images), as a detailed catalog record report, as catalog cards, as record labels, and as exhibit labels.
- When you view the Search Results as catalog records, the queried text will be highlighted in orange. To see these results in version 4, click “View Selected Catalog Records” on the Query screen. In version 5, click “View Records” under View Results in the Query screen sidebar.
- If you want your search to be case sensitive, click the box next to "Match Case" in the upper right portion of your screen so that a check mark appears in that box.
PastPerfect comes with additional tools to help you research your organization’s collections. Keyword searches can search for a term or phrase in all fields or in fields you select. You can also search for appearances of specific people depicted in photos or associated with other items in the collection. Research | By Search Term enables you to create a list of frequently searched topics and provide instant access to them.