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Search and Retrieval

The Collaborator Platform capable of doing searching on:

  • Index data/metadata

  • Full text (i.e. content within a document)

  • Multi-media specific properties

  • A combination of text and indexed data

  • Any combinations of metadata fields

  • Any combination of text and metadata

  • Any combination of text and images

  • Content of notes and annotations

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The Collaborator Platform capable of doing the following search:

  • Boolean

  • Wild card

  • Proximity

  • Fuzzy

  • Within search results

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The Collaborator Platform store search criteria for reuse. The Collaborator Platform display document content in a search viewer. The Collaborator Platform support advanced search and retrieval query languages.

Indexing

The Collaborator Platform provide a resizable profile form for searching. The Collaborator Platform provide a customisable profile form for searching.

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The Collaborator Platform provide the customisation of the search profile form with regards to the:

  • Look and feel of the search form

  • User-defined fields on the search form

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The Collaborator Platform provide standard metadata fields for this component. The Collaborator Platform automatically assign values to fields on the search form. The Collaborator Platform provide drop-down lists to speed up search field entries. 

 

The Collaborator Platform provide for automatic indexing of all document/record attributes, available within all the following areas:

  • Repository

  • List standard metadata fields indexed

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The Collaborator Platform provide for the automatic content indexing of different industry standard data formats i.e. indexing the content of all the different documents/records within all the following areas:

  • Repository

  • List standard metadata fields indexed

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The Collaborator Platform can automatically index content of different data formats. The Collaborator Platform can automatically index content of different non-textual content/graphics/objects (such as images and multimedia files), embedded in compound documents/records. The Collaborator Platform provide for extracting and indexing the text in graphics (graphic frames inside a document/record), i.e. compound multimedia documents/records. The Collaborator Platform do automatic content indexing of the thesauri used within the search engine to enable normal search and retrieval on the thesauri content. The Collaborator Platform handle the content of e.g. radio buttons, check boxes, etc. during the automatic indexing process, i.e. is the option(s) selected by means of a radio button searchable by means of text (E.g. the user selected MALE by means of a radio button in field 10 - will The Collaborator Platform, during a search, be able to retrieve all the documents/records in which the term MALE appears, as well as those documents/records where the radio button MALE has been selected)

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During the automatic content indexing what types of indexes are created to ensure retrieval:

  • Pattern/bitmap indexes (multimedia)

  • Inverted indexes (free-text): heuristic or dictionary

  • Semantic indexes (concept)

  • Word indexes

  • String indexes

  • Other - provide the detail functionality obtained with the other type(s) of indexing

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The Collaborator Platform indexing process provide for standard stopword exclusions.

 

The Collaborator Platform distinguish between:

  • Stopwords and keywords that are spelt the same e.g. “it” vs “IT” (Information Technology)

  • Certain meaning of words in different languages, e.g. “die” (Afrikaans) vs “die” (English)

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The Collaborator Platform provide for the building and manipulation of the stopword list:

  • Automatic only

  • User-defined only

  • Combination of both

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The Collaborator Platform can monitor the occurrences of the different words on the database/environments.

 

The Collaborator Platform provide for:

  • Sentence recognition during indexing

  • Paragraph recognition during indexing

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The Collaborator Platform provide for specifying the frequency of documents/records to be indexed, i.e. The Collaborator Platform allow the user to define the frequency for indexing documents/records / or when the indexing should take place.

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The Collaborator Platform provide for:

  • Creating the index on-line (immediate)

  • Creating the index in a batch process

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The Collaborator Platform indicate the completion of the indexing process with error message displays and recovery procedures.

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The Collaborator Platform provide the user with the option to decide how the following should be handled when building an index:

  • Punctuation marks

  • Non-alphabetic characters, e.g. hyphens, etc

  • Upper and lower case

  • Special characters, e.g. @, ^, #, etc

  • Numbers

  • Spaces

  • Syntactic rules

  • Semantic rules

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The Collaborator Platform index documents/records which contain active links (hyperlinks), i.e. is The Collaborator Platform capable of maintaining links (hypertext/hypermedia links) within or between documents /databases and These links still available when executing a search with The Collaborator Platform. The Collaborator Platform provide a facility to explore external databases (e.g. commercially available databases) according to user-defined profiles, making use of e.g. an intelligent agent to gather specific documents/records on certain subjects/topics. This is a facility/mechanism by which searches are sent to multiple search engines, searching portals, Web servers, document management systems, databases, etc. and which will then be able to return consolidated results. The Collaborator Platform provide the feature to allow searching whilst the indexing is being updated.

Search & Retrieval

The Collaborator Platform allow unlimited users to view the same searched document at the same time. The Collaborator Platform allow simultaneous viewing of multiple documents with window and image scaling. The Collaborator Platform provide thumbnail views of searched documents. The Collaborator Platform have the capability to search, retrieve and view documents with any Web browser. The Collaborator Platform display lines of context with the results of a search. The Collaborator Platform display the appropriate page of a retrieved document and highlight the searched word. The Collaborator Platform allow the sorting of search results according to document properties. The Collaborator Platform have an alert facility for users to be notified of any changes to the latest information on a certain subject

(E.g. if the hit list for a search has been saved, then any updates to the documents on that hit list should be indicated to the user). The Collaborator Platform allow searches for the existence of a document(s) but prevent the users from viewing or opening the actual document(s).

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The Collaborator Platform can exclude the following, based on the document security, classification and personal security profile:

  • Documents/records

  • Metadata

  • Audit trails

  • Other stored search results

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The Collaborator Platform display all related documents/records together as a unit. The Collaborator Platform allow an e-mail retrieved by browsing or searching to be copied to a compatible e-mail application, for transmission in a manner normally achieved by that application. 

 

The Collaborator Platform provide for retrieval in the following areas/environments:         

  • Repository

  • E-Mail

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The Collaborator Platform capable of accommodating the following within the search engine:

  • Multiple thesauri

  • Dictionaries or word lists

  • User-defined thesaurus/word lists

  • Commercially available thesaurus

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The Collaborator Platform provide the facility to create, edit, delete the following within the search engine by which the retrieval process can be supported/enhanced:

  • Corporate thesaurus or word list

  • Thesaurus with BT (Broader terms), NT (Narrower terms), RT (Related term), SA (See Also) terms

  • Corporate defined synonyms/antonyms 

  • A synonym/antonym consist of phrases (more than one word)

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The Collaborator Platform search engine utilise the same thesauri, word lists, etc. that have been created in the DM/RM Repository without duplication of content and effort. The Collaborator Platform allow the user to create thesauri specifically for the search engine. The Collaborator Platform provide search mechanisms which offer both a browsing or graphical navigation approach within the file (folder structure), and a direct searching approach. The Collaborator Platform provide for the execution of multimedia queries, i.e. to intermix words and pictures in a query. There any limitation to the number of keywords that can be entered per search. The Collaborator Platform provide the user with an option to retrieve all the documents/records contained within a specific database without stating a query. The Collaborator Platform provide for an option to display the latest additions to a database(s) within a user-defined date/time parameter. The date/time format of The Collaborator Platform for search and retrieval purposes user-definable. The Collaborator Platform provide for automatic date conversion when stating a query. The Collaborator Platform provide the user with an explanation of the parsing rules that apply with regards to the specific retrieval system, e.g. the use of operators (AND /OR / NOT), which takes precedence over the other, etc.

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The Collaborator Platform enable Boolean logic 

  • AND          

  • OR

  • NOT

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The Collaborator Platform enable Boolean logic:

  • Within fields

  • Between fields

  • Within the actual document/record text

  • In combination, i.e. within the fields and the actual document/record text

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The user set/select the language of the Boolean operators If so, which language options are available. 

 

The Collaborator Platform provide for the following selection (relational) operators e.g. with regards to dates/time and/or with regards to information contained in fields:

  • Less than

  • Less than and equal to       

  • Equal to (=)

  • Greater than (>)     

  • Greater than and equal to

  • Within limits (between)        

  • Out of limits (not between)   

  • Other (please supply details)  

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The Collaborator Platform provide for using all the mentioned operators in combination (AND/OR/NOT), i.e.         

  • In one search         

  • In combination of searches

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The Collaborator Platform also allow for specifying partial matches for multiple word fields such as subject and date/time.

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The Collaborator Platform provide for using wildcards to search (i.e. characters which stand for any letter):

  • Within fields

  • Within the actual document/record text

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The Collaborator Platform provide for truncation (i.e. words ending or starting with wildcard characters) with any number of characters:   

  • Front

  • Middle

  • Back

  • The Collaborator Platform display all the terms as a result of the abovementioned truncation in a list

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The Collaborator Platform provide for truncation (i.e. words ending or starting with wildcard characters) with specified number of characters:

  • Front

  • Middle

  • Back

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The Collaborator Platform display all the terms as a result of the abovementioned truncation in a list. The Collaborator Platform provide for making unlimited use of the same operator when executing a search/query. The Collaborator Platform provide for the combination of Boolean, proximity and selection (relational) operators. The Collaborator Platform provide for adaptive pattern recognition searching (i.e. allowance for word variations such as spelling and phonetic searching, both in stating the query and results retrieved - NOTE: Not referring to fuzzy searching).

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The Collaborator Platform system provide for the end-user to include or exclude the following during a search by making use of e.g.:

  • Thesauri, dictionaries or user-defined thesauri/lists thus allowing the user to select keywords simultaneously from more than one thesaurus to perform searches e.g. a user-defined thesaurus in combination with a commercially available thesaurus

  • The system index list, i.e. making use of any of the words available within the index to execute a search

  • Exact match word matches

  • Word stemming - Indicate the extent e.g. Including tenses (think - thought)

  • Concepts

  • Synonyms

  • Antonyms

  • Related terms (keywords)

  • Semantic searching, i.e. related or associated word expansion by means of semantic networks

  • Fuzzy searching (phonetic)

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The Collaborator Platform provide for searching on annotations/comments added by users. The Collaborator Platform provide for a Query-by-Example facility. The Collaborator Platform enable the user to cancel or abort a query during the execution process.

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The Collaborator Platform provide for saving, viewing, executing, editing and purging of queries:  

  • Within a session

  • Between sessions

  • Executing a new search in combination with one or more previous searches

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The Collaborator Platform provide the facility to save search query(ies)/parameters. The Collaborator Platform provide authorised users with the facility to view, execute, edit and purge saved queries of all users. The Collaborator Platform provide a facility by which authorised users can create and save profiles, according to which the system automatically pushes/routes information to users.

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The Collaborator Platform display the number (zero or greater) of occurrences of the keyword(s) meeting the search criteria:

  • Per keyword

  • Per field

  • Per document/record

  • Per database

  • The result where keywords have been combined, e.g. when using AND

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The Collaborator Platform provide for a user-definable result interface.

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The user is able to sort the result list according to:

  • Chronological

  • Alphabetical sorting in ascending or descending

  • Order ranking, e.g. relevance ranking

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Will the user be able to set the minimum/maximum documents/records to be displayed in the result list. The Collaborator Platform provide for sorting and sub-sorting (fields in relation to each other) on attribute data of the retrieved results. What is the maximum number of fields that can be sorted in relation to each other

Will the user be able to print or download the result list. Will the user be able to browse retrieved results, i.e. the content itself. The Collaborator Platform allow the user to change the format of the document/record itself displayed.

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The Collaborator Platform allow the user to perform the following when displaying the content of the results:

  • View all attribute fields (headings) and attribute data of a document/record

  • Select required attribute fields (headings) and the related data that should be displayed

  • View the document/record with or without its attributes (field headings and data)

  • View attribute fields (headings) and attribute data only

  • View document/record content only

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The Collaborator Platform allow users to view documents/records in its native format (in which they were originally created). The Collaborator Platform allow the user to search and retrieve attachments to an e-Mail document/record and does it associate and link the attachment with the e-Mail document/record when retrieving a document/record.

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The Collaborator Platform provide different options about the display of the content retrieved:

  • To start from the beginning of the document/record

  • To start at the most relevant part within the document/record

  • Only a single page of the document/record (e.g. first page)

  • Entire document/record

  • All documents/records in one consecutive list, without going back to the result list

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The Collaborator Platform provide highlight options. The Collaborator Platform provide different highlight options (e.g. colour) indicating different values in relation to the hits within the document/record. The Collaborator Platform provide a count of the number of hits. The Collaborator Platform have any limitations/restrictions about highlighting, i.e. There instances where The Collaborator Platform will not highlight search values If so, in which instances. 

 

The Collaborator Platform provide for the manipulation or enhancing of the display of the document/record content, e.g.

  • Zoom

  • Rotate.      

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The Collaborator Platform provide for the user to make and save own annotations to retrieved results without changing the document/record. The Collaborator Platform indicate the current document/record position displayed in relation to the total number of documents/records. 

 

The Collaborator Platform provide easy paging/scrolling capabilities within a document/record such as:

  • Go to next highlighted word in the document/record

  • By means of an additional find option

  • Go to next page (if scrolling is not available)

  • Go to previous page (if scrolling is not available)

  • Go to specific page (if scrolling is not available)

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The Collaborator Platform provide easy paging/scrolling capabilities between documents/records such as:

  • Go to next document/record

  • Go to previous document/record

  • Go to specific document/record

  • By means of hyperlinks, i.e. hyperlinks create

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The Collaborator Platform provide for an interface to other search engines e.g. to translate queries into search engine command language. The Collaborator Platform allow for searching, viewing and printing of audit information.

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