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The Factiva.com database service is now fully Web-based, and the buzz online in discussion groups is that 'the new Factiva is less intuitive than DJI and eliminates some useful features previously included. Many would prefer that Factiva had left well enough alone. Factiva is, however, a favorite service with many enterprise business users because it provides much content, quality sources, and a more intuitive search interface than provided by competitors.' Topics covered include costs; Factiva's interface; searching; customer support; advanced search examples; and discussion group questions answered (those related to PDF files, searching for editorials, commentary/opinions, or letters to the editor, searching by byline or author, people searching, using the Back Button, and the grace period for downloading articles) with the help of Factiva's staff. Dialog Open Access is attuned to the occasional user rather than professional searchers, and is much more costly than Factiva's one-price approach, which is designed for professional searchers. Factiva distinguishes between individual and corporate accounts and includes access to some features and premium content (Historical market Data and Quotes, Company QuickSearch, Business Newstand, Investext, and D&B) in the corporate offering only. Factiva's indexing was recently especially useful for a project in which a goal was to find information about companies providing content management software solutions for industries that include aerospace, and defense, auto, chemical, and pharmaceuticals.
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