An occasional feature to bring readers up to date with developments in PJOnline, the website version of The Pharmaceutical Journal, and to answer common questions about the service, which is available on the internet at www.pharmj.com
Since the launch of PJOnline (the website of The Pharmaceutical Journal), the editorial team and the website controller have received many e-mails on the subject. Most visitors seem to be pleased with the overall look of the site, and the facilities it offers. Some of the e-mails have been reproduced on the letters page. However, we thought it might be helpful to provide answers to some of the more general queries for the benefit of all visitors to the site.
A summary of some of the most frequently asked questions is shown below:
Are the job advertisements reproduced? Yes, the job advertisements can be found by clicking the Classified button, which is found on the menu bar at the bottom of each page. You may limit a search by selecting a classified heading.
Are there plans to supply a table of contents and/or daily news by e-mail? We are considering introducing this service once the website has become more established. Many users would welcome receiving the contents page via e-mail, rather than having to go to the site themselves. Watch the website for the opportunity to register your e-mail address to receive this service and for news of other developments.
How far back does the archive go? The site is very new, and the first issue in the archive is that of August 7. As we are adding more than 100 items each week, the archive will quickly grow, and become more useful.
Do you intend to add articles to the database from issues before that of August 7? There have been many requests for articles, original papers and continuing education articles from earlier issues to be added to the database. Selected articles, especially those in a continuing series, will be added to the database gradually. However, this is a time-consuming exercise and it is unlikely that any articles from before 1999 will be added.
Will longer articles be available in PDF format? We are investing the possibilities of providing certain articles in PDF format. An example would be the Credit for Learning questionnaires. However, there are copyright and other issues to resolve with this type of format.
Why do I find the text difficult to read? One problem with publishing on the web is that the way the site looks is dependent on hardware and software that are completely out of the control of the publisher. We have endeavoured to make the site as simple as possible, and have used a generic sans serif font throughout. Readers may be interested to learn that they can adjust the type and size of the font that their browser uses by selecting options from the browser's “View” menu.
Will an index be provided, or will more than one week's contents page be displayed? With more than 100 items added every week, it would be difficult to provide a comprehensive index. However, it will be possible to display the contents page for more than one issue, so that readers who have missed a recent issue will be able to browse its contents page. There are plans to make the printed volume index available online, probably in PDF format. The search facility searches the full text of all the documents, rather than a list of indexed or key words; the results are ranked with those most relevant appearing at the top of the list.
We welcome feedback from readers about PJOnline. Any technical queries or suggestions should be addressed to Nada Savitch, website controller. Letters about PJOnline intended for publication should be addressed to the editor as usual.