Saving and Rerunning Searches Automatically (SDI feature) with Ovid’s SilverPlatter WebSPIRS 5™
SilverPlatter's WebSPIRS software allows you to use a Web browser to search SilverPlatter databases. The SDI feature included with the WebSPIRS software allows you to save search strategies and request that new database records matching your your SDI search strategies be e-mailed to you automatically. (Ovid is the company that now owns SilverPlatter.)
To transfer
an existing SilverPlatter database search strategy to WebSPIRS 5™ as
an SDI:
- Open
the WebSPIRS™ database that you want the strategy to run against.
- Paste
the strategy into the database’s search box and click
to run the search. Then click the Search History tab
at the top of the screen. A Create SDI icon
will appear on the right
side of the search strategy down in the lower half of the screen.
- The
first time you click on Create SDI , you
will need to create a New User login and password. You should use your full e-mail address
as the Personal User Name.
Choose whatever password you want.
- A Create
a New SDI screen should then appear.
You will then be prompted to:
1) name the SDI (letters and numerals can be combined but spaces are not allowed);
2) enter the e-mail address to which the results should be sent;
3) select the citation format you want; and
4) set an expiration date if you want (the default is one year from date--you can also ask to be notified before the SDI expires).
Caution: If you select Complete Record as the citation format that you prefer, be aware that the database records e-mailed to you will include the complete references cited for the each article adding considerably to the length of each citation.
- Final
step: when you click Create
SDI, WebSPIRS™ creates a baseline set of records. Be patient, as this may take several
minutes, during which you will see the word “PROCESSING…” on the
screen. This baseline set can
normally consist of no more than 1000 records.
- You
will receive an e-mail message when the process is complete. New database records that match your
strategy will be e-mailed to you whenever the database is updated. You may edit or update each SDI
whenever you want or need to do so.
Note: you can also
save search strategies to run whenever you choose. From the Search History screen available through a tab at the top of the screen), select
a search and click on the Save icon 
. The Open folder icon 
allows you
to load your saved searches from the Search History screen.
David Carpenter and Janice Adlington
Vanderbilt University, Central Library, Reference
July 30, 2004
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