Online Support

Support information on the Web

The Dialog Web site holds a wealth of information to support customers. Found at www.dialog.com, this information is available for customers of all products, whether Web based or not. You can go directly to the customer support area on the site at: http://support.dialog.com/. Listed below are some of the features on the Web site that customers may find particularly useful:

• The Training Center
  The Training Center, found at: http://support.dialog.com/training, has a range of tutorials and online courses designed to teach the skills you need to effectively search Dialog. They will help you to use commands, build a search, choose a database and improve your searches.
  
  Dialog At a Glance on-demand short training modules provide quick tips on using Dialog.
  
  Support is available for DialogLink^® at http://support.dialog.com/dialoglink



• Pricing information
  Customers have a choice of the pricing method for the search component of their online searching: connect-time or DialUnits. The default is DialUnits; a customer may switch to using connect-time by adding the command SET CONNECT ON to the user profile.
  
  A DialUnit (Dialog Interactive Access Language) represents the usage of system resources necessary to execute search commands. No charge is made by Dialog for connect time (although normal telecommunications charges will still apply). This means, for example, that you will not be charged for:
  
  
  • Preparing a search strategy
  • Reading documentation including Bluesheets and Help screens
  • Browsing and viewing the title lists
  • Browsing and viewing search output
  • Configuring and preparing Alerts
  • Setting delivery options
  • Establishing user preferences
    
    
  Latest pricing information can be found in the Customer Support section of Dialog Web site at: http://support.dialog.com/pricing/.



• Publications online
  The following publications from Dialog (see above) can be viewed and downloaded from our corporate Web site. The URLs are as follows:
  
  
  • Chronolog http://support.dialog.com/publications/chronolog/
  • Dialog Bluesheets http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/
  • Dialog Search Aids http://support.dialog.com/searchaids/dialog/

Support Information on Dialog

• Dialog Bluesheets
  File 415 on Dialog contains the Dialog Bluesheets. A Bluesheet is the basic piece of documentation issued for each database on the Dialog system. Each Bluesheet contains a description of a file, its subject coverage, sources, and Dialog file specifications (inclusive dates, update frequency, size, a file's searchable fields, and its origin).
• Online Help
  For assistance in using any Dialog command, special feature, or specific database when searching with commands, Dialog has a system-wide online HELP command available. A complete list of all available HELP messages can be obtained by entering HELP HELP at the Dialog system prompt (?).

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