[LAW-LIB:54984] DATABASES: DATABANKS: EBSCO: EBSCO Changes to Folder Options Are Not as Bad as They Look

From: David P. Dillard (jwne@temple.edu)
Date: Wed Mar 12 2008 - 09:35:25 PDT

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    DATABASES: DATABANKS: EBSCO:
    EBSCO Changes to Folder Options Are Not as Bad as They Look

    In the middle of an EBSCO search a week or so ago I was in the phase of
    the search of sending found records by email. Records had already been
    selected as a group of fifty each time and placed in the required folder
    that is a necessary prelude to sending these selected documents via email.
    After having the option in the selected results folder of adding all
    records in the folder of results already chosen from the general search
    results of an EBSCO database search with my first set of fifty documents,
    the second time I went to send my second set of fifty documents in the
    same search session, this icon that read something like Add All Marked
    Records had disappeared and has been gone since from the top of the folder
    page. One could, as things had been, mark all fifty records in the search
    results display and then go to the folder that they created from an icon
    on the top right of the search page and then click an Add Marked Records
    All button at the top of the folder page and proceed to mail the articles,
    abstracted citations or whatever was sent to the folder. This Add All
    Marked Records Icon or Hypertext were now gone and that icon has not
    reappeared.

    With the Add Icon gone from the folder all that appears at the top left
    corner of this folder now is an innocent lonely check box and to the right
    of that check box an icon labeled delete. That innocent looking unlabeled
    check box turns out, it would appear from a few uses, to be the very
    unheralded method of adding all the citations in the folder to a group
    that may then be emailed, downloaded or printed. One has to wonder why
    one would consider putting a group of items in this folder if it was not a
    forgone conclusion that the user wanted them for emailing, downloading or
    printing, but there must be some higher and profound purpose for creating
    these collections in this transient sole folder that is known to the
    system designers at EBSCO and illudes us mere mortal users. Nevertheless
    this unlabeled check box next to the icon for DELETE will save those who
    use it from needing to click on the check boxes for each and every record
    that one has already selected and put in the folder for such processing.
    One cannot also help but wonder why an unlabled check box is a better and
    clearer method for end users to understand that they can use this box to
    select a group of documents over a clearly labeled icon or hyperlinked
    text.

    Sincerely,
    David Dillard
    Temple University
    (215) 204 - 4584
    jwne@temple.edu
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