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Instructions for the APH Searchable Membership DirectoryThese instructions will use as an example a fictional APH member named Jane Doe, who has a business called Jane's Histories.General Search GuidelinesYou can search the membership database by Business Name, First Name, Last Name, State, Region, Country, and Primary Service Keyword. When you do a search, all search boxes are active at the same time. If you have anything left over in any box from a previous search, or if you accidentally enter anything into a box, it will become part of your search. So for example, if Jane Doe had previously searched for members in New York, and then hit the back button on her browser and typed "Doe" in the Last Name field, she would get a "0 hits" result if she does not live in New York. One way to solve this is anytime you go back to do another search, use the "Click HERE to search again" link instead of your browser's back button. This will automatically reset all the search boxes.Also, every piece of information you type into a search box must match the information in our database for the search to be successful. Because of this, you are most likely to be successful if you fill in the fewest possible search boxes (leaving the least opportunity for a typo). For example, just search for "Doe" rather than "Jane" and "Doe" and "Jane's Histories" all at the same time.
Business Name SearchingThe Business Name search box will search for whatever you type anywhere in the Business name. Typing "hist" in that box would find "Jane's Histories" as well as 26 members who have "hist" anywhere in their business names.
First Name and Last Name SearchingPlease realize that first name and last name are separate search boxes. If you type your full name into one box, you will not be successful in your search. In the First Name or Last Name fields you can type just the first part of a word and find every entry in the database that begins that way. For example, typing "d" in the Last Name search box would find Jane Doe as well as all other members whose last names start with "D."
State, Region, and Country SearchingYou can choose a state or region in the drop-down state and region menus to search for all members who live in that state or region. Most members are willing to travel anywhere, so you might not want to limit your search to members in your home state. The Country field can be used to search for members inside the United States or Outside the United States.
Free Text SearchingMembers each write up to four "primary service" descriptions and a "capabilities" statement to explain the kind of work they do. The Free Text search feature will search for whatever you type anywhere in these descriptions. If you type "video" (or even "vid" or "deo") it will find all 64 members who list video or videography among their primary services or capabilities. It is often best to truncate your search term. "Vid" or "video" will find members who list "videography" while typing "videography" will not find those who list "video". (Searching for "videography" instead of "video" would cut your results from 64 to 10). In the same way, "transcribe" and "transcription" will not find each other, but "transcri" will find both.
Standard Services SearchingThis search feature allows you to select from sixteen standard services. Each member has listed all of these that apply to his or her business. You may check as many of the sixteen as desired and then choose "all" to find members who list all of the checked services or "any" to find members who list any one of them. Please note that these are generalized services. If you would like to search for a more specific service, you may use the Free Text Search feature. Also note that this search feature works in combination with those above. You can choose a state and then check standard services to find members who list those services in the state of your choice. Remember that anything typed in any of the above search boxes will limit this search. If you have previously searched for members named "Jane" and then do a Standard Services search without clearing the name search box, you will only find members named Jane who list your checked services. To find all members who list your chosen set of services, make sure all of the above search boxes are blank.If you have additional questions about using the database, please contact .
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