[table of contents for nonframes version]

EXPAND

Description

The EXPAND command is used to see a partial, alphabetical list of terms in a search field of a database(s).

When to Use

Use EXPAND to view a list of terms in a search field to: Verify the terms are present and searchable Look for word stem variations in order to apply wildcard symbols See the number of records in the database having that term in a specified search index

Diagram

The EXPAND list below is a partial list of terms from the 'V' section of the Basic Index (/BI) of the CAplus file. (The Basic Index of CAplus is a collection of single words from the title, abstract, and indexing term fields of records in CAplus.)

Command Line	To use the EXPAND command, follow this sample format:
	=>	EXPAND	term	/search field	number of terms
		1	2a	2b	3

Example: => EXPAND WESSEL,P/AU 10

Command Guidelines

Use the guidelines below to enter command line information:

Field	Guidelines
1	Type: EXPAND or E
2a	Type: a word, number, or phrase Tip: Choose an appropriate term for the search field
2b	Type: a forward slash (/) followed by up to 3 search field codes Default: The default search field of the current file
3	Type: a number in the range 5-25 Default: 12

Example

The following example shows an EXPAND of 5 terms on 'volcano' in the Title Index of the CAplus file.

=> EXPAND VOLCANO/TI 5 E1 1 VOLCANIUM/TI E2 2 VOLCANIZED/TI E3 1923 --> VOLCANO/TI E4 29 VOLCANOCLASTIC/TI E5 5 VOLCANOCLASTICS/TI

Note: The term that is EXPANDed on is always the third term in the list, even if it is not in the index.

Continuing EXPAND

The listing of terms can be continued by typing E, followed by the number of terms to display.

=> EXPAND VOLCANO/TI 5 E1 1 VOLCANIUM/TI E2 2 VOLCANIZED/TI E3 1923 --> VOLCANO/TI E4 29 VOLCANOCLASTIC/TI E5 5 VOLCANOCLASTICS/TI => E E6 2 VOLCANOCLASTITES/TI E7 1 VOLCANOCLASTS/TI E8 2 VOLCANODETRITIC/TI E9 525 VOLCANOES/TI E10 2 VOLCANOGENE/TI E11 1 VOLCANOGENESIS/TI E12 1 VOLCANOGENETIC/TI E13 668 VOLCANOGENIC/TI E14 1 VOLCANOGENO/TI E15 8 VOLCANOGENOUS/TI E16 1 VOLCANOL/TI E17 4 VOLCANOLOGIC/TI

Note: The E-number assignment continues sequentially until you EXPAND on another term.

Limits

999 terms can be displayed with continued EXPANDS.

Searching E-numbers

An E-number from the EXPAND list can be entered instead of the term itself in subsequent SEARCH commands. Multiple E-numbers are associated in the search process with OR logic.

Note!

Wildcard symbols do not function as undefined letters or numbers in the EXPAND process. They are interpreted as normal punctuation symbols. If you EXPAND on VOLCAN? (=> E VOLCAN?) STN looks through records for the occurrence of the term 'volcan?'. Chances are, a word with this spelling would not be found and the EXPAND list would indicate zero postings for this term.

Other Features

There are specialized options available with EXPAND that allow you to view terms alphabetically: Before your term in a search index After your term in a search index that has left truncation Before your term in a search index that has left truncation EXPAND is also used to display thesaurus terms.

STN Assistance

If you enter just the EXPAND command, STN prompts you for: A term A search field code If you are unsure how to answer an STN prompt, enter a question mark (?) and STN provides more details. For more details on the EXPAND command, type HELP EXPAND.