1. Once I know what image numbers I want to view, how do I view them?

Click on the name of the directory above the corresponding search box, then follow the directory-specific instructions below:

For directories on the Library of Congress' [LoC] website, type the image number in the box near the top and click on "Turn to image."

For directories on the Digital Library of Wielkopolska [DLoW], Digital Library of Zielona Gora [DLoZG], Silesian Digital Library [SDL], or Podlaska Digital Library's [PDL] website, click on "Show Publication Content" on the right. Either the directory will open or you will be prompted to choose a display method: DjVu built-in applet or browser plugin. Select your preferred method (the first requires that you have Sun's Java Virtual Machine installed on your computer, the second that you have a DjVu plugin for your web browser installed), and, if necessary, follow the instructions to install the appropriate software. You should only have to install the software once, although you might needlessly be prompted to install it again (which you can ignore). If you have already installed the software, click on "Browse publication" to open the directory. When the directory is open, you can use the pull-down menu near the top to select the image you want to view. If you have a problem with the browser plugin download link, you can find the plugin for Windows here, Linux here, and Macintosh OS X here. (Note: Firefox users may experience difficulties with the DjVu plugin. Internet Explorer is recommended.)

For directories on the Malopolska Genealogical Society [MGS] website, you should see the first page of the directory, if you have already installed a DjVu plugin for your web browser. If you do not see the first page, please download and install the plugin from the appropriate link listed above.

For the 1929 Polish business directory hosted by JRI-Poland/JewishGen [JRI-P/JG], click on the page range at the right that includes the page of interest to you. Then, type the page number of interest to you in the box at the top and click on "Click for Page." (Note: JavaScript is required. Some antivirus software or web browser settings might interfere.) If this does not work, go to http://data.jewishgen.org/jri-pl/1929/PXXXX.pdf, where XXXX is the page number padded on the left with 0s (e.g., 0090, 0900, 1200).

For directories on the Internet Archive [IA] website, either click "PDF" on the left to download and open the entire directory, and then type the image number in the box near the top left in your PDF viewer, or click "Flip Book" on the left, if this option is available, and page forward or backward with the arrows on the right, or jump many pages forward or backward by clicking on the page edges (vertical lines on the left and right of the pages).

2. I can't find my search term in an image in which the search engine said it should appear. What does this mean?

Many images contain lists of information about people or businesses, alphabetized by the names of those people or businesses. Make sure you examine all of the information provided about the people or businesses, since your search term might be contained in a part other than the name used to alphabetize. It is also possible that the search engine is incorrect, because of an error in the conversion of the directories to text using OCR software. See below for tips on how to use the search engine to "get around" the inaccuracy of the OCR process.

3. My search yielded no results, what should I do?

Remember that Sensitive searches are case sensitive ("Stein" and "stein" are different) and sensitive to accented characters ("o" and "ó" are different). Make sure that, if you are using a Sensitive search to search for a surname, you have capitalized the first letter only (do not search for "STEIN"). Also, since the OCR process does not always recognize accented characters properly, try a Regular search or a Sensitive search with accented characters replaced with the wildcard ?.

The search engine might not be returning results because a few letters in part of your search term were not recognized properly by the OCR process. This is especially likely to be true if your search term is very long. In that case, you should try searching for parts of search term, such as the beginning, middle, or end letters. Make sure to include enough letters that you do not get too many false results. You might want to try searching without the last letter, then the last two letters, etc. You can also perform an OCR-Adjusted search to try to find words that differ from your search term by the errors that are the most commonly made by the OCR process. For example, an OCR-Adjusted search for "Wolfowicz" in the 1923 Poland and Danzig Commercial Directory returns results "Wolfowiez" and "Wolfowioz," because the letter "c" has been mistaken for "e" and "o," one of the most common errors.

You can also use the wildcard characters ? and * in place of some letters in your search term, which will cause the search engine to ignore what characters appear in place of the ?s in the directories and allow for any characters or no characters to appear in place of the *s. For example, a search for "Ka*ter" will match "Kalter," "Kanter," or "Kater," while a search for "Ka?ter" will match "Kalter" or "Kanter," but not "Kater." You may use multiple, even consecutive, wildcards. For example, *** will match any series of zero to three characters.

Finally, try using a Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex search to search for similar-sounding words.

4. My search yielded many results, but many of them are incorrect. What should I do?

If your search term is short, and you are performing a Regular or Sensitive search, the search engine might be matching longer words that contain it. For example, searching for "Fink" will also return results for "Finkelstein." Try using | to force word boundaries (e.g., "|word|" will match "word" but not "wordy" or "sword," while "word|" will match "word" and "sword," but not "wordy").

If you are performing a Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex search, you can force the results to begin with the first letter of your search term, rather than Soundex equivalents, by enclosing the first letter in [] (e.g., "[M]okotoff"). This might reduce the number of false positives.

If you are searching for an individual with a known given name and a common surname, you can try a Regular or Sensitive search (possibly with wildcards) that includes the given name or the first letter of the given name (e.g., "Katz A" or "A. Katz" or "Abraham Katz"), in the format appropriate to whatever directory you are searching. Many directories have a single predominant name format, though other formats might be included, too.

If you are searching by street address, include the building number, if you know it, in a Regular or Sensitive search.

5. When should I perform a Sensitive search?

A Sensitive search is especially helpful when the search term has few letters, some of which are accented, such as might be the case when searching for a part of a word in order to try to find matches despite OCR errors occuring elsewhere in the word. In this situation, it can dramatically reduce false positives.

6. Can you make a search engine for directory X?

If I have access to images of the directory, and they are of a certain technical quality, then I probably can. Please tell me if you are aware of other directories that should be made searchable.

7. Can I link to this search engine?

I would appreciate your telling me first.

8. I am an OCR expert, how can I help?

Please contact me.

9. What is a Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex?

A detailed explanation can be found at http://www.avotaynu.com/soundex.html.