Library and Internet Skills

How to Find Journal Articles

Printing, Downloading and E-mailing, from Electronic Journal Indexes and Full-Text Databases

You can print or download from most journal indexes or full-text databases. Some databases will also let you e-mail records to yourself. Instructions differ according to the database.

Printing and Saving

Look for instructions When you have done your search, look for instructions somewhere on the screen that refer to 'printing, saving, or e-mailing'. If you don't see these terms, look for 'export' , 'output', 'retrieval' or 'options.' Follow the directions given.

The following are a few general tips.

Marking (or tagging) records

Some databases will let you 'mark' or 'tag the items you want to display on the screen or to print, download, or e-mail. You will usually do this by clicking in a box to the left of the record, and then clicking on a button that says 'marked records' or 'tagged records.' This will get rid of the items you are not interested in.

Changing the display format (don't miss the full-text!)

In some databases you may have a choice of what parts of a record you display or export. You may have a choice between a 'citation' or a 'full record', for example, or you may be able to individually select which parts of the record, or 'fields' you want to view.

Please be certain that you have selected the right option when you export records. You would not want to miss the full-text, providing that it is available!

Basic printing and downloading instructions

(see below for saving and viewing .pdf files)

Typically there are two main processes involved in printing and downloading. The details will vary from database to database.

First: you will choose an option to 'reformat' or 'display' your records for printing or downloading. This will clean up your screen by removing any fancy buttons or other elements and leave you with plain text which is easy to print or download.
Second: you will use your 'browser' (Netcape, or Internet Explorer...) commands to print or download, just as you would any other Web page or Windows application. Using your browser to print or download (in Windows)

To print: choose the print icon on the top bar, or choose 'file,' and then 'print.' A dialogue box will come up. You can change the number of pages, or the number of copies if you wish.

Click on OK.

To save: choose 'file,' and then 'save' or 'save as.'

A dialogue box will appear. Check the following settings:

Choose the drive that you will save to, usually a: to save to the floppy disk drive.
Give your file a name, usually up to 8 letters, or use the name that was automatically provided by the database. 3) Choose the file type. You may have only one option: 'all files'. You may have the option of choosing "html" or "plain text." See "Viewing your file" below for a comparison of the two file types.

Click on OK.

Viewing your file (html and txt formats)

You can open up .html files to view in any Web browser, or recent Windows based word processing package such as Corel WordPerfect or Microsoft Word.

If you open up an .html file in a a text editor such as Notepad or Wordpad, or in an older word processing package like WordPerfect 5.1, you will see the html coding, which will be messy to read or to print out. If you are planning on viewing your file in this type of application, save it as a '.txt' file. When you save, you may be given the option of choosing 'plain text', or 'ascii', in the 'Choose file type' box. If you are only given the option 'all files', then add the extension '.txt' to your file name. It will then save as a text file.

Printing and Saving Frames

In order to print or save frames, you must first click on the frame that you want. Two methods of printing:

Click on the print icon on the top menu bar. In Netscape, this icon will become active after you have clicked in frame.
Select File, then Print Frame...

To Save:

On the browsers menu bar select "File," then "Save Frame As..."

At this point, follow standard printing or saving procedures, described above.

Tip: If you are not getting the information that you want, make sure that you are clicking in the correct frame to begin with.

Image files (.gif or .jpeg)

Some databases include images in their full-text articles, for example, UMI Proquest Direct. (Please note that this is distinct from the images that are included in .pdf files, described below). These images are separate .gif or .jpeg files. You will need to save each image separately. Save images by right-clicking on the image, then choosing 'save image as' in Netscape or 'save picture as' in Internet Explorer.

E-mailing

If your index allows e-mailing, it will be indicated clearly in the database, once your have done your search. If you see printing and saving options listed, but nothing about e-mailing, then you will not be able to do it.

.pdf files

More and more databases are using .pdf files to display full-text articles. Pdf files provide a higher quality image, that looks somewhat like a photographic reproduction of the page. This format is good for displaying pictures and graphics.

Adobe Acrobat plug-in

In order to view a .pdf file, you will need a plug-in software called Adobe Acrobat.

Adobe Acrobat is installed on all library and Information Commons PCs. It can also be downloaded free from the Web to your home computer from the Adobe Acrobat site.

Printing and saving .pdf files

You can print or save .pdf files, but you may not be able to e-mail them. Use the print or save icons from the Adobe Acrobat menu bar.

Please note that .pdf files can be large, and you will need enough space on your floppy disc. At home you can save to your hard drive.

Viewing .pdf files

When you want to view your .pdf file, make sure that Adobe Acrobat is installed on the PC you are using. (Remember that Adobe Acrobat is on all library PCs). Then open up your file in a Web browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer. Adobe Acrobat will automatically open when you try to open a .pdf file. You do not need to open Adobe Acrobat yourself.

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