Support : Publications : Chronolog Archives : July/August 2001

Enhancements to DataStarWeb™

Now DataStarWeb™ has a complete package of options that can be customized to provide information solutions for every user in an organization.

• New login interface
• Customizable DataStarWeb
• Modifications to e-journal links
• Private File Hosting

These features enable DataStarWeb and DataStar Classic users to receive a faster, more unique, service.

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1. DataStarWeb new login interface

DataStarWeb has created an entry page that will be completely different from the small login box that searchers are used to encountering when they access DataStarWeb. Because more powerful servers now manage Dialog's web access, users have secure access to DataStarWeb. The feature can be enabled or disabled as the customer wishes. See .

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2. Customizable DataStarWeb™

Dialog can now quickly and easily provide a "customized" DataStarWeb so that it can accommodate the diverse needs of everyone in the organization. Here are some of the options that are available:

• Place your company logo on each DataStarWeb screen and link it to your company's intranet.
  
• Define a list of databases to be displayed on the entry page instead of having the official DataStarWeb entry page and databases. This is especially helpful if you want users to have access to a limited selection of files.
• Add help texts to be displayed according to your specifications.
• Send feedback to any e-mail address.
• Have full-text documents delivered through your own library on a form you create.
• Enjoy access to e-journal links, such as those from MEDLINE® (MEDL), EMBASE® (EMED), or INSPEC (INSP) to name a few databases that offer this service.

Customizing DataStarWeb to enjoy these features is as easy as filling out a form indicating the changes you want. Contact your local sales representative to begin the process, and in no time a customized DataStarWeb will be in place in your organization.

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3. E-journal links improvements

DataStarWeb's e-journal links feature, StarLinks, enables journal subscribers to link directly from an abstract database to the full text of the selected article, thus eliminating time spent ordering the article from a document delivery service. Version Two of e-journal links now offers an organization the flexibility it needs with the addition of two tools.

1. Search tool enables anyone within an organization to search for specific journal names or ISSN numbers. A customer can now see whether a particular journal is available in electronic format, what publisher is offering it, and for what time span. No user id is required to use this tool.

2. Management tool provides customers with the flexibility to set their subscriptions so that only links for which a customer has subscriptions are shown on the customized DataStarWeb interface. With this tool a customer can identify specific journal titles and time period of coverage, such as from January 2000 to December 2001. This is a change from the current version of StarLinks that shows links to all journals a publisher (e.g., Springer) offers. Access to this configuration tool is granted through a customer's user id.

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4. Private File Hosting (PrivateStar)

The PrivateStar feature is an archiving solution and can be accessed similarly to any other DataStar database through any of the following products: DataStar Classic, DataStarWeb or DataStar for Windows. It is a personalized file that an organization can build from documents in DataStar databases by means of Alerts and offline prints. Any DataStar database with ERA rights (Electronic Redistribution and Archiving) is a candidate to feed information into the Private file (PRIV). An organization then combines this information with its own research material and data from other external sources. The Private file can then be accessed and searched as any other DataStar database.

Special features

Two features make the Private File even more useful, especially to facilitate later retrieval of documents.

• Indexing. Users can add their own descriptive keywords to documents as additional indexing.
  
  
• Comments. An organization's administrator can also include user-specific comments to a comment field.

Note: For more details on PrivateStar, see the May issue of the Chronolog.

These new features offer DataStar users the ability to create the solution that best fits their requirements. For more information on how to provide such a solution, contact your local sales representative.

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