The PeopleFinder series of CD-ROM-based investigative software
products provides the User with
access to data files containing the Name, Address, Telephone
Number and Date of Birth of the majority
of adults in the United States- all cross-referenced and
searchable by any field. Some PeopleFinder
products contain additional vital data, such as driver license
records.
The PeopleFinder series has been designed to be as user-friendly
and as cost-efficient as possible.
There are no "meters" or "expiration dates"
programmed into any PeopleFinder disc, and so there
are no limits of any kind placed on the number of times that
you can use a PeopleFinder product.
We believe that the PeopleFinder User Interface software
has been designed as logically and intuitively
as possible. This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file has
been prepared to assist the PeopleFinder
user with searching tips and shortcuts.
It is recommended that this FAQ file be printed for convenient
future availability.
To read a duplicate of this Help file at any time, press
the "F-1" function key from the main input screen
of any PeopleFinder CD-ROM.
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IMPORTANT USER TIP: Many PeopleFinder
CD-ROM products are divided into two or more
CD-ROM discs. When searching, please be certain to process
your search through all of the
appropriate CD-ROMs in the set.
The disc that is in your CD drive when you perform a search
(i.e., when you press or select the
"Accept" button) is the disc that will be searched.
You may manually eject the CD and insert
another CD from the set BEFORE you have performed your search
(i.e., BEFORE you have
pressed "Accept").
DO NOT EJECT THE DISC WHILE VIEWING A RECORD PREVIEW LIST,
VIEWING
A COMPLETE RECORD OR LINK, OR A DEMOGRAPHICS REPORT.
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MENU NAVIGATION :
The PeopleFinder User Interface software supports use of
the Page Up-Page Down keys, the
"arrow" keys, the Tab key, the Return and Enter
keys, and any IBM-compatible mouse or trackball.
Use of a color monitor with the PeopleFinder CD-ROMs is recommended,
and allows the User to
take advantage of the colored highlighting features programmed
into the PeopleFinder User Interface.
PeopleFinder software is an "enhanced" program,
designed for maximum speed, and will run on any IBM-compatible
computer operating with a 386 processor, or better.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If your machine
is running under a 286 processor, or similar, you must use the
"...286.EXE" program to run PeopleFinder on your
computer. (Example: when using PeopleFinder
Texas, type: "TEX286" instead of "TEX",
and press Enter.) This will allow PeopleFinder discs to run
on your 286 processor nearly as fast as on a newer machine.
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USING THE PEOPLEFINDER SEARCH MENU
:
The "TRACE" Menu:
All data contained in PeopleFinder discs is accessed through
the "TRACE" menu.
There are a number of different choices available for TRACE
request input:
"Person" (allows tracing by full or partial
subject Name and/or D.O.B.) (shortcut: "F-3" function
key)
USER TIP: It is possible to
input a "range" of year(s) of birth, instead of a complete
date of birth. (DOB).
Example: entering "67-77" in the "YY"
(YEAR) field searches for a person believed to be in his/her
20s.
USER TIP: If the PeopleFinder
multi-CD set that you are using is separated by alphabetical
surnames,
remember to search the People Finder CD-ROM disc containing
the correct surname for your subject.
If the surname is unknown, be sure to search each People
Finder CD-ROM disc in the set.
USER TIP: Using the wildcard
feature when entering data in the Surname field (eg.: "TYLER*"
)
will ensure that you will retrieve all variations of that
Surname, including "TYLER JR", "TYLER SR"
"TYLER-JOHNSON", etc. See below for a more detailed
explanation of Wildcard searching.
"Location" (allows tracing by full or partial
address ; provides a list of all persons shown cross-
referenced with the address) (shortcut: "F-4" function
key)
USER TIP: It is possible to
input a "range" of street numbers, instead of a specific
location.
(Example: entering "10-20" in the House Number
field and "MAIN ST*" for the Street Address
will identify all residents of "MAIN ST" (or "MAIN
STREET") having house numbers such as
"10","14","18",etc)
USER TIP: If the PeopleFinder
multi-CD set that you are using is separated by geographical
region,
remember to search the People Finder CD-ROM disc for the
appropriate region.
IMPORTANT USER TIP: It is strongly
recommended that you use the Wildcard feature for
the Street Name field. See below for an explanation.
"Telephone" (allows tracing of a telephone
number) (shortcut: "F-5" function key)
USER TIP: If you are using a
PeopleFinder multi-CD set, you are advised to trace the Telephone
Number by using each People Finder CD-ROM disc in the set.
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"WILDCARD" SEARCHING :
"Wildcard" searching is permitted when searching
by "Person" or "Location".
To invoke a wildcard search, simply add an asterisk (*) to
the end of your input, and all records
beginning with your input will be returned.
Example: a wildcard search for the surname "JON*"
through PeopleFinder Texas may return
the following sample initial record set:
JON HEIMBURG, JOY A 041542 ENGLEWOOD TX
JONA, ANDREW D 122454 2145551101 DALLAS TX
JONACK, STEPHAN 041968 9725551004 CARROLTON TX
JONAH, ANNE C 110362 DEAF SMITH TX
... ETC.
After you have reviewed the initial set of records matching
your search criteria, you can then select
individual records for "expansion" (viewing the
complete record) by using the arrow keys on your
keyboard to move the highlighted bar to the record that you
wish to expand, and then pressing the
RETURN (or ENTER) key.
(Note: There is no wildcard
searching permitted when tracing a telephone number.)
IMPORTANT USER TIP: When running
a "Location" trace, you MUST use a wildcard search
if you
do not know if the input address is a "Street","Avenue",
"Lane", etc.
(Example: "WILSON*" will match "WILSON",
"WILSON ST", WILSON STREET", "WILSONDALE
PARK", etc. Even when the street type is known, it is
suggested that you invoke the Wildcard feature to
accommodate possible variation in the database itself. If
your target is listed under "WILSON STREET", and
you input a search for "WILSON ST", the record
will not be found. However, using the Wildcard feature,
and inputing a search for "WILSON*" (note the asterisk),
will return the desired record.
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"Limit"-ing a Trace :
IMPORTANT USER TIP: Certain
"PERSON" traces, especially surname-only traces using
the
"wildcard" feature, might return a large and unmanageable
number of records. For that reason, the
PeopleFinder software provides the User with a "LIMIT"
feature, available from the "TRACE - PERSON"
screen. Invoking the "LIMIT" command allows the
User to "limit" the search for a person to a specific
City and/or Zip Code and/or Street.
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IMPORTANT USER TIP: It is possible
to halt a search while it is still running. Simply press the
<Escape> (or <ESC>) key on your keyboard, and
the search operation will stop. You will then be
provided with all of the records assembled to that point
in the search.
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"LINKS" to a Trace-d Record :
Once you have completed a Search, and selected ONE (1) specific
record from the Record Preview
Screen, it is possible to "LINK" that selected
record to other related records. This is one of the most
powerful features of the PeopleFinder software.
To invoke this feature, click on the "LINKS" button
on the bottom of the "RECORD DISPLAY"
screen (or press the letter "L" on your keyboard).
You are able to identify LINKS between the record you have
found, and other PeopleFinder records
that contain the same:
FULL NAME and CITY (Helps to identify address variations
or multiple addresses.)
LAST NAME , STREET and ZIP CODE (Allows flexibility
in locating persons living together.)
LAST NAME and CITY (Useful for identifying family
members, or an individual using a
variety of given name(s).)
FIRST NAME and DOB (Useful for determining a female's
"married" and "maiden" names.)
COMPLETE ADDRESS (Alert: this will return an EXACT
address match, including
apartment, so use this LINK only for an exact match.)
TELEPHONE NUMBER (Can help to identify persons using
the same telephone number.)
FULL NAME and DOB (Useful for developing multiple
addresses for the same person.)
FULL NAME and ZIP (Can identify inadvertent address
variations.)
LAST NAME and DOB (Useful for identifying a person
using a variety of given name(s).)
LAST NAME and ZIP (Useful to provide a degree of flexibility
in the search.)
STREET ADDRESS (More forgiving than "COMPLETE
ADDRESS". Looks for other
people residing in the same building.)
STREET and ZIP CODE (An easy way to get a list of
neighbors.)
To allow for the highest level of "on disc investigation",
multiple levels of "LINK"-ing of
records is possible.
NOTE: "LINK"-ing across
different discs of a multi-CD set is not supported.
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"DEMOGRAPHICS" of a Trace-d Record :
Once you have completed a Search, and selected ONE (1) specific
record from the Record Preview
Screen, it is possible to obtain the DEMOGRAPHICS for the
address (Zip Code) cross-referenced
to that selected record.
To invoke this feature, click on the "DEMOGRAPHICS"
button on the bottom of the "RECORD
DISPLAY" screen.
Included in the on-disc DEMOGRAPHICS report are: (area) population,
number of males and females,
(area) racial compositions, average area income, and average
area household value.
SOURCE NOTE: All "DEMOGRAPHICS"
data contained in the PeopleFinder discs has been extracted
from updates to the most recent United States census. Although
we have been able to provide demographic
data for the vast majority of locations, certain areas do
not have figures calculated for them by the U.S.
Bureau of the Census, and therefore a request for DEMOGRAPHICS
data for those few zip codes will
not return information.
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The "OPTIONS" Menu:
For your convenience, the PeopleFinder discs can be modified
by the User to display the preview