Heratio Help Center article. Category: Browse & Search.
Advanced Search
User Guide
Find records using powerful search filters, field-specific queries, and saved searches.
Overview
ADVANCED SEARCH Basic Search Advanced Search Saved Searches Quick keyword Multiple fields Reuse queries lookup Boolean operators Share with team Date ranges Facet filters Accessing Advanced Search
Main Menu Browse Click "Advanced Search" link ADVANCED SEARCH PANEL [Basic] [Content] [Access Points] [Dates] [Filters] Search Tabs
Basic Tab
BASIC SEARCH Search Terms: [ ] [Search] Search In: [All Fields ] • All Fields • Title • Reference Code • Creator • Scope and Content Match: ○ All words (AND) ○ Any word (OR) ○ Exact phrase Content Tab
CONTENT SEARCH Title Contains: [ ] Reference Code: [ ] Identifier: [ ] Scope and Content: [ ] Extent and Medium: [ ] Archival History: [ ] Finding Aids: [ ]
Access Points Tab
ACCESS POINTS Subject: [ ] [ Add] Agriculture [×] Mining [×] Place: [ ] [ Add] Cape Town [×] Name/Creator: [ ] [ Add] Genre: [ ] [ Add]
Dates Tab
DATE SEARCH Date Range: From: [ ] [📅] YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD To: [ ] [📅] YYYY or YYYY-MM-DD Date Type: [All Date Types ] • All Date Types • Creation Date • Accumulation Date • Date of Content Quick Select: [19th Century] [1900-1950] [1950-2000] [This Year] Filters Tab
FILTERS Repository: [All Repositories ] Level of Description: ☑ Fonds ☑ Sub-fonds ☑ Series ☑ Sub-series ☑ File ☑ Item Sector: [All Sectors] [Archive] [Museum] [Library] [Gallery] [DAM] Media Type: [All Types ] • All Types • With Digital Objects • Images Only • Audio Only • Video Only • Documents Only Publication Status: ○ All ○ Published Only ○ Draft Only Boolean Operators
Combine search terms with operators:
BOOLEAN SEARCH AND - Both terms must appear Example: mining AND gold OR - Either term can appear Example: photo OR photograph NOT - Exclude a term Example: diamond NOT industrial " " - Exact phrase Example: "Cape Town harbour" * - Wildcard (any characters) Example: Johan* (finds Johann, Johannesburg) ? - Single character wildcard Example: wom?n (finds woman, women)
Examples
SEARCH EXAMPLES Find records about gold mining in Johannesburg: gold AND mining AND Johannesburg Find photos or photographs of ships: (photo OR photograph) AND ship Find all variations of a name: Smit* (finds Smith, Smit, Smits, Smitman) Find an exact title: "Annual Report 1985" Find correspondence but not circulars: correspondence NOT circular
Search Results
Results Display
SEARCH RESULTS Showing 1-25 of 342 Sort by: [Relevance ] View: [List ] Per page: [25 ] 📁 Annual Reports of the Mining Commissioner Reference: MIN/REP/1890-1920 Date: 1890-1920 Level: Series ...contains reports on gold mining operations... 📄 Gold Mining Regulations Reference: MIN/REG/1895/001 Date: 1895 Level: File ...regulations governing gold extraction... Facet Filters
Narrow results using facets on the side:
REFINE RESULTS REPOSITORY National Archives (156) Mining Museum (89) Chamber of Mines (97) LEVEL Fonds (12) Series (45) File (198) Item (87) DATE 1850-1899 (45) 1900-1949 (167) 1950-1999 (98) 2000-present (32) SUBJECT Gold mining (234) Labour (89) Regulations (56) More... [Clear All Filters]
Saving Searches
Save a Search
After searching, click Save Search :
SAVE SEARCH Search Name: [Gold mining records 1890-1920 ] Description: [All records related to gold ] [mining in the Transvaal ] Visibility: ○ Private (only me) ○ Shared (all users) ☐ Email me when new results match this search [Cancel] [Save Search]
Access Saved Searches
MY SAVED SEARCHES Name Results Last Run Gold mining records 1890-1920 342 Today [Run] [Edit] [Delete] Photographs of Cape Town 1,245 Yesterday [Run] [Edit] [Delete] New acquisitions 2025 89 3 days ago [Run] [Edit] [Delete]
Search Tips
Finding What You Need
SEARCH STRATEGIES Start Broad, Then Narrow 1. Begin with a simple keyword search 2. Review the results 3. Use facets to narrow down 4. Add more specific terms if needed Try Synonyms • photo OR photograph OR image • letter OR correspondence OR memo • map OR plan OR chart Use Wildcards for Variations • organi* (finds organize, organisation, organization) • coloni* (finds colonial, colonialism, colonies)
Best Practices
✓ DO ✗ DON'T Use specific terms Search for "documents" Try alternative spellings Assume one spelling Use date filters Search all time Check facets for options Ignore filter options Save useful searches Rebuild complex searches Use quotes for phrases Search phrase as words
Fuzzy Search (Typo Tolerance)
The GLAM Browse page includes automatic typo detection and correction. When you misspell a search term, the system will suggest or auto-correct your query.
What You'll See
FUZZY SEARCH ALERTS "Did you mean: archives?" Appears when the system detects a likely typo. Click the suggestion to search with the corrected term. "Showing results for archives" Appears when the system is confident and auto-corrects. Click "Search instead for" to use your original term. "Showing fuzzy matches from search index" Appears when no exact results found, but approximate matches were found via the search index.
How It Works
Fuzzy search combines four techniques:
Levenshtein distance - Detects character-level typos ("musem" → "museum")Phonetic matching - Finds words that sound alike ("Jonson" → "Johnson")FULLTEXT search - Matches word variations ("mining" finds "mine", "miner")Search index fallback - Finds approximate matches when SQL returns nothing
For full details, see the Fuzzy Search User Guide .
Troubleshooting
Problem Solution Too many results Add more search terms Use AND between words Apply facet filters No results found Remove some filters Try broader terms Check spelling Use wildcards (*) Check "Did you mean?" suggestion Results not relevant Use exact phrase (" ") Search specific fields Try different keywords Search is slow Narrow date range Add more filters Use specific fields Keyboard Shortcuts
KEY ACTION Enter Execute search Ctrl K Focus search box Escape Clear search box Tab Move between fields
Need Help?
Contact your system administrator or archivist if you need assistance finding records.
Part of the Heratio AHG Framework
