>Hi. This is a clarification of how to do SEARCH functions on Lactnet..it is
very useful to have this information at your finger tips, and to try it out.
Many times, a topic has been discussed, and you can benefit from finding
past posts on the topic you are interested in.  Lactnet now has 2 years of
archives (MARCH is our SECOND birthday, folks! : )  )

.  For info's sake, there are a few different ways to do a search for
subject matter or sender on Lactnet material.  We have 2 years of Lactnet
posts available to you. The first way is to do the searches through the
[log in to unmask] address.  The second way is accessing the
archives from our archive web site at LACTNET Archives
http://library.ummed.edu/lsv/archives/lactnet.html.  The following
instructions apply to the first method, searching via the listserv.
>
>  For instance, if you are interested in finding all the notes that have
PROZAC in the text since Oct of 1995, you can send an email message that says

SEARCH Echinacea  in LACTNET since Oct 1995
to [log in to unmask]

>If you are interested in finding several different words in Lactnet posts,
such as the following, it might seem that the right way to do it is to do
several *different* searches, in separate notes to listserv, like....
>------------------------------------------------------------
 search epilepsy in lactnet
>
 search tegretol in lactnet
>
 search carbamazepine in lactnet
>
 search phenobarbital in lactnet
>------------------------------------------------------------
>to the  [log in to unmask] address.  However, this is not an
effective way to utilize the search function, as it taxes the system, and is
ineffective.
>
>We are glad that you all are using the search functions, and here are a few
hints....and suggestions on how best to do SEARCHes on Lactnet.
>
>You can put several commands into a single message, and should do so
>when you can (because it's easier for both you and the machine).  Just
>put each command onto its own line.  Second, it will be much easier for
>you to make sense of the output if you put everything you want from
>LACTNET into a single command:

SEARCH EPILEPSY OR TEGRETOL OR CARBAMAZEPINE OR PHENOBARBITAL OR PROZAC  IN
LACTNET
>
>... like that.  Or you can do things like this, too:
>
SEARCH EPILEPSY AND (TEGRETOL OR CARBAMAZEPINE OR PHENOBARBITAL) IN LACTNET
>
>Rather than having to combine the lists of results that LISTSERV gives
>you to from those individual searches, let it do the work for you.
>-----------------------
>
>If you were interested in searching for all the posts that I have made, for
instance, on lactnet, you could do a
>
SEARCH * in Lactnet where BRUCE appears in Sender
>to the [log in to unmask] address.
>
>If you wanted to see all the posts I've made since Jan 1996, for instance,
you could do a
>
SEARCH * in Lactnet where BRUCE appears in Sender since Jan 1996
>
>to [log in to unmask]
>-------------------------------------------------
>If you are searching for several words that are together,
>
>such as
>
Breastmilk storage container
>
>and you want to know what has been said since Jan 1995, on Lactnet, you
should first know that the Listserv automatically assumes  "NEAR" between
all  the  words, so  they not only have to be in the same article but also
within a few words of each other. In addition, unless you  *have* to search
the entire set of archives, you  should always limit the search  with a date
specifier like this:  For instance, say the subject of the search is
breastmilk storage containers.....The search command would be :
>
        search breastmilk storage containers in lactnet since january 1995
>
>It is important  to specify  the search.  Many articles talking about
breast milk would separate  the two words,  and that  some articles  talking
about containers might only say "container", etc.  Specifying a search that
gets all or most of what you want with a minimum of what you don't is as
much of an art as a science, difficult to learn.
>
>For information on searching, write to [log in to unmask]  with the
command
>
                 INFO DATABASE.
>
>When you use the SEARCH function, the computer will send you back a "menu"
of posts, each having a 4 digit number.  You can then order the posts you
want with the  command
>
GETPOST Lactnet #### #### #### ####
>
to [log in to unmask]
>
>Last but not least, the search function is available at the WEB SITE
>LACTNET Archives http://library.ummed.edu/lsv/archives/lactnet.html
>
>Kathleen
>
>
>
>Hope this clarifies the SEARCH function.
>
>Kathleen
>
Kathleen B. Bruce, BSN, IBCLC co-owner Lactnet,Corgi-L,TLC, Indep. Consultant
http://together.net/~kbruce/kbbhome.html
LACTNET Archives http://library.ummed.edu/lsv/archives/lactnet.html