Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archives Project - University Library

Getting Started Guide

Technical Requirements

Please note: You must be on the U-M Ann Arbor campus in order to search and view the testimonies on the Visual History Archive (dial-up to UM modem pool will not work ). A wireless connection is not adequate.

PC Requirements

Windows 2000/XP
Latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer
Latest version of Microsoft Windows Media Player
400 Mhz or faster processor
256 MB (or more) memory

Macintosh Requirements

OS X 10.2, 10.3, or 10.4 (not compatible with OS X 10.5)
Safari 1.1 or later
xquicktime plug-in (see instructions)
QuickTime 6.5 or later
G4 or G5 processor, or Intel processor
256 MB (or more) memory

Macintosh users will need to follow these additional instructions in order to view the testimonies.

Initial VHA Searching

To begin searching you will need to:

Go to the Archive Website

Register : create a username and password that you will use to log on to the archive;
Choose either Quick Search one of the three Advanced Search modes:

• Quick Search . Search for a word that may appear as a personal name, an indexing keyword (or a synonym), or an interview code.

• People Search . Search for a specific person by first and/or last name.

• Biographical Search by Experience Group . Search for testimonies of people within nine specific experience groups (i.e. Jewish Survivors, War Crimes Trials Participants, etc.).

• Global Keywords Search . Search for segments of video testimonies that discuss specific topics, using more than 30,000 geographic and experiential keywords. This search mode is particularly useful for narrowing a large set of testimonies that you previously saved into a particular subset of interest.

To save a search you will need to:

• Select the save to project button. This will bring you to the Projects page, where you must choose between the following two options:

• Saving your search results to a new project , that you will be asked to name, or

• Saving your search results to an existing project , which will add the testimonies to an existing project file, not replace the file.

To begin a new search you will need to:

Select the new search button on the bottom left corner of the search screen, or
Select the Search tab from the archive menu across the top of the screen.

Subsequent VHA Searching

To perform subsequent searches once you have logged off the archive, you will need to:

Log on : enter the username and password that you created at registration, and
Choose Quick Search or one of the three Advanced Search modes to begin a new search, or
Choose Projects to view previously saved searches, or
Choose Projects to search within a previously saved search.

VHA Search Tips

F11 button improves view.

Select the F11 button to have the VHA completely fill your monitor screen.

Navigation buttons.

Use the light blue buttons on the bottom of the screen to move through your search: new search, back, reset, next, enter, and save to search. Use the tabs provided on the top of the screen to navigate the archive: About the Shoah Foundation, Registration, Search, Search History, Projects, Site Map, Help, or Feedback.

Search History provided.

When searching, a Search History section on the left side of the screen indicates the number of testimonies currently resulting from your search. You can make use of this information to guide your search decisions, to further narrow your search if a large number of testimonies appear, or to go back and broaden your search if too few testimonies have resulted from your query.

Video segments may take up to 48 hours to access.

When your search results in a video segment that is “Viewable w/i 48 Hrs.,” you will see the following message on the left side of your screen, “Depending on traffic, downloading the video for this testimony will take up to 48 hours. To download, click here. You may continue searching while the video is downloading. Check back later for access.” Select click here to request that the testimony be downloaded from the Foundation's central digital video storage location to the local University of Michigan's cache. You will be notified by email, at the email address you provided at registration, once the segment is available for you to access.

For More Help

For more help with searching the archive, please see the advanced search section, and/or the Training Guide.


			Getting Started Guide Technical Requirements Please note: You must be on the U-M Ann Arbor campus in order to search and view the testimonies on the Visual History Archive (dial-up to UM modem pool will not work ). A wireless connection is not adequate. PC Requirements Windows 2000/XP Latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer Latest version of Microsoft Windows Media Player 400 Mhz or faster processor 256 MB (or more) memory Macintosh Requirements OS X 10.2, 10.3, or 10.4 (not compatible with OS X 10.5) Safari 1.1 or later xquicktime plug-in (see instructions) QuickTime 6.5 or later G4 or G5 processor, or Intel processor 256 MB (or more) memory Macintosh users will need to follow these additional instructions in order to view the testimonies. Initial VHA Searching To begin searching you will need to: Go to the Archive Website *Register* : create a username and password that you will use to *log on* to the archive; Choose either Quick Search one of the three *Advanced Search* modes: • *Quick Search* . Search for a word that may appear as a personal name, an indexing keyword (or a synonym), or an interview code. • *People Search* . Search for a specific person by first and/or last name. • *Biographical Search by Experience Group* . Search for testimonies of people within nine specific experience groups (i.e. Jewish Survivors, War Crimes Trials Participants, etc.). • *Global Keywords Search* . Search for segments of video testimonies that discuss specific topics, using more than 30,000 geographic and experiential keywords. This search mode is particularly useful for narrowing a large set of testimonies that you previously saved into a particular subset of interest. To save a search you will need to: • Select the *save to project* button. This will bring you to the *Projects* page, where you must choose between the following two options: • Saving your search results to a *new project* , that you will be asked to name, or • Saving your search results to an *existing project* , which will add the testimonies to an existing project file, not replace the file. To begin a new search you will need to: Select the *new search* button on the bottom left corner of the search screen, or Select the *Search* tab from the archive menu across the top of the screen. Subsequent VHA Searching To perform subsequent searches once you have logged off the archive, you will need to: *Log on* : enter the username and password that you created at registration, and Choose Quick Search or one of the three *Advanced Search* modes to begin a new search, or Choose *Projects* to view previously saved searches, or Choose *Projects* to search within a previously saved search. VHA Search Tips F11 button improves view. Select the F11 button to have the VHA completely fill your monitor screen. Navigation buttons. Use the light blue buttons on the bottom of the screen to move through your search: new search, back, reset, next, enter, and save to search. Use the tabs provided on the top of the screen to navigate the archive: About the Shoah Foundation, Registration, Search, Search History, Projects, Site Map, Help, or Feedback. Search History provided. When searching, a *Search History* section on the left side of the screen indicates the number of testimonies currently resulting from your search. You can make use of this information to guide your search decisions, to further narrow your search if a large number of testimonies appear, or to go back and broaden your search if too few testimonies have resulted from your query. Video segments may take up to 48 hours to access. When your search results in a video segment that is “Viewable w/i 48 Hrs.,” you will see the following message on the left side of your screen, “Depending on traffic, downloading the video for this testimony will take up to 48 hours. To download, click here. You may continue searching while the video is downloading. Check back later for access.” Select *click here* to request that the testimony be downloaded from the Foundation's central digital video storage location to the local University of Michigan's cache. You will be notified by email, at the email address you provided at registration, once the segment is available for you to access. For More Help For more help with searching the archive, please see the advanced search section, and/or the Training Guide.