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What's New?
VAI demonstrated its ground-breaking DIG Server-to-Server (S2S) connectivity to enable secure information-sharing networks for federal, state, and local law enforcement at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA, Oct. 20-24.
For more information on this important event, see our press release.
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Here are a few tips and tricks to help you use DIG quickly and more efficiently.
This month's tips focus on the upcoming 2.0 release.
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Building a Query
When building a query in DIG, you may not always be sure of the exact value you need to search. When this is the case, you can search on part of the value.
One operator you can use to search on partial values is the "Starts With" operator. "Starts With" searches the beginning of the field(s) you specify for matches to the characters you enter in the search field. See the example below.
In this example, DIG searches all User_Name fields for values that begin with "va." This returns such matches as "vardy_s," "VAAdmin," "VAllen," etc.
Another partial value search operator is "Contains." "Contains" searches the specified fields, looking for the characters you enter anywhere in the value. See the example below.
In this case, records that contain the two letters "va" anywhere in the field are returned. For instance, in addition to the results mentioned above (which are also returned), DIG also returns results such as "bill_vai," "VAInstructor" and "TovaySmith."
It is important to note that using these operators, particularly on large databases, takes a great deal more time than using exact value operators. In general, "Starts with" takes less time than "Contains," but you should keep the increased search time in mind when using either of these operators.
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DIG 2.0
DIG 2.0 will be commercially available in the coming weeks. We'd like to take this space to introduce you to the new DIG user interface.
The DIG 2.0 main interface window has been redesigned for easier use and added functionality. Its primary components are:
1. Data Source Tree
The Data Source Tree contains all of the data sources that have been defined in the DIG Enterprise Manager, and are available for searching based on user input search criteria. The tree can be collapsed to show only the highest level of data sources (i.e., database level).
Notice the distinction between local server and remote server databases. This allows you to select databases that exist on only your own local DIG server, or fan out to other databases that exist on external servers at remote locations. As with previous versions of DIG, the search tree can be expanded to show details of objects and search elements.
2. History / Favorites Panel
The History / Favorites Panel has not changed considerably from version 1 to version 2. The previous 10 searches are retained and displayed to the user. The number of total historical searches retained is a user-specific setting and can vary from user to user.
Existing DIG users will notice the addition of an Alerts tab. The Alerts tab will allow you to generate an e-mail, a pager call, or some other action based on a pre-defined DIG action. As an example, you can set up a pre-defined name search query (i.e., JOHN SMITH) that is scheduled to execute every hour - on the hour. If any of these scheduled searches returns a match, you can request DIG to generate an e-mail notifying you that a match has been found.
3. Search Objects Selection Tree
The Search Objects Selection Tree is brand new to DIG 2.0. You can now set up logical groupings of search objects making it easier to find objects or data elements to search on. The image to the right shows an example of the DIG 2.0 search objects selection panel.
The new search objects selection tree has 3 basic components to it.
1. Search elements are the data variables a user can select to tell DIG what objects to search for specific data values (e.g., Nationality = US, Height = 6'0', Sex = M).
2. Parent search objects are groupings of search elements. A parent search object can be used to set up search criteria, and all search elements within parent objects will be searched to find matches. As an example, look at item 2 (the SSDM parent search object). Notice it has 3 search elements - Social_Security_Number, Date_Of_Birth and Date_Of_Death. By selecting the SSDM parent search object and inputting a date of 6/20/85, all individuals who either were deceased or born on that date would be returned. This is an especially useful feature if searching multiple databases that have the same or similar data.
3. Non-searchable group objects are used to group common or similar data elements to make it easier for users to find from within a group, rather than from a long list of variables. As their name indicates, non-searchable group objects are simply place holders for search elements and are not used in DIG to build search queries.
4. Query Builder Panel
The DIG Query Builder Panel has been enhanced to provide greater flexibility. Search elements or Parent search objects are now dragged and dropped into the Query Builder Panel. More search construction space is provided allowing users to build more voluminous and specific search criteria. A Start Search button has been added to the Query Builder Panel providing 2 options to start search executions. Text search options continue to be supported in a distinct window allowing you to use the same values as specified with search elements, or creating completely unique text values specific to only the text search functionality.
The DIG search results grid has also gone through some valuable user interface enhancements and functional additions. First, search results are now shown based on the specific database where 'hits' have been found. New DB HIT tab(s) have been added. In addition, the previous method of showing all DIG search results has been maintained and is available via the ALL tab.
Report Writer functionality has also been added to version 2 of DIG. At the bottom of the search results grid, you will now see a Reports tab allowing you to generate pre-defined or ad hoc reports.
Visit http://support.visualanalytics.com or call us at 1-877-407-4VAI for more information or to arrange a system demo.
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