SAO/NASA ADS -> Help -> Search by Email
SAO/NASA ADS Help Pages Prev | Next


    2.8 - Searching the ADS by Email

    The ADS system can be queried by Email and results returned via Email. This service provides the capability to retrieve WWW forms and execute WWW forms queries through e-mail. The address of this service is:

    adsquery@cfa.harvard.edu

    There are two ways to execute a query through this system:

    1. Through the command interface described below
    2. By sending an HTML query page to the email server



    2.8.1 - Command Interface

    Commands to the e-mail service are sent in the message body of an e-mail message. The subject line is only used to build the subject line for the reply. The subject line thus allows you to distinguish results from multiple ADS Email search requests.

    There are currently two commands available in this service:

    1. Help: The word help in the message body returns the help message.

    2. action=<URL>: This executes a query to the specified URL and returns the result in an e-mail message. Three more lines can qualify this query:

      1. method=<method>: <method> is either get or post. This determines what kind of query will be executed. To retrieve a form for further queries, use the get method. To execute a forms query you need to know what type of query the server can handle. If you execute a forms query after retrieving the form through this service, the correct method line will already be in place. The default method is get.

      2. return=<return-type>: <return-type> is either text, form, or raw. If text return is requested, only the text of the query result is returned, formatted as if viewed by a WWW browser. If form return is requested, the text of the result is returned as well as a template of the form that can again be executed with this service. If raw return is requested, the original document is returned without any processing. The default return is form.

      3. address=<e-mail-address>: <e-mail-address> specifies to which e-mail address the result should be sent. This line is optional. If no address is specified, the result is sent to the address from where the request came.

    Additional help will be returned with every form.



    2.8.2 - HTML Forms Interface

    You can execute a query by sending an HTML form directly to the email query service. You can for instance compose the query that you want to execute with the regular query form. Save this filled-out form by clicking on Return Query Form. This will ask you where to save the query form. You can then email that form to adsquery@cfa.harvard.edu and have the query executed.

    The default type of return is: 
       return=text
    You can change the return type to form (a form for further execution through this services), or to raw (the raw HTML file of the result) by inserting an HTML comment in the form with the following syntax: 
       <!-- EMAIL_PARAM: return=form -->
    or 
       <!-- EMAIL_PARAM: return=raw -->
    The raw return is especially interesting if you have an HTML-aware email system, since it will display the HTML page with hyperlinks in the email reader.



    2.8.3 - Email Article Retrieval

    Articles from the ADS Article Service can also retrieved via Email. This interface is described in the Article Service.





Top | Next