If you are looking for specific information you can use the
Advanced Search to do a more complex search. The 'Advanced Search' option offers numerous ways for you to make your searches more precise and therefore get more useful results.
To begin an 'Advanced Search' simply place your cursor in the appropriate search box(es) and type a 'keyword' or search terms. When you have filled in all the necessary boxes click 'Search' or press the 'Return' (or 'Enter') key on your keyboard and our search engine will attempt to find matches for your keyword(s). Entering more precise keywords into the search boxes, or filling in more details/choosing more options, will refine your search and produce a more specific list of results.
The results page returns all the matching results for the search. Any results that match the keyword(s) are returned on the results page, ordered by relevance. The matched 'keywords' are highlighted in the displayed excerpt which accompanies each result. Simply click on the link to be taken to the relevant information in its original location. Note that results are listed in blocks of 10, to see additional results click the 'next' link at the top of the results listing or use the page numbers at the bottom to jump directly to a specific point in the list.
Advanced Search Options
There are two main sections in the Advanced Search which help you to make your search more precise:
You can select as many or as few of the options/search boxes as you require in either or both of these sections.
1. What Are You Looking For?
You can add keywords to the following search boxes to specify exactly what you are looking for, or to exclude certain words.
- With all the words – finds results containing all the keywords in this box.
- With any of the words – finds results containing any of the keywords in this box.
- With the exact phrase – finds results containing the exact phrase in this box.
- Without the words – finds results that do not contain the terms specified in this box. This box can only be used if keywords have also been specified in either the 'all the words' or the 'any of the words' boxes.
2. Refine Your Search
This section allows you to select one or more 'filters' for your search. First enter your keyword as described above and then select as many or as few of the options as you require. You can make multiple selections, by holding down the 'Control' (CTRL) key on your keyboard when choosing items from the following scrolling lists:
Categories
You can choose (or enter) one or more 'categories' to filter your search and in doing so, find more relevant results. Note that the categories provided within the list are broad subject headings taken from the latest Government classification scheme. If you wish to enter your own 'categories' into the box you must use double "quotation marks" and separate each category with 'OR'. For example, "Abandoned Vehicles" OR "Cycling".
The easiest method is to use the 'select a category from pop-up selector' link, to open a separate browser window, where you can choose a number of category options. Click on the plus (+) and minus (-) icons to reveal or hide sub-categories in each category and click 'add' or 'remove' to modify your selection(s). You can browse around this section, or use the 'search' facility to locate the most suitable categories. Use 'My Categories' to view a list of the selections you have made. When you are happy with your selection click 'close this window' and your options will automatically be entered into the categories box.
District/Borough
You can use this option to specify a particular District or Borough Council you want to search within. You can either make your choice (or multiple choices) from the scrolling list, or click 'Select a District/Borough (from pop up map)' to make a single choice from the map of County Durham.
Types of Organisation
You can search using a particular 'organisation type' by highlighting one (or more) of the following in the scrolling list:
- County Council
- District/Borough Council
- Fire
- Health Authorities
- Police
A Specific Organisation
If you want to search a particular organisation's website, use the scrolling list to highlight your choice(s). Note that, if this box is used, it overrides any selections in both the District/Borough and Types of Organisation boxes.
File Type
You can limit your search to only find results of a particular file type, including file types such as; Portable Document Format (.pdf), Binary (media files), Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (.xls), HTML files (.htm), Microsoft Powerpoint (.ppt), Rich Text Format (.rtf), Text (.txt), Microsoft Word (.doc) and WordPerfect (.wp).
Still Having Trouble?
It is possible that you may be searching for a subject for which the partners involved in Durham Connects do not provide a services or advice. It is also possible that the information about a service we provide hasn't yet been placed onto this website. Please
contact us to let us know what you were looking for and couldn't find, so that we can help you directly.
