What is the difference between Content Search and the Publications Overview search?
What search options are provided by Content Search?
Option 1 - Search in a specific publication
Option 2 - Search for a specific TYPE of information first
Option 3 - Search for a specific subject in all publications
How do you use the keyword search in the most efficient way?

The Content Search reads through the entire content of IBFD online publications, even those that you don't have a subscription to. The complete texts of everything from cases to journal articles, models to directives will be searched through. This will often result in hundreds of hits for your search. We therefore provide various options to narrow down the results so you find exactly what you need.

The Publications Overview search navigates through the titles of our publications and the general subjects that these publications cover to check if there's a match.

The home page of Content Search contains the latest news on search functionality and a clear explanation of the interface. If you tick the 'Skip this explanation in the future' box during future visits you will automatically see the list of all IBFD publications available to search and not the help screen. It is also possible to restrict your search to those publications you have a subscription to. To do this tick the 'Select My Subscriptions Only' box. Every time you enter a search item or narrow the searches, your selections appear at the top of the screen. To undo a previous selection simply click it away at the top of the screen.

• Option 1 - Search in a specific publication
  This option is particularly useful if you are familiar with the contents of a publication and perhaps want to quickly find something that you have already seen.
  • Click on the publication which you would like to search (shown in the white area of the screen). All available results within the publication will now be shown.
  • 2. At this point you can enter a specific subject in the keyword box, or narrow your search further using the options in the left menu. The options in the left menu are drop down menus. Click on the arrow on the right to view all options.
  • Continue narrowing your search until the appropriate results appear in the white area of the screen. To see a preview of a particular result just click on the title of the document (not available for all publication types). If you immediately want to access the result within the publication click on the name of the publication (this is only available if you have a subscription to the relevant publication).
• Option 2 - Search in a specific TYPE of information first
  Use this option if you want a specific type of information only. For example if you only want to know the latest news on a certain subject, or you just want to search case law.
  • Select the type of information you want to search in using the menu on the left side to select certain types of information e.g. news, commentary of primary sources.
  • Depending on the option selected you will get more detailed options in the left menu which allows you to narrow your search further if desired.
  • At this point you can enter a specific subject in the keyword box, or narrow your search further using the options in the left menu. The options in the left menu are edrop down menus, therefore the whole selection will appear once clicked.
  • Continue narrowing your search until the appropriate results appear in the white area of the screen. The results will be shown either at publication level or document level depending on the selection. To see a preview of a particular result just click on the title of the document (not available for all publication types). If you immediately want to access the result within the publication click on the name of the publication (this is only available if you have a subscription to the relevant publication).
• Option 3 - Search for a specific subject in all publications
  Use this option if you want to find all information available about a specific subject e.g. Treaties News relating to Corporation Tax in Germany.
  • First start narrowing your results by using the menu on the left side to select certain types of information e.g. news, commentary or primary sources OR to narrow your search by subject or geographically.
  • Enter a phrase or word, which summarizes what you're looking for in the keyword box. While entering a word a list of terms will appear giving you the opportunity to click the appropriate term.
    Note: IBFD International Tax Glossary subscribers can link directly to definitions of glossary terms.
  • The results will be displayed in the white area of the screen listed by publication. Next to each publication in brackets you can see how many results are available.
  • To view the results click on the publication.
  • To see a preview of a particular result just click on the title of the document. If you immediately want to access the result within the publication click on the name of the publication (this is only available if you have a subscription to the relevant publication).

The Full Text Search is more effective if you first narrow your results by selecting the options displayed in the menu on the left. If you don't do this you may get too many hits, because the Full Text Search searches every single document available.

When you have narrowed your results the Full Text Search can be used just like any other search engine.

Note that searching for permanent establishment will give you all of the documents that contain either the word permanent or establishment (and both). So, if you only want to find documents that discuss permanent establishment, put your keywords between quotation marks, like this: "permanent establishment".

While entering a keyword, a list of terms will appear giving you the opportunity to click the appropriate term.
Note: IBFD International Tax Glossary subscribers can link directly to definitions of glossary terms. In this case, when you click the term "permanent establishment" and press the search button you will find all documents containing information about "permanent establishment". Note that in some cases the list consists of terms that as such are not mentioned anywhere in the text of the available documents. After all it is a full text search. Therefore you will see no results. In that case you might prefer to use the options displayed in the left-hand menu.

You must be logged in to use this function. As soon as you have completed a search, click on the 'Save Search' button. Type a name for your search and if necessary add a note. Click the 'Save' button and your search is saved at your personal 'My IBFD' page. When you want to execute this search again, just click the 'My Saved Searches' button and an overview of your saved searches will be shown containing dates of entry and dates of modification. Simply click to search. In this overview you can also modify or delete saved searches.

Note: customers with IP access can only save searches, when they are logged in to IBFD website. To acquire log in details you only have to register once with IBFD. This is free. The 'Register' button can be found on the homepage and 'My IBFD' page of www.ibfd.org.

Search results are sorted in two ways: chronologically or alphabetically.

• Chronologically
  News items and journal articles are sorted chronologically, starting with the most recent publication on top of the result list.
• Alphabetically (and following the table of contents)
  All other online publications are sorted alphabetically. In most instances the search results will follow the table of contents of the publications as displayed when the text of the document is opened in a new window.