To start a search

There are several ways to start a search: from the quick search field on the Start page , one of the volumes "shortcuts" (available here to the left as well as on the Start page), from a browser link bookmarked or received and, last but not least, from the Database Search page.

All these methods ultimately lead to the Database Search page which is the main control room for refining your query and is discussed in details further down.

Quick search

From the Start page you can very quickly jump to a list of persons matching a name pattern (when using the search field), or belonging to a certain LGPN volume (when clicking on one of the volume links).

Name searches can be input in your preferred style (whether in Unicode Greek or transliterated); n.b. case and accents are ignored. For example, to find the Greek name Ἀλεξάνδρα, you can enter your query as Ἀλεξάνδρα, in its unaccented form Αλεξανδρα, or transliterated as alexandra.

Wildcard searches for missing characters

It is possible to find entries matching a pattern using ? and * wildcards for missing characters.

? is the single wildcard or joker, replacing exactly one character

* is the multiple wildcard or joker, replacing any number of characters

So a search for d?mo* will produce names beginning Δαμο- and Δημο- . A string D*mo* will give the same results, but also any other names which begin with Δ- and also contain -μο- , such as Διδυμος and Δοκιμος. Search for *νδρα will return all names ending with νδρα , e.g. ῾Αγεισάνδρα or Κασσάνδρα.

Database search

The Database search page presents current search results in tabular form. Let's assume we have performed a query for all people from Delos whose names start with Αγ. Currently there are 88 entries in all LGPN volumes matching such a query.

The results page is organized as follows:

1. the facets panel (to the left)
2. pagination bar (top)
3. ordering switch (below pagination, left)
4. filtering controls (below pagination, right)
5. results table

Facets

Facets are the fastest way to narrow down your searches, simply ticking a box for the Name, Place, Volume or Sex that interest you. Current search results will be constrained to show only entries that match exactly all your specified criteria.

Though the quickest and most convenient, facets have certain limitation: for Name and Place facets on larger result sets only the most frequent values are shown: the 5 most frequent by default and up to 50 when the Show top 50 option is selected. Thus selected most frequent facet labels are presented in alphabetical order. The number next to the facet label shows number of matching entries in the current result set.

Different facet dimensions (e.g. Name and Place) are treated as a conjuction, i.e. combined with logical and operator (e.g. place: Athens and name: ῎Αγαθος ). When multiple values for a single dimension are set, they are interpretes as an alternative, i.e. combined with logical or operator (e.g. place: Athens or Larisa ).

Pagination

Search results are paginated, i.e. presented in chunks of not more than 50 entries at a time. Whenever current result set is larger, the pagination bar will appear at the top of the page. You can navigate directly to the page of interest by clicking its number or using the and icons for the first and last page of the set.

Ordering

You can control the order of entries via the Sort by switch. Currently you can order by Name, Place or the latest possible date assigned to an entry. Use the dropdown switch to select an option and search results will be reordered.

Filtering

When wishing to see all entries matching a certain pattern you can use the filtering controls. The first dropdown labelled Filter by allows you to select the field to filter by: either Name or Place at the moment. In the second field labelled Filter, you can enter your query which may include ? and * wildcards.

Wildcards in the leading position are allowed, though be advised that the query might run significantly longer than otherwise.

Facets and filters can be easily combined. Logical and operator is applied when combining different facet dimensions and filters, therefore only entries matching all criteria are displayed.