MetaSearcher offers a unique searching and browsing capability that really sets MetaSearcher apart from other metadata tools.  MetaSearcher takes advantage of controlled vocabularies to improve the search recall and precision, and tightly integrates metadata searching and category browsing to provide the best searching result and experience.

Among many others, MetaSearcher's Key features include:

Open Architecture

MetaSearcher is based completely on a fully integrated Web-based architecture that enables metadata created by MetaSearcher to be accessed, updated and searched regardless of physical location or type of computer used.  Its open architecture allows you to use any platform, including UNIX, NT or Linux; any Web server, including Apache, Netscape Enterprise server, and IIS; and any client, including PC and Macintosh.  As a result, you can easily set up MetaSearcher without investing in additional hardware and software, no matter what kind of platform and environment you may have.

Superior Standards Support

MetaSearcher supports most popular metadata standards, including Dublin Core, METS, MODS, and VRA Core.  And it lets you easily add the metadata standards that have not been provided by MetaSearcher, or create your own metadata templates.

Flexible Database Support

MetaSearcher supports most popular databases, including Oracle, Sybase, DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, and MySQL.  Thus, it is very likely that your standardized DBMS in your organization is supported by MetaSearcher.  And thereby you can deploy MetaSearcher without extra investment in databases.

Complete Data Type Support

MetaSearcher lets you tag almost any Web objects, including HTML page, XML page, image, video/audio, PDF, MS Office documents, and database records.  As a result, most, if not all, of your data can be made accessible to your users.

Superb Multi-lingual Support

MetaSearcher offers complete multi-lingual support so that you can tag your information recourses in almost any language.   Multi-lingual Support is particularly important for tagging information on the Web.

Total Controlled Vocabulary Integration

MetaSearcher adds a new dimension to keyword searching by incorporating the use of available controlled vocabularies to improve both search recall (retrieval of all data potentially relevant to the search topic) and precision (retrieval of only that data most associated with the search topic). Even when the information was not tagged using MME MetaIndexer, MME MetaSearcher allows the user to explore and include synonym relationships (for example, “automobile” and “car”) in a search and eliminate homonym problems by seeing the definitions for each before finalizing a search (for example, “bail” as a homonym of “bale”). Search almost any kind of data from multiple websites residing anywhere on the Internet.  In addition, searchers may browse using categories created to accommodate enterprise needs.

Effective Browsing

MetaSearcher enables you to browse and navigate a hierarchical category in addition to providing you with sophisticated searching capabilities.  Studies have demonstrated that an effective retrieval system should enable users to find what they are looking for by both searching and browsing.  With MetaSearcher, you can find what you need easily and quickly through not only powerful searching but also efficient browsing with taxonomies or categories as interactive search interfaces.  MetaSearcher enables the user to browse categories in an expandable/collapsible tree, and provides the user with the number of results for each category while he is browsing and navigating.  As a result, the user knows exactly how many results will be returned before committing the search.  Browsing in a hierarchical category can be understood as perusing the vocabulary associated with a given concept at various levels of specificity.  It is effective in suggesting ways of pinpointing or broadening meaning and thus for improving precision and recall.

Precise Search Refining

When presenting you the search result for a particular query, MetaSearcher also lets you refine or narrow your searches by categories that fall in the search result in a browsable and expandable tree.  Let us say that you search “Painting” and retrieve 200 results.  In addition to present you the results, MetaSearcher will also display relevant categories in an expandable tree for you to narrow the search.  You can expand either the Location branch to select French to retrieve the information on French paintings or the Theme branch to click Animals to look for Paintings on Animals.  And you know you will retrieve 50 results on French paintings and 30 results on Paintings on Animals before you commit the search, because the number of results is displayed next to each of the categories.

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