# Searching Your Collection

### **About Finding**

Use the **Find Mode** to search the database for specific records. A search always examines all the records in a database file. As a result, the search might change the found set of records. Find records to:

* Locate specific collectors, collections or ornaments
* Work with a subset of records in your database file

After you find records, YuleLog only displays the records found—called the **Found Set.**

### **Searching Using the Find Screen**

YuleLog makes it easy to find a particular ornament or a group of ornaments in a collection. When you click on the Find Button, you will be taken to the following screen. 

{% hint style="info" %}
 **Note: If you do not want the software to automatically enter "QX" into the box number field, you can disable the feature from the Utilities menu.**
{% endhint %}

![The Find Screen](https://821265790-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-LKyRyNzsVqXm169qakj%2F-LLf-rDZ5pSmm_3TIaXx%2F-LLf0V1BubgTGawblfIL%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=62a9173f-ca48-4e8e-b0ce-3f42560bb4a5)

If you want to find the 1991 ornaments with Santa in the name, click in the **Year** field and type 1991, then click in the **Name** field and type Santa. Click on the center **Perform Find** button and you will be given a list of ornaments that meet these requirements. This is called an **AND** search since it finds items that are from 1991 AND that are called Santa.

If you want to find all of the Santa ornaments for 1991 and 1992, repeat the above, but before you click on Perform Find, click on **Add Request** , Click in the year field and type 1992, then click in the Name field and type Santa. This is called an **OR** search since it finds items from 1991 OR 1992.

You can use the operators from the **Symbols** pop-up list in the **Status Area** to look for more specific criteria. First click in the field you want to search on and then click on the button beside **Symbols** to display the following pop-up list. Choose the operator and then type the criteria.

### Operators

| Use This Operator: | **To Find Values That Are:**                           |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| **<**              | **Less Than What You Type Next**                       |
| **<=**             | **Less Than or Equal To What You Type Next**           |
| **>**              | **Greater Than What You Type Next**                    |
| **>=**             | **Greater Than or Equal To What You Type Next**        |
| **=**              | **An Exact Match**                                     |
| **...**            | **Within The Range You Specify**                       |
| **!**              | **Duplicate Values**                                   |
| **//**             | **Today's Date**                                       |
| **?**              | **Invalid Dates**                                      |
| **@**              | **One Character Only**                                 |
| **\***             | **Zero Or More Characters**                            |
| **“”**             | **Literal Text (Opening and Closing Quotation Marks)** |

For example, to find the ornaments from 1983 to 1985, you would type in the year field, 1983...1985 and then click on the center **Perform Find** button.

To find ornaments that don’t match the request click on the **Omit** box in the **Status Bar** after typing in the criteria. For example, to find all ornaments that are not **Mint in Box,** select **Mint in Box** in the **Condition** field, click on the **Omit** check box, and then click on the center **Perform Find** button. You will be presented with a list of all ornaments that are not **Mint in Box**.

To find records that have no information in a particular field, type an **equal sign (=)** or choose the equal sign from the **Symbols** list and then click on the center **Perform Find** button.

Once you have found the items that you were looking for, you may print the list by clicking on the **Print** button at the bottom of the **List View**. You can also visit the **Reports** tab and tell it to remember the found set you have pulled up and then print the generated report.

### **Multiple Find Requests**

You can make several find requests with different criteria and then search for records all at once. For example, if Santa, Rudolph, and Sleigh are all values in the same field, you can make three requests to create a found set of records containing Santa, Rudolph, and Sleigh. To specify multiple search criteria:

1. Click on the **Find** tab or button.
2. In the blank find request, enter or select criteria for the first request.
3. Click on the **Add Request** button.
4. Enter criteria for the second request.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’re finished defining search criteria.
6. Click the **Perform Find** button with the arrow button pointing to it.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Tip: To make multiple requests where most of the search criteria is the same: Choose Duplicate Request from the Requests menu instead of New Request. Then change the search criterion that’s different.**
{% endhint %}

### **Found Set**

After you find records, YuleLog only displays the records found—called the **found set**. To see all of the items in a collection, click on the **List All** button.