Online Directory

• What are the advantages of using the King County Directory?
• How do I use the Directory?
• What is the difference between a Group and a Services search?
• How do I use keywords in my search?
• Can I use math symbols such as, " +, -, =", or Boolean phrases such as: "and, and not, or" in my search?

The King County Directory is a great place to begin searching for information about King County! It offers detailed information about the services provided by County. The information is organized into three categories -- Groups, Services and Employees. Each category offers unique information.

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The King County Directory features Group, Service, and Employee search categories. Click on the desired search category and enter a keyword or a series of keywords to begin a search or browse the list of Groups or Services and make your selection.

The Directory's Search Option feature gives the user the option of searching by Exact Phrase or All Words. Exact Phrase is the default Search Option. Searching by Exact Phrase will bring up results that exactly match the keywords listed in the Online Directory pages. The All Word Search Option feature gives the user the option of searching by all words. This type of search scrolls all words listed in the Online Directory pages for matches. To choose the All Words search option select the down arrow next to the Search Option field and click on "All Words".

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Both the Group search and the Services search work great! If you are looking for the King County agency responsible for a certain service, you would search in Groups. If you are trying to locate a particular King County Service, you would start your search in the Services section. Begin a search by choosing a search category specific to the search objective.

You have also been provided the option of browsing through a list of King County services. Note: if the Service Web Index is selected you will leave the Directory and be redirected to the King County Service Index on the County home page. These pages are an excellent source of information and provide video streaming and graphics while keeping you undated on current and past events within King county.

To find a group (or agency), search either by a keyword associated with that group or the group name. You can also view all the main parent groups which are listed on the Groups page. To locate subordinate group pages click on the parent group then scroll down towards the middle of that parent group's Directory page. When the subordinate group is located click on its name to be directed to that subordinate group's Directory page.

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Choosing Keywords
When first choosing a keyword try to be as specific as possible then subtract and generalize your keywords in subsequent searches to broaden search results.

Broadening and Refining Search Results
Searches can be refined or broadened by the use of keywords. Add words to refine search results. Subtract words to broaden search results. If you are still having difficulty finding the results you require, try typing in just the first three (3) letters of your keyword or group name or employee name and see what results.

Use Synonyms
Use synonyms if your keyword does not bring up the desired results. For example, instead of the word "canine" try using the word "pet" or "dog". If using the Exact Phrase search option the keyword you pick has to exactly match the keywords listed on the desired web page. If using the All Word search option the entire text of the page and the keywords listed will be scrawled for matches. For more information about using the Search Option feature click here.

Check Spelling
Be sure you use correct spelling. The Online Directory search engine does not allow for misspellings.

Case Sensitivity
The case of the keywords will not affect the search results.

Word Stemming
The Directory Search engine does not support word stemming. Try changing the stems of keywords to alter search results. For example, "routing" will bring up different results then the word "route". If you are looking for Car Licenses and put in the word, "License", you may not come up with the results you need. Put in the word "License(s)" and you will. Always try both singular and plural forms of your word in order to get the best results.

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The Directory Search Engine does not support math symbol or Boolean phrase searches. Use of such symbols or phrases will result in poor search results.

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