Database FAQ
Topics:
Q:
What is the Tarot Garden database?
A: The Tarot Garden database is an
online searchable resource for information on tarot decks. The process
of entering information is ongoing, but when the first data entry phase
is complete, we estimate that the database will include information on
nearly 2,000 tarots and cartomantic decks, making it by far the largest
source of tarot deck information on the Internet. Information listed in
the database includes: deck title, designer(s) / author(s) / artist(s),
country of publication, publication year, publication status number of
cards, a basic description of the deck, mention of important references
that list the tarot (such as Kaplan's Encyclopedias or Manteia),
and the Tarot Garden inventory status of the title (Boutique,
offline inventory, special order, or unavailable). Most
entries include a button that will display a half-dozen scanned samples
from the deck.
Q:
What is the difference between the Database and the Boutique?
A: In our integrated data system, the
difference between the database and the Boutique is admittedly rather
vague, yet still important. The Boutique, of
course, lists the items we have for sale, divided up into convenient categories that should be helpful to
collectors. When viewing an item in the Boutique, you will see a
slightly different set of details, including pricing and availability
information. Other than browsing the Boutique by the predefined
categories, there is no direct way to search the Boutique for a
specific listing.
In contrast, the database is fully searchable
in a number of ways. Our "QuickSearch" feature -- displayed near the
upper-left-hand corner of almost every Tarot Garden webpage -- allows
you to quickly access the database and seek information by title,
author, or a combination of both. Our database predefined searches
allow you to easily access Tarot Garden selections by availability --
Boutique, offline inventory, special order, or in-stock. This provides
you with more information about which titles are actually available
through the Tarot Garden than is apparent from simply browsing the
Boutique. And our advanced search feature lets you search our entire
database -- including titles that are not currently available through
the Tarot Garden -- in a number of different ways, including country of
publication and "category / theme."
If you find a deck that you're seeking through
our database, there will be a link from the database listing to the
Boutique listing if the deck is available through the Tarot Garden
Boutique. You can use this link to call up the title and review the
pricing and availability information, to send a Gift Alert, or to place the item in
your Tarot Garden shopping cart.
Q:
How do I search the database for decks of interest?
A: There are three general methods for
searching the Tarot Garden database:
-
QuickSearch. This feature is now
available on almost every Tarot Garden webpage. The QuickSearch
feature, found in the upper left-hand corner of most pages (including
this one), allows you to enter pieces of deck titles, or
designer/author/illustrator names, or both, in order to carry out a
search for a specific selection. You can use the buttons provided to
specify that all of the words should be included in the sought-after
selections ("Find all these words"), or that any one of the words you
enter should generate a match ("Find any of these words").
-
Predefined Searches. The predefined
searches are quick-and-easy ways to view our listing of decks by their
Tarot Garden availability status. The "Boutique"
search lists all items shown in our Boutique, but without dividing them
into sections. The "Offline Inventory" search lists all
items that are in stock, but not shown in our Boutique. The "Special Order" search lists all items
that are not in-stock but are believed to be available by special
order. And the "In Stock" search searches both the Boutique and Offline
Inventory to display all selections available for immediate purchase
and shipment (note that out-of-stock Boutique selections are eliminated
from the "In Stock" search). To access the predefined searches, simply
click "Database" on the navigation bar at the top of any Tarot Garden
webpage, and then select the predefined search you want from the menu
that appears on the page.
-
Advanced Searches. These can be both
more specific and more general than the QuickSearch. For example, you
can more specifically indicate whether your search terms should be
compared against the deck title or designer/author/illustrator
information. (The QuickSearch automatically compares your search terms
against both of these items of information.) Alternatively, you may
search by other criteria of interest, such as the deck's country of
publication or its "category/theme." To access the advanced search
screen, simply click "Database" on the navigation bar at the top of any
Tarot Garden webpage, and then select "Advanced Search" from the
navigation sub-bar that appears below.
Q:
How can I link to a specific listing in your database?
A: We welcome direct links to our
database, as long as they conform to the format described here. It is
possible to isolate our database listings by title or country of
publication. The general link format is as follows:
http://www.tarotgarden.com/database/dbsearchengine.php?
view_title=title+or+keyword
or...
http://www.tarotgarden.com/database/dbsearchengine.php?
view_country=country
You can narrow the results returned by the link
if you include both title and country criteria. To accomplish this, use
an ampersand (&) between the two parameters, as follows:
http://www.tarotgarden.com/database/dbsearchengine.php?
view_title=title&view_country=country
For multi-word searches on title, use plus (+)
signs between the words. For example, to link to the "Tarot of the Cat
People," you could use either of the following URLs:
http://www.tarotgarden.com/database/dbsearchengine.php?
view_title=tarot+of+the+cat+people
or...
http://www.tarotgarden.com/database/dbsearchengine.php?
view_title=cat+people
Because there are no other tarots in our
database with the words "Cat People" in the title, the second, shorter
link would work as well as the first. Using only the word "Cat,"
however, would bring up a longer list of entries, as there are several
tarots that include "Cat" as a title word.
Conversely, for country searches, the country
name must be entered without spaces. For titles published in
the United States, use "U.S.A." (with periods, but no spaces) for the
country criteria. For example, to link to a listing of titles published
in New Zealand, the URL would be:
http://www.tarotgarden.com/database/dbsearchengine.php?
view_country=newzealand
Note: title and country link terms are not
case senstive.
Q:
I tried linking directly to an entry in your database, but the link
returned more than one title. Why?
A: There are four reasons why a database
link may return more than one entry:
-
The title criteria is too general.
The information provided after the "view_title=" portion of the
database URL should include enough words to isolate the desired
selection from other decks that may include the same word. For example,
simply typing "celtic" after the "view_title=" parameter would return a
rather long list of databse entries, as there are a large number of
decks and sets that employ the word "Celtic" in their titles. In such a
case, it would be essential to include more title words (connected by
the + symbol); for example, "celtic+wisdom" or "celtic+dragon".
-
The criteria is embedded inside the
title of another listing. Links using very short title criteria are
particularly prone to this problem. For example, using only the word
"ring" after the "view_title=" parameter would not only list the "Fairy
Ring" and "Lord of the Rings" tarots, but
also the "Caring Psychic Family" and "Gringonneur
(redrawn)" tarots. To correct this problem, the recommended approach,
once again, is to use more title words (e.g., "fairy+ring" or
"lord+of+the+rings").
-
The listings may contact "keywords" that
match your title selection words. In addition to the title itself,
title searches are carried out on "keywords" that have been included
with each listing. These keywords were added to increase the
possibility of a correct match when executing a title search. For
example, the criteria "alice" will generate a match with the
"Wonderland Tarot," even though the word "Alice" is not actually
included in the title of this deck. Because it is often referred to as
the "Alice in Wonderland" tarot, it was necessary to be able to produce
a match should a searcher use this title as the criteria. The keywords
are not listed anywhere, and are not available for viewing; if you are
generating an unexpected match, a "hidden keyword" is the most likely
cause. Once again, try making your link more specific by including more
of the title's actual words. Sometimes even the addition of the word
"tarot" in the appropriate place will fix the problem. Note that this
problem is particularly prevelent with decks that have both English-
and non-English titles that are commonly known, because the title
translation (or several translations) may have been included in the
keyword list.
-
There are actually two tarots with the
exact same name in the database. Although rare, this does
occasionally happen. The "Art Nourveau" tarots are one example. In some
cases, we have attempted to make the titles "isolatable" from one
another by including the primary creator/designer name as a keyword.
Thus, "art+nouveau+myers" could be used to isolate the Myers "Nouveau"
tarot from that of Castelli. However, this is not yet possible in all
cases; therefore, when we have not included a designer's name as one of
the keywords, you cannot separate listings bearing the same title at
this time.
Q:
What if I find an error or problem in the database?
A: While we strive for accuracy in all
of our database entries, we are only human. As such, there are
inevitably problems or inaccuracies that escape our detection during
our initial reviews of the listings. Therefore, we welcome our site
visitors to write and alert us if something seems amiss. If you find a
factual error (wrong publication year or country, for example),
omissions (e.g., designer/illustrated/author information not shown), or
problem (broken picture link, for example), write to us at info@tarotgarden.com with the
details, and we will do our best to make corrections as soon as
possible.
Additional
Information: Tarot Garden Database Search "Secrets."
There are a couple of other ways to use the
Deck QuickSearch box that can enhance the way you search and browse our
database:
-
If you simply click the "Go" button next to
the "Deck QuickSearch" input box, our system will return a list of all
items in our database, 10 listings at a time. Use the links provided on
the results pages to move through the pages of the search results.
-
We have coded "alpha codes" into the
"keywords" lists of all of our decks, so you can isolate sections of
the database by their alphabetical "section" (i.e., all "A" decks, all
"N" decks, etc.) The format is: "alpha"+letter (no space). So,
for example, to list all decks alphabetized under "P," you would enter
"alphaP" into the "Deck QuickSearch" box. To bring up titles with
"numerical" titles, and therefore alphabetized before "A" (the
"723 Tarot," for example), enter "alpha1" (that's the number "one"
after the string "alpha").
