Contract Search Help
Introduction
The
contracts search function enables you to locate contract summaries, contracts,
and other documents (such as purchase orders and amendments) in the
Pennsylvania Contracts e-Library
The
search function can be found by clicking the “Search for Public Contracts” link
on the Welcome page.
Search Contracts
Clicking
on the “Search for Public Contracts” link will bring up the “Contract Search” page (Fig.
1). Documents may then be retrieved using either the “Keyword(s)” search
feature or by using the “Search Using Other Terms” feature. The “Keyword(s)”
feature and the “Search Using Other Terms” features cannot both be used for the
same search at this time. The search
function will be enhanced in the future to allow keywords and other terms to be
used in combination on searches, allowing users to refine their requests in
order to better identify the contracts they are interested in reviewing.
Figure 1:
Contract Search Page
Keyword(s)
Search
You can
enter one or more words into the
“Keywords” textbox (Fig. 2) to search for contracts. Words that are likely to appear in desired
contracts or words that otherwise describe the goods or services to be provided
through those contracts are likely to be the most successful as keywords.
You also have several options to further refine the keyword search request and increase the likelihood of a helpful result. Generally, all the words you put in the query will be used. There are some exceptions. Words that are commonly used, like "the", "a", "for" are usually ignored. You can also utilize any of the features below
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Phrase search ("") |
By putting double quotes around a set of words, you are telling the search engine to consider the exact words in that exact order without any change. For example, a search for "KORYAK Consulting" (with quotes) will bring in all pages containing that phrase but won't bring in documents that may have "KORYAK, a consulting company from Pittsburgh".
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Terms you want to exclude (-) |
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Fill in the blanks (*) |
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Search exactly as is (+) |
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The OR operator |
Figure 2: Keyword Search
Search Using
Other Terms
The
“Search Using Other Terms” features (Fig. 3) give you additional search
capability by focusing on certain specific aspects of contracts. The
“Contracting Party(s),” “Agency,” “Amount of Contract,” “Contract Number” and “Date Range” features may be used
individually or in any combination to locate contracts. The more options chosen, the more refined
the search will be.
“Contracting
Party(s),” “Agency” and “Amount of Contract ” features provide drop-down lists.
These lists present all of the contracting parties, all of the agencies, and a
set of ranges for contract amounts that are in the Contracts e-Library. Only
one term may be selected from each of these lists. “Date Ranges” or searches “within last x days” are available for all three kinds of date information
(execution date, begin date and end date) that agencies provide when they file
contracts with the Treasury Department. You can enter dates either manually or
by selecting them using the Calendar option.
Note, however, that some contracts may not contain begin dates or end
dates and therefore cannot be searched for using these terms. “Contract Number” is a textbox in which
specific text must be entered. (An expanded description for each of these
options is provided below.)
Clicking
on the “Search” button initiates the search function. Clicking on “Reset” will delete all entries, allowing the user to
enter terms for a new or edited search.
Figure 3: “Search Using Other Terms” Options
Search by Contracting Party(s)
and/or Agency
These
two search features (Fig. 4) offer dropdown lists of all agencies and
contracting parties in the e-Library. You may search for only one agency and/or
one contracting party at a time.
Figure 4:
Search Close-up
Clicking on either of the
drop-down arrows will provide an alphabetical listing of all entries available
to search (Fig 5.). When you begin to type the name of a specific agency or
contracting party, the textbox will auto-fill with any matches it finds within
the lists. In the example shown, typing
in the letter “J” in the Agency textbox brings up the list of all agencies who
have submitted contracts and whose name begins with the letter “J.”
Figures 5: Auto-Fill Example
Search by Amount of Contract ($)
The
“Amount of Contract ($)” search feature (Fig. 6) is also a textbox that
provides a drop-down list, in this instance with contract dollar value
ranges. You may only select one
range at a time for a search. The
available ranges are shown in the example.
Figure 6: Amount of Contract ($) close-up
Search by Contract Number
The “Search by Contract Number”
feature (Fig. 7) can be used to locate a contract with the exact contract
number that has been entered in this textbox. After the number is entered,
clicking on the search button will retrieve only the specified contract. It is important to note that there is no
universal numbering system for Commonwealth contracts utilized by agencies
whose contracts are available from the Contracts e-Library. Thus, it is very possible that different
contracts, entered into by different agencies, can bear the same number. Users can avoid having to review search
results that contain multiple contracts from different agencies with the same
number by using both the “Contract Number” and “Agency” search features when
possible to narrow the search results.
Figure 7: Contract Number close-up
Search
by Date Range
The date ranges or searches
“within last x days” (Fig. 8) are
available for all three kinds of contract date searches that can be performed
(Execution Date, Begin Date or End Date).
As with searches employing other contract terms, users can combine any
of the three date ranges to narrow their searches.
Figure 8: Date Range Search
You may enter dates manually using either
standard date format (mm/dd/yy or mm/dd/yyyy) (Fig. 9). Using the Date Range
feature will only retrieve documents that fall within the specified date
range(s).
Figure 9: Search by Execution Date example
You can also enter dates using
the Calendar box shown to the right of each date’s textbox (Fig. 10). Clicking on
any date on the calendar popup will place that date in the selected textbox.
Figure 10: Execution Date Search with calendar popup
Documents may also be searched
using the “within the last x days”
feature (Fig. 11). Entering an amount in this box will retrieve documents with
dates that fall within this range. Again, after filling in the
desired information, clicking on the “Search” button will initiate the search
function.
Figure 11: Execution Date Search "within last x
days" close-up
Contract
Search Results
Results
from either a “Keyword” search or a “Search Using Other Terms” will provide the
“Contract Number,” “Agency,” and a brief description of the subject matter of
all contracts fitting the search terms (Fig.12) Clicking on either the “Contract Number” or the “View” button on
the “Contracts Search Results” page for a specific document will bring up the
full “Contract Summary” related to the contract provided to the Treasury
Department by the agency.
Figure 12: Example of Search Results
Contract Summary
The
“Contract Summary” page lists important information regarding each contract
(Fig. 13). The information includes the “Contract File(s),” which are links to
one or more files that contain the contract and any appendices, exhibits,
tables or other attachments. The
“Contract Summary” page also includes links to “Related Documents” to the
contract, which are amendments, purchase orders, and other documents that
relate to or have been issued against the contract.
Figure 13: Contract Summary page
You can
click on the link in “Contract File(s)”
to view the contract (Fig.14). ” If multiple links are
displayed, click individually on each link to view the entire contract.
Figure 14:
Document Link close-up
Clicking
on this link (Fig.14) will bring up a copy of the contract (Fig.15). As the example shows, some documents may
have had sensitive or non-public information removed by the agency prior to
submitting it to the Treasury Department.
A description of redaction, or removing sensitive or non-public information,
can be found in the FAQs section of the Contracts e-Library.
Figure 15:
Copy of document
Clicking
on any “Related Documents” (Fig.16), will bring up the “Contract Summary” page
for that related document. A copy of
the related document can then be viewed by clicking on the link in “Contract
File(s)” on the Contract Summary page for that related document.
Figure 16: Related Documents Link on Contract Summary page
Documents
Not Available For Immediate Viewing
If a contract or related
document is not currently available to be viewed, the system will display the
“No files found” message (Fig.17). You
can request that a copy of the contract or related document be added to the
Contracts e-Library by clicking on the “Request contract” button.
Figure 17: Request Documents Button
The system will then display
a message advising that the document will be available for Public Viewing
within five days (Fig.18).
Figure 18: Document
Request Response