Parts of the Information Portal Searching URL

If you want to find the URL for an Information Portal search, you must first understand the parts of the Information Portal searching URL.

This section explains those parts using examples from this searching scenario:

Search criteria

Sample search specifics

Information Portal search page

Power Search page

Search indexes, terms, and boolean operators

Title keyword=”air” or Title keyword=”water” and Title keyword=”pollution”

Limits

Items published since 1990

Sort by

Publication date (pubdate)

URL in the browser’s Address field after search is performed

http://205.10.10.10:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=20516322361002060813500&
menu=search&aspect=power&index=TW&
term=air&oper=or&aspect=power&index=TW&
term=water&oper=and&index=TW&term=
pollution&oper=and&index=AUTHW&term=&
source=206.10.10.10@%21curly&limit=PD+%3E+%3F1990%3F&ultype=&uloper=%3D&ullimit=&
sort=11023&x=12&y=9

For the URL in the table, you could break it down into these general parts:

Base URL. This is the URL you enter to access Information Portal searching. (The default is http://your Application Server IP address or domain name/ipac20/ipac.jsp.)
Variables. This is each word after the question mark ( ? ) and before an equals sign, which represents some aspect of the search (such as the indexes searched on and the search terms used).

Here is a diagram of a portion of this URL:

Here is a detailed description of the parts in the diagram:

Part

Description

Information Portal Base URL

Contains your Application Server address, the port for the Application Server, and the path for the Information Portal searching program on your Application Server.

Question mark

Begins the variable string.

Variable

Represents a piece of the search criteria (such as the session ID number, the index the user chose to search on, or the search term).

Ampersand

Separates each variable.

Value of the variable

Shows the exact value of the variable.

Information Portal uses these parts to construct a URL, and you can use each of these parts to construct a URL from scratch. However, there are some variables in this URL that you do not want or need to use or give to a third-party service.

Here is the example URL again:

http://205.10.10.10:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=20516322361002060813500
&menu=search&aspect=power&index=TW&term=air&oper=or&aspect=power
&index=TW&term=water&oper=and&index=TW&term=pollution&oper=and
&index=AUTHW&term=&source=206.10.10.10@%21curly&limit=PD+%3E+%3F1990%3F&ultype=&uloper=%3D&ullimit=&sort=11023&x=12&y=9

Here is what each variable represents:

Variable

Description

session

The system-generated number to represent a user’s searching session.

If the search session expires, Information Portal generates a new number. You do not include this variable or its value in the URL for a custom hyperlink.

menu

The Information Portal tab that you are on when you generate the search.

(The example URL uses the search tab.)

You do not include this variable or its value in the URL for a custom hyperlink.

aspect

The Information Portal sub-tab that you are on when you generated the search.

(The example URL uses the power sub-tab.)

If you perform a cross-index search, this variable is repeated several times in a single URL. However, its value could be different each time. You do not include this variable or its value in the URL for a custom hyperlink.

profile

The profile code of the library or agency that you want to search.

(The example URL does not list this variable.)

This variable or its value is not required in creating the URL for a custom hyperlink.

index

The Information Portal universal ID of the index you use to perform the search.

(The example URL uses the TW [Title Keyword] for the first index variable to search on.)

Note: This is a required variable in the URL.

For more information on universal IDs, see Universal IDs.

If you perform a cross-index search, this variable is repeated several times in a single URL. However, its value could be different each time. When you have entered your last index and search term while searching in Information Portal, the URL will still contain the rest of the indexes and search terms available on the Information Portal searching page, with the associated “term” variable left empty (term=&). (For an illustration of this extra index with the blank term variable, see the example URL on page See "Here is the example URL again:".)

term

The search term you enter.

(The example URL uses air for the first search term.)

Note: This is a required variable in the URL.

If you perform a cross-index search, this variable is repeated several times in a single URL. However, its value could be different each time. When you have entered your last index and search term while searching in Information Portal, the URL will still contain the rest of the indexes and search terms available on the Information Portal searching page, with the associated “term” variable left empty (term=&). (For an illustration of this extra index with the blank term variable, see the example URL on page See "Here is the example URL again:".)

oper

The boolean operator you use if you are performing a cross-index search.

(The example URL uses or for the first boolean operator.)

This variable is repeated several times in a single URL. However, its value could be different each time. This variable or its value is not required in creating the URL for a custom hyperlink.

source

Connection information for the library system that you want searched.

(The example URL uses 206.10.10.10@%21curly for the source.)

If you want to search multiple libraries in Information Portal using the Z39.50 protocol or another product (such as WebFeat), then choose the libraries that you want as you normally would in searching, then Information Portal will display all of the variables for each library in the URL for the bib summary page. This variable or its value is not required in creating the URL for a custom hyperlink.

limit

The predefined limit you choose while searching, if any.

(The example URL uses PD+%3E+%3F1990%3F as the predefined limit.)

This variable or its value is not required in creating the URL for a custom hyperlink.

ultype

The user-defined limit term you chose while searching, if any.

If there is no user-defined limit, Information Portal leaves the variable empty (ultype=&). This variable or its value is not required in creating the URL for a custom hyperlink.

uloper

The user-defined limit operator you chose while searching, if any.

Here are the different operators: equals ( = ), greater than ( > ), less than ( < ), equal to or greater than ( => ), and equal to or less than ( =< ).

If there is no user-defined limit, Information Portal leaves the variable empty (uloper=&). This variable or its value is not required in creating the URL for a custom hyperlink.

ullimit

The user-defined limit data, or what you enter to complete the limit.

If there is no user-defined limit, Information Portal leaves the variable empty (ullimit=&). This variable or its value is not required in creating the URL for a custom hyperlink.

sort

The numeric equivalent of the sort option you chose while searching, if any.

(The example URL uses 11023 as the sort value to sort search results.)

This variable or its value is not required in creating the URL for a custom hyperlink.

x

The x-axis locator for the “Go” button that you click to execute a search.

Information Portal uses this in conjunction with the “y” variable to exactly locate the “Go” button. You do not include this variable or its value in the URL for a custom hyperlink.

y

The y-axis locator for the “Go” button that you click to execute a search.

Information Portal uses this in conjunction with the “x” variable to exactly locate the “Go” button. You do not include this variable or its value in the URL for a custom hyperlink.

If you have a good understanding of these variables and all of the parts of the URL to perform an Information Portal search, then you can create the URL you want from scratch. (For instructions, see Creating a Custom Hyperlink from Scratch.) Otherwise, you can easily construct the URL by performing the exact search you want in Information Portal searching. (For instructions, see Creating a Custom Hyperlink by Searching in Information Portal.)

 


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