Help for Finders
Common Name Finder (Search Option)

CONTENTS

• Top Screen Area / Blue Menu Bar
• Left Screen Area / Left Control Panel
• Main-Display Screen Area
  • Overview
  • Taxon List Header Lines
  • User-Selectable Controls
  • Search Tips and Functionality
• More Information . . .

• Back - move back to previously viewed screens
• Forward - move forward to previously viewed screens
• Home - display the TIARA home page
• Help - display a context-sensitive help page
• Restart - display the TIARA home page and reset internal settings to their "start up" state

Left Screen Area / Left Control Panel (more details about the Left Screen Area)

• Finders group - use a finder to locate the home page of a different taxon
• Settings group - change the settings for the active screen

Main-Display Screen Area

  Overview

     The Main-Display Area of the Common Name Finder (Search Option) displays user-selectable controls, taxon lists and associated header and footer information. With this Finder you can quickly search the TIARA system's "common name" data for taxa of interest using one or more words that you enter. Search results are displayed in the form of a taxon list that contains direct links to the Taxon Home Pages of these taxa.

  Taxon List Header Lines 

1. Finder name and option
2. Search criteria for the active taxon list
3. List item (line) count for the active taxon list

  User-selectable Controls 

• "Select a finder option:" combo box- Make a choice from the "Select a finder option:" combo box to switch among the available options of the Common Name Finder. Selecting an option from the combo box automatically and immediately loads the chosen Finder option.
• "Search for:" text box - Enter the text you want to search for in the "Search for:" text box. Initiate the search by pressing the "Enter" key or by clicking on either the "and Search" or "or Search" button. If multiple words are entered in the text box, pressing the "Enter" key will default to an "and" search. For additional notes and tips on the search functionality implemented on this page, see Search Tips and Functionality below.
• "and Search" button - Click on the "and Search" button to perform an "and" (intersection) search based on multiple words entered in the "Search for:" text box.
• "or Search" button - Click on the "or Search" button to perform an "or" (union) search based on multiple words entered in the "Search for:" text box.
• "Reset" button - Click on the "Reset" button to clear the "Search for:" text box.
• [TaxonName] taxon home page icon () - Click on a yellow Taxon Home Page Icon to link directly to the Home Page of the named taxon (or associated higher rank) that the icon immediately follows.
• "Top" - Click on the Top link (located below the taxon list) to jump to the top of the Main-Display Screen Area.
• Scroll Bars - Depending upon your monitor screen size and the length of the active taxon list, you may see scroll bars on the right and/or bottom of the Main-Display Area. Use the scroll bars to move the Main-Display Area vertically and/or horizontally to better view its contents.

  Search Tips and Functionality

• Searches are case insensitive. Proper names do not need to be capitalized.
• Searches match only complete words. Searches for partial names will return nothing or unpredictable results.
• Searches return entries for all matches encountered, regardless of rank. Thus, lists may contain matched taxa representing multiple ranks.
• Searches return taxon lists arranged in strictly alphabetical order.
• An unlimited number of multiple words may be entered in the "Search for:" text box (this facilitates searches for any number of random multiple taxa). Separate individual words by a single space. Select an "and" or "or" search by clicking on the appropriate Search button. The default functionality initiated by pressing the "Enter" key while the cursor is located within the "Search for:" text box is an "and" search.
• You can use the multiple word functionality of the "Search for:" text box to search specifically for multinomial common names. However, it is generally faster and easier to search using just one element of the name, and then select the desired species from the returned list. The latter method has the added benefit of perhaps returning the desired name in slightly different form than that by which you know it.
• The Common Name Finder (Search Option) uses a simple form of fuzzy logic to retrieve in a single query any matching singular and/or pleural name forms based on the roots of simple English pleural words ending in -s and -es. For example: (1) entering either "ant" or "ants" will return common names containing the words "ant" and/or "ants", (2) entering either "admiral" or "admirals" will return common names containing the words "admiral" and/or "admirals". This functionality avoids the need to perform multiple searches to identify common names that differ only by the common English -s/-es pleural endings. Note, however, that more irregular or complex singular/pleural formations cannot currently be located in a single query in this manner. In such cases, multiple searches may be required to locate all common names of interest.
• The "and Search" and "or Search" buttons operate on the current contents of the "Search for:" text box and may be used in any combination as needed without reentering strings into the text box. With this functionality, you can also modify (or add, or delete) one (or more) of a long list of entries in the "Search for:" box without having to retype the complete string over from scratch.
• In addition to providing icon links () to matched taxa, most taxon list lines also provide icon links to the more inclusive higher taxa to which the matched taxa belong. You can use this functionality to locate and access links to higher taxa whose names you don't know or can't remember, if you know the name of an included taxon.
• Because common names often do not correspond one-to-one with "scientific" names, it has frequently been difficult to decide with which scientific name a particular common name should be matched. This is especially true of common names that refer, often vaguely, to groups of species. We have done our best to represent such pairings as accurately as possible, but we realize that some of our choices will not be universally acceptable. Interested users are referred to the TIARA Collaborators page (see Data from Organizations) for the sources of common names used in the TIARA system. These include mostly English-language sources, but also at least one Spanish-language source. No listing of common names could ever be complete, and we are well aware of the inadequacies and incompleteness of the listing available here, which has been compiled principally from a number of "semi-official" sources. We intend to augment the Common Name Finder as time, funding and additional name sources permit.
• The yellow icon images returned in taxon lists may be slow to load if they are particularly numerous, if the server is busy, or if your connection is slow. However, if the adjacent text allows you to identify the positions where the icons will load, these positions are generally clickable even if the icon is not visible. Thus, after a little practice, you may be able to proceed to the desired Taxon Pages without having to wait for the icons to load.

More Information . . . 

• General Overview for Newcomers