It is possible to do a more detailed search of the database using the Advanced Search screen. This screen is displayed by clicking on the ‘New Query’ button from the queries list.
You will notice on the form there are different sections you can include in your search.
The sections are: -
Artist
Specific Year
Year Between
Prices
Comments
Condition
Country
Format
Select Another Field To Search
If you want to use one or more of the sections to make up your search parameters (Query), tick the relevant box (the one that says Include In The Search). You will notice that boxes or drop-down lists will become visible. Fill in the boxes, or select information from the drop-down lists until you have selected the combination of information you want to search for. You must have at least one of the search sections enabled to do a search.
Remember the more complex the query, the less likely it is to find a match in the database.
The ‘Select Another Field’ section is slightly different than the others. In this section you have a drop-down list and another box to enter information.
The drop-down list allows you to select one of the fields to search in the database, the box is for the information you want to search for.
For Example
If you want to include the Label in your query, select ‘Label’ from the drop-down list and then enter the Label you want to search for in the box provided.
Example 1
You want to search for all Wombles and ABBA recordings that have been recorded between 1980 and 1990. They are in good condition and are in CD format.
1.Tick the boxes to enable the following sections: -
Artist
Year Between
Condition
Format
2. In the Artist section select Wombles from drop-down list 1 and ABBA from drop-down list
3. In the Year Between section, enter 1980 in the first box and 1990 in the second.
4. In the Condition section select Good from the drop-down list.
5. In the Format section select CD from the drop-down list.
You are now ready to search (Query) the database with the parameters you have selected above.
To search the database, click on the Search button. The database will be searched, and any records found that match your Query will be displayed in the grid in the Search Database screen.
Example 2
You want to search for all Cat Stevens recordings, including those that may be part of a compilation album. You will need to search for Cat Stevens as part of the track information for the compilation albums.
1.Tick the boxes to enable the following sections:-
Artist
Select Another Field To Search
2.In the artist section, enter Cat Stevens in box one.
For the other section, select Track from the drop-down list and enter *Cat Stevens* in the other box. Click on the Search button.
All Artist and Track sections will now be searched for Cat Stevens.
NOTE: Don’t forget the tick boxes at the top of the screen. To search for all entries regardless as to whether they are in your collection or not, make sure the All box has a tick in it.
TIP: If your search returns ‘No Matches’ try removing one of the sections and searching again. You can also try using the wildcard character ‘*’. EG for any format starting with double, enter Double*. See the ‘Basic Search’ topic for more examples of using the * character.
Care should be taken when using the wildcard character. Putting a space after the ‘*’ will not be the same as putting it directly after the last character and will probably result in your database search returning zero matches.
There are three buttons that are marked & or Or. These buttons toggle between & and Or each time you click on them. The buttons are in the sections, Comments and Search Another Field.
These buttons will change the way the query searches the database.
For Example
You may be searching for any recordings by ABBA and also searching for the word ‘drummer’ in the Notes field. If the first &/Or button is set to &, the query will try to find any matches in the database, where the artist is ABBA AND drummer is in the Notes field.
If you change the &/Or button to Or, the query will try to find any matches in the database, where the artist is ABBA Or the Notes field contains the word drummer.
Try experimenting with the &/Or buttons and see how the results change.
If you think you will use this Query again you can save all the settings and give the Query a name so you can select at a later time.
Enter a name for your Query in the Query Description box and click on the Save New button. This Query will now be saved to the current database file and displayed in the list on the Queries screen. See the separate topic for the Query List.
Other Buttons
Clear will clear all fields ready to input a new Query.
Delete will delete the current Query from the database. Be careful, no undo for this delete.
Close will close the screen.