Customize the Find Tool

You can customize the Find Tool to save default general search criteria and, for bibliographic record searches, to save default remote search databases.

Your custom default search settings are associated with your user account and are used each time you sign in with your user ID. You can change your default search settings at any time.

Save Default General Search Criteria

You can set the Find Tool to default to the same selections in the Search by, Type, Sort by, and Limit by boxes each time you search for the same type of record.

Values that can be selected from drop-down lists are also saved, but free-text values are not. For example, if you select Genre in the Search by or Limit by box, enter a free-text value, and select Save as User Default > Genre will be retained, but not the free-text value.

To customize the Find Tool:

  1. Open the Find Tool.
  2. Select the record type you want to find.
  3. Select an option from the list in the Search by box.
  4. If you want the search results sorted the same way every time you search for that type of record, select an option in the Sort by box.
  5. If you want the search results limited in the same way every time you search for that type of record, select an option in the Limit by box, and select a value in the Limit by values box.

Note:
Limit by values selected from a drop-down list are saved in the user default, but free-text values are not saved. For example, if the Limit by selection is Subject and you enter history in the Values box, the value is not saved.

  1. Select Options > Save as User Default from the Find Tool menu bar.

Tip:
If you save a Power search as the user default, the Find Tool will open to the Power Search tab the next time you search for the same type of record, but the search criteria are not saved.

The Find Tool is customized to search for the record by the option you selected in the Search by box. To set the Search by option back to the default for the record type, select Revert to System Default.

Note:
If you set user defaults for the bibliographic or item record Find Tool, these defaults are in effect in the Find Tool shortcuts (F12 for bibs and Ctrl+Alt+F9 for items).

Save Default Remote Search Databases

Note:
Default search databases can only be saved for bibliographic record searches.

To save default search databases:

  1. Open the Find Tool for bibliographic records and navigate to the Databases tab.
  2. Select the remote databases you would like to search.
  3. Select Options > Save as User Default.

    4. Polaris saves your preferred remote search databases. When you open the Find Tool for bibliographic records in the future, your preferred search databases are already selected.

To clear saved default search databases:

  1. Open the Find Tool for bibliographic records, and navigate to the Databases tab.
  2. Select Options > Revert to System Default.