Banner2000 Version 5.x Basic Navigation

Searching the Database

Banner search forms allow you to search by name or id when you know one but not the other, if you are unsure of the spelling, or if you only know part of the name.

If you want to search for a person, click on the Search Light after the ID field:

              

This will take you to a search form.  All search forms, whether you are searching for a person or not, perform the same way.  When you enter the form, it will be in query mode.  This means that it’s ready for you to enter any information that will assist Banner to locate the record.  For example, to find the record of John T. Roth, the best search would include Roth in the Last Name field and John in First Name.  That would return all the John Roths that exist within the database.  If more than one exists, then you could view the records and select the appropriate one.  This is a very precise search.  You have specified a First and Last name.  Very few records should be returned from your search.  Many times, unless it’s a very common name, this type of search will bring back only the record you desire. 

If you do not enter such a precise search and only enter Roth in Last Name and no information in First Name or Middle, the system would return all Roth records that exist within the database.  The rule of thumb is: the more information you provide for the search, the fewer the records you must view to find the one you desire. 

If you do not want to do a Case Sensitive search, change the default "Yes" by clicking the "No" Radio Button at the bottom of the form:

Although at Marshall we use mixed case to enter names (i.e., Roth instead of ROTH or roth), it would be wise to click "No" to search for names like McDonald. 

Wildcards %

Sometimes, you don’t know much information about a person, i.e. spelling, complete name, etc.  In that instance, you can use a special symbol known as a wildcard, along with as much information as you know to perform the search.  Banner uses the wildcard symbol, %, to stand for one or more characters.

Example: Suppose you would like to find the record for a person whose last name is Kelley and first name is Sally.  However, you are unsure if the last name is spelled Kelly or Kelley, you can enter Kell% in the Last Name field and Sally in the First Name field.  Banner will return records whose Last Name begins with Kell AND whose first name is Sally.  Therefore, you would see records for Sally Kelly; Sally Kelley; Sally Kellogg; etc., because the records matched the criteria. 

Executing Queries

Once you have entered the information and would like to search the database, you must execute the query.  There are several ways to do this:

•  Click on the Execute Query button on the Toolbar

•  Use the keyboard command for Execute Query (F8).

•  Click on the Query pull down menu, and then select Execute.

Searching:  The Basics

1.   Enter a query form either by typing the query form name at the menu prompt or by clicking on a Search Light .

2.    Enter the information in the appropriate fields of the query form.  Enter enough information to narrow down the list of records to a manageable size.  You can use the wildcard if some information like spelling is unknown. 

3.    Execute the query .

4.    If you do not get the desired results, click on the Rollback button . The form will be cleared and reset in query mode for you to try again!

5.    Click the Select button to return the desired record back to the calling form.

Multiple Records of Same Name

If your search for Aaron Jones returns multiple records, click "Search and Display More Detail".

This will take you to a detailed search form, Execute a Query, and you will retrieve detail records of all of the Aaron Jones in the database.

Highlight the record you wish to retrieve, and click Select to return to the calling form.