Last Updated: August 15, 2008

Note: Many of the FAQs answers link to Help.

• How do I find information about a disease or condition?
• How do I search by author?
• How do I search for abstracts from a particular professional conference?

• How do I print my results?
• How do I save my results?
• How do I import my results into a bibliographic management program?
• I found a journal citation in the Gateway. How do I get the full text of the journal article?
• How do I use the Loansome Doc® document ordering system?

• What NLM resources does the Gateway search?
• Does the NLM Gateway use cookies or Javascript?
• Is the NLM Gateway working? I keep getting an "internal server error" or other error message when I try to access it. What do you suggest?

How to do a Search

How do I find information about a disease or condition?

NLM provides you with FREE access to a variety of information resources so that you can better understand your health and diagnosed disorders. Questions about individual medical cases, second opinions, or treatment and therapy should be directed to a healthcare provider.

From the NLM Gateway, to retrieve information discussing a specific disease or condition, please follow the steps below.

1. Enter the disease in the query box.
2. Select the "Search" button or hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard.
3. The results summary page will provide information from a variety of NLM resources. You might wish to begin with the Consumer Health Resources. Select the database name to display the information from that collection.

For more detailed instruction on searching in NLM Gateway, please refer to the Help on the Features bar.

How do I search by author?

Please review the Author Name Searching section from Gateway Help.

How do I search for abstracts from a particular professional conference?

To search for abstracts from a particular professional conference, enter the conference name followed by the field qualifier [CN]. To further limit your retrieval, you may choose to limit to a specific year or range of years.

International Conference on Aids [CN]
International Society of Technology Assessment in Health Care Meeting [CN] AND 2003 [DP]

NLM does not claim the copyright on the contents of these collections; the data providers often do. NLM provides no legal advice concerning use of copyrighted materials. This advice should be sought from your legal counsel.

• HIV/AIDS
• Health Services Research
• Space Life Sciences

HIV/AIDS

Health Services Research

Space Life Sciences

Please note that the above list does not include information for most of the Space Life Sciences meetings.

Printing, Saving, Ordering

How do I print my results?

To print your results, please follow the steps below:

• From the Results page, select the Download link.
• Choose the number of items to print. The default is 20 items. You may print 10 items to 500 items at one time.
• Choose the level of detail to print for each item from the Details pulldown. The default is the brief display.
• Choose the display format from the Format pulldown. The default is the unlabelled format.
• Set the Destination pulldown to "Display for Printing".
• Select the "Go" button.
• The information will appear in your Web browser. Select the Print function from the browser File Menu or select the browser Print icon.

Please note that printing is a function of the Web browser, not the Gateway.

How do I save my results?

To save your results, please follow the steps below:

• From the Results page, select the Download link.
• Choose the number of items to save. The default is 20 items. You may save 10 items to 500 items at one time.
• The default starting item number is one. If you wish to save more that 500 items, you may save in batches by changing the starting item number.
• Choose level of detail to save for each item from the Details pull down menu. The default is the brief display.
• Choose the display format from the Format pull down menu. The default is the unlabelled format. Please note that you should choose the export format to save items for loading into a bibliographic manager program.
• Set the Destination pull down to "Save to File".
• Select the "Go" button.
• On a personal computer (PC), an Opening Cmd pop-up window will display. Verify that the Save it to disk option is selected, and select the "OK" button. An Enter name of file pop-up window will display which allows the user to name the file and determine the disk directory. Change the File name and Save in directory as desired, and select the "Save" button. Please note that Microsoft Internet Explorer is different from Firefox and other Web browsers. Internet Explorer will display the download results as text in your browser window, leaving you to save it yourself by using Internet Explorer's "File ... Save As" command. Using the "File ... Save As" command, Internet Explorer may display a SAVE Web Page pop-up window with the following message:
  This web page may not save correctly. Would you like to save it anyway?
  Never ask me again
  Yes          No
  You should answer Yes, and the Web page will save correctly.

How do I import my results into a bibliographic management program?

There are import filters that have been developed specifically for the NLM Gateway. Please contact the producer of your bibliographic manager program to obtain the filters.

To import your results, please follow the instructions in the "How do I save my results?" FAQ. Please note the following:

• Destination should be set to Save to File.
• Format should be set to Export.
• Download as should be set to Text.
• For Firefox, your results will be saved as ASCII text regardless of the settings in the Save As... pop-up window. However, you might wish to save the file with a filename with a .txt file extension (e.g., results.txt) and set the Save as type: to Plain Text (*.txt). For Internet Explorer, save the file with a filename (e.g., results) and set the Save as type: to Text File (*.txt).

I found a journal citation in the Gateway. How do I get the full text of the journal article?

The NLM Gateway provides access to MEDLINE®/PubMed® and other NLM online resources. MEDLINE/Pubmed contains bibliographic citations and abstracts (if abstracts are available in the journal) from approximately 10,000 biomedical journals, of which approximately 5,000 are currently indexed. The Gateway does not itself include the full-text of articles. However, the Gateway makes available the following options for obtaining the full-text copy of an article:

Full-Text Links:

Note: In the Gateway only PubMed items may show links to publishers' Web sites.

The Gateway links to the Web sites of those publishers which offer full-text access. Over 6,800 journal titles (as of January 2008) are currently available by this means. User registration, subscription fee, or some other type of fee may be required to access the full text of articles for some journals. Policies vary by provider and by journal.

• Links to FREE full text in PubMed Central and/or at a publisher site are displayed on the brief citation below the PMID (e.g., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS [ta])). Select the link, and a new browser window will be opened for the site. When you have finished with the site, simply close the Web browser window.
• Links to full text at a publisher site are displayed on the expanded citation below the PMID (e.g., JAMA (JAMA [ta])). Select the link, and an interim Publisher's Link page will be displayed. Select the link, and a new browser window will be opened for the publisher site. When you have finished with the publisher's site, simply close the Web browser window. Use the browser back button on the orginal Web browser window to return to Gateway searching.

You can view a list of journals with links to full-text from the PubMed Journal Browser (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/linkout/journals/jourlists.cgi?typeid=1&type=journals&operation=Show).

Document Ordering via Loansome Doc:

The "Order Documents" link on the Results page or the Locker page allows you to order documents from a library in your area using the Loansome Doc feature of the Gateway. Document ordering via Loansome Doc is available for PubMed items. More information on how to use Loansome Doc is available.

Prior to using the document ordering function you must establish an agreement with a Loansome Doc participating library and you must register online. Please note, there may be applicable fees for this service. For information on the medical libraries in your area (or your country) that can provide the Loansome Doc service and to register, select the Loansome Doc link on the right sidebar of the Loansome Doc Ordering System site (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/loansomedoc/loansome_home.html).

How do I use the Loansome Doc document ordering system?

Gateway users may order full text copies of journal articles through the Loansome Doc ordering feature. Please note that items may only be ordered from the PubMed collection.

You may order items from a particular search directly from the Results page, or you may collect items from multiple searches in the Locker and order from there.

To order directly from the Results page:

1. Check the box next to the item number to select the item for ordering. Multiple items may be ordered at one time. Select the Order documents link.
2. A Document Ordering page will be displayed. Review your choices and select the "Order" button.
3. The Loansome Doc Ordering page will open in a separate browser window. NOTE: You are now using the Loansome Doc (LD) system (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/loansome_doc.html). Enter your Loansome Doc User ID and password on the Loansome Doc Ordering page, verify the pull down menu is set to "Order Documents", and then select the "Go" button.
4. Be sure to read the "Warning Concerning Copyright Compliance." If you agree with its terms, select the "Accept" button. If you disagree with the terms, select the "Decline" button to return to the Loansome Doc Ordering page or select "NLM Gateway" (upper right corner) to return to the Gateway. No documents will be ordered if "Decline" or "NLM Gateway" are selected.
5. The Loansome Doc Order page will provide a list of the items you have chosen for ordering. The list may be modified by checking or unchecking the box to the left of the item. Some options, such as ordering library, "not needed after" date, delivery information, comments, and forward requests authorization can also be changed.
6. Select the "Send Order" button (at the top or bottom of the page) to place the order.
7. Loansome Doc will confirm which citations you have ordered. Be sure to print or save a copy of this page for reference. You may check the status of your order from the Loansome Doc Ordering System site (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/loansomedoc/loansome_home.html).

To order from the Locker:

1. Check the box next to the item number to select the item for ordering. Multiple items may be placed in the locker at one time. Select the Put in locker link.
2. A Sign in page will be displayed. Enter your User ID and Password and select the "Sign in" button. If you are a new user, click on the "Create one now" link and create a new User ID. Once you are logged into the Gateway, a Sign Out button will appear to the right of My Locker on the Gateway features bar.
3. A message will display indicating that that the item(s) were added to your locker.
4. When you have completed all searches and wish to order items, select the My Locker button on the Gateway Features bar. To order all items in your locker, select Order documents from the Select an action pull-down menu. Select the "Go" button. To order selected items, check the box beside each item to be ordered and select Order documents from the Select an action pull-down menu. Select the "Go" button. A Document Ordering page will be displayed. Review your choices and select the "Order" button.
5. The Loansome Doc Ordering page will open in a separate browser window. NOTE: You are now using the Loansome Doc (LD) system (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/loansome_doc.html). Enter your Loansome Doc User ID and password on the Loansome Doc Ordering page, verify the pull down menu is set to "Order Documents", and then select the "Go" button.
6. Be sure to read the "Warning Concerning Copyright Compliance." If you agree with its terms, select the "Accept" button. If you disagree with the terms, select the "Decline" button to return to the Loansome Doc Ordering page or select "NLM Gateway" (upper right corner) to return to the Gateway. No documents will be ordered if "Decline" or "NLM Gateway" are selected.
7. The Loansome Doc Order page will provide a list of the items you have chosen for ordering. The list may be modified by checking or unchecking the box to the left of the item. Some options, such as ordering library, "not needed after" date, delivery information, comments, and forward requests authorization can also be changed.
8. Select the "Send Order" button (at the top or bottom of the page) to place the order.
9. Loansome Doc will confirm which citations you have ordered. Be sure to print or save a copy of this page for reference. You may check the status of your order from the Loansome Doc Ordering System site (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/loansomedoc/loansome_home.html).

Other Questions

What NLM resources does the Gateway search?

Please review the System and Data Coverage section of the Gateway Overview.

Cookies are not utilized in the Gateway. Javascript is only used for system enhancements, and all features of the Gateway will work without Javascript.

Is the NLM Gateway working? I keep getting an "internal server error" or other error message when I try to access it. What do you suggest?

We are sorry to hear that you experienced difficulties with the Gateway. We would like to assist you but need additional information from you.

Please note that clearing the memory cache and the disk cache of your Web browser may help performance.

If you continue to experience difficulties, please send us an e-mail with answers to all of the following questions:

1. What browser (e.g., Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE), Netscape) are you using? Be sure to include the version number (e.g., 2.0.0.11). On a PC, version information is found by opening the browser application and pulling down the Help menu. The last item under Help is about the application (e.g., About Mozilla Firefox). On a Mac, version information is available within the browser application under the File pull down menu under Get Info.
2. What computer platform (e.g., PC, Mac, Unix) are you using?
3. How do you access the Internet? Please provide the name of your Internet provider, or the type of server used at your organization. (Check with your Systems Administrator if necessary.)
4. Does your system have a firewall or proxy? What level of security is being applied for internet access? (Check with your system administrator, if necessary.)
5. Where are you using the computer when you have this problem (e.g., university of X, at home in city, state, country)? What day and time did you have this problem?
6. Are you getting a specific error message? If so, what is it?
7. At what point does the problem occur? If you repeat the search, do you encounter the same problem?

It is most helpful if you can provide us with as many details as possible when answering these questions. Please send your response to NLM Customer Service.