Search Tips

Searching for and finding images is what ITN Source is all about. We had lots of good feedback about our old search engine being simple and easy to use so we decided to keep it. But you'll find some helpful advice and tips here.

Quick Tips

Black AND cat will search for content that has both the word “black” and “cat” associated with it.

“Black cat” typed in inverted commas will only search for black cats.

Using the word “or” between words or phases will give you a more accurate result – for example “black cat” or “brown cat” will return results for both black cats and brown cats.

Cat NOT black will search for the word “cat” but not the word “black” – you will get cats in your search return but they will not necessarily be black cats.

I am not getting many results when I search.

If you are not getting enough search results, you could try widening your search. For example, you can use the star key/asterisk (*) as a wild card.
E.g.: Entering flood* will search for flood, floods, flooding, flooded, etc.

You could also try reducing the number of keywords you have searched on.
Try searching for a wider category. For example, if you were looking for battleship "HMS Invincible", you could widen your search to "Falklands War".

You could also use the term “or” to help you search. If you enter cat or feline into the search box, you will get all cats and all felines returned.

Check for spelling errors or variant spellings, especially with people's names.
Consider plural spellings of words.

Use UK rather than American English when searching. For example, "labour" rather than "labor".

Try searching across all dates or all archives.

Is the search function case sensitive?

No, the search function is not case sensitive. Searching for "NELSON MANDELA" or "nelson mandela" would produce the same results.

I get thousands of results when I search.

You can narrow your search by using filters or by being more specific in the words and terms you use. You can do this on the Advanced Search page or from your Search return page by using the Search Filters.

ITN Source search uses some Boolean operators to facilitate accurate searches. Using inverted commas will return precise phrases – for example, entering “black cat” into the search box will return only footage with the exact phrase black cat associated with it.

You can also use the word "and" between words to filter your search. For example, if you have searched for "cat and domestic" you will get less returns than just searching for "cat" because the results will only be displayed where both the word "cat" and the word "domestic" is associated with that item.

You can also use the "Exclude Words" box to return more accurate searches – for example, if you enter "blue" into the "Exclude Words" box in your search for "cars" you would not see blue cars in your search return.

What are Search Preferences?

You are able to save settings on search parameters that you use frequently so that you don't have to do so on every visit.

When you have logged in, select Search Preferences and then save your selections once they have been made.

What are Saved Searches?

You can save your searches and their criteria so that you can run them quickly in future, but you will need to be logged in to do so.

After you have logged in, carry out your search and then click the "Save This Search" button on the search results page.

Now, once you have logged in you can visit the "Saved Search" page to quickly re-run your searches without the need to enter all of your criteria again.

What is the difference between Basic and Advanced Search?

"Basic Search" limits you to searching for all instances of your keywords, phrases and search terms other than any words you may have entered into the "Exclude Words" box.

In "Advanced Search" you can also define the archives you would like to search across. You can also apply any date criteria, and choose to view only content that you can buy online.