What are Browse indexes?

Listed below are the eight distinct Browse indexes and corresponding search codes associated to Quick search.

Below are the 10 Engineering Village databases listed in alphabetical order. Refer to the chart to see all the Browse indexes that are associated with each of these databases.

Listed below are the 10 distinct Browse indexes and corresponding search codes associated to Expert search.

Below are the 10 Engineering Village databases listed in alphabetical order. Refer to the chart to see all the Browse indexes that are associated with each of these databases.

Follow these steps to use a Browse index from either Quick or Expert search:

1. From the Document results list, select the ‘Browse indexes’ tab on the dropdown menu after running a Quick search query. The Browse indexes display.

   • The ‘Browse indexes’ tab is unavailable from the Quick search document results list for the Patents Plus database.
2. From the Expert search form, select the ‘Browse indexes’ tab on the dropdown menu. The Browse indexes display.
3. From the ‘Browse indexes’ tab, select an index by clicking it. The ‘Browser Index Lookup’ page opens. The ‘Selected index’ is displayed at the top right side of the index lookup page.
4. Display search terms from the index in one of the following ways:

   • If available, click the first letter(s) from the top two rows, OR
   • Type the first few letters of the term in the ‘Search for:’ box at the top of the page.
5. Click ‘Search index’ to see the page containing the first letters you typed into the ‘Search for:’ box.

6. Select the checkbox of the search term (using ‘Next page’ if necessary).

   Notes: 

   • From a Quick search query, when you select a term from the index, it is automatically pasted into the first available Search box, and the field name changes to the name of the corresponding index. Clearing the selection for the term from the index removes it from the Search box.
   • From an Expert search query, when you select a term from the index, it is automatically pasted into the Search box with the WN (within) command and the field code. You can select as many terms as needed. An example from the Author Browse index is the following: (({SMITH JOHN}) WN AU) OR (({SMITH JOHN A }) WN AU) OR (({SMITH JOHN D}) WN AU)
   • If you have selected more than one database for your query, the applicable database name is indicated after the term in the ‘Browse index.’
   • For the Classification code Browse index, you will select the numbers 1 through 15 (or enter numbers into the ‘Search for:’ box) to browse this index as classification codes are sorted in numerical order.

7. To have a second index term pasted from the index with either a Boolean AND or OR connecting it to the first term, click the AND or OR radio button following the ‘Connect terms with:’ label in the top portion of the Browse index page and then select the term. Repeat this for a third index term, if desired. For more information, refer to Boolean operators.
   You may also use the ‘Next page’ and ‘Previous page’ features for navigating to additional index terms.

   Note: Each time you run a Quick or Expert search in at least two databases and use one or more Browse indexes, there is a risk of removing a database from the search. Therefore, be sure to note the databases listed after each term in each Browse index.

8. To switch to another index, select it from the ‘Selected index’ dropdown list at the top right side of the index box.
9. Click the ‘X’ at the top right corner of the ‘Browser Index Lookup’ page to return to the Quick search Document results list or to the Expert search form.

10. Fom Quick search, click ‘Add search field’ to display additional fields for searching or enter additional search terms in Expert search if desired.

    Note: In Quick search, after you have selected 12 terms in the index, a message displays stating that you have reached the maximum 12 search fields.

11. Click the magnifying glass icon to run your search. The Document results list displays your search results.

This index contains Author Affiliation and Patent Assignee data. The Author Affiliation data contains the institutional affiliation names associated to the authors. The Patent Assignee data contains the name of the individual or entity to which ownership of the patent was assigned at the time of the patent issue.

The formats and abbreviations used in Author Affiliations and Patent Assignee data have changed over the years, due to various reasons. For example, variations have occurred due to language differences, organization name changes, and different forms of organization names located in various source documents. Use this ‘Author Affiliation/Patent Assignee’ index to check all known variations of the individual's, institution's, or company's name.

The ‘Author/Inventor Browse’ index is useful for searching document author and patent inventor names, especially for those who have very common surnames. For example, searching for author Alan Smith, as Smith A retrieves records by other authors such as ‘Smith Amy,’ ‘Smith Andrea,’ and ‘Smith Alex.’ Searching for inventor Darren Brown, as Brown D retrieves records by other inventors such as ‘Brown Douglas,’ ‘Brown D.K.,’ and ‘Brown Danielle.’ Use the ‘Author/Inventor Browse’ index to check all known variations for the author's or inventor's name.

The ‘Classification code Browse’ index contains the numeric classification codes included in the Compendex database. The Compendex classification scheme is a numerical hierarchy of general subject categories. The numerical hierarchy begins with the 100 series and ends with the 1500 series.

These subject categories are used to place a term into context when the meaning can vary depending upon usage. As an example, ‘windows’ can refer to building materials or software. The classification codes for ‘Buildings and Towers’ (402 Series) and ‘COMPUTER SCIENCE AND DATA ENGINEERING’ (1100 Series) will limit your search to the proper subject area.

New and updated classification codes and their corresponding descriptions were added to this index in early 2025. However, documents published before 2008 have retained the same classification codes and descriptions.

The ‘Document type Browse’ index contains the various document types located in the Engineering Village databases. You may search multiple document types via this index by selecting all applicable checkboxes.