General Information

British Standards Online User Types

There are 3 types of users of British Standards Online. Each type of user has different use and access rights, and has the option of upgrading to the next level.

Anonymous Guest – Has rights to search the British Standards Online database and view a Search Results list. There is no charge or registration required to be an anonymous guest.

Registered Guest – Has rights to search the British Standards Online database and view a Search Results list. Can also view detailed Item Summaries about more than 39,000 documents in the database and build shopping baskets to place hardcopy orders. Users become Registered Guests by Registering for Free and selecting a user name and password. Note: Some subscribing organizations may disable access to hardcopy orders for their users.

Subscriber – Has all of the rights of the above. In addition, for documents within their subscription, Subscribers can view the document online and download an electronic version. Ask about economical subscriptions today by emailing [email protected].

Searching

A powerful search engine has been implemented to make your job of searching our database of over 39,000 records as simple as possible. There are a variety of fields you can search to find the documents you need. Some of these have been brought together to form combined fields to make it easier. The content of each field and some of the ways of using it to find information are available in the help text.

The database includes current, draft and withdrawn document records. These mainly consist of:

• Pure British Standards, e.g., documents with a BS prefix
• BSI national adoptions of European Standards (100%), e.g., documents with a BS EN prefix
• BSI national adoptions of selected International Standards from ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), e.g., documents with a BS ISO, BS IEC, BS EN ISO, BS EN ISO/IEC prefix.

Quick Search

A Quick Search facility is available on many screens, including the Home Page. This allows you to start a search immediately where part or all of a standard number is known. The only database field Quick Search currently checks is the standard number field. Quick Search searches across all Current, Withdrawn and Draft records.

Simply enter the number in the Quick Search field and click the Search link to start the search. To conduct the equivalent search on the Expanded Search screen, enter the document number in the Standard Number field.

Zero Hits

Please note that if you get ‘0’ (zero) hits from a search, it is a valid answer for the search carried out. There may be one of three reasons for this.

1. Your search criterion was incorrect, in which case check your search for errors.
2. The search criterion was correct but perhaps it was too narrow in definition, in which case ‘broaden’ your search, e.g. by using fewer terms or search across fewer fields.
3. The database does not contain a matching standard.

Extending Searches

Search criteria entered in many fields are automatically broadened. Criteria entered in Keywords or Title fields are extended unless you select the "PHRASE" radio button. Standard Number, International Standard Number, Historic Version Of, or Standards Replacing are automatically broadened.

Results

The order of the results list that is displayed after a search has been completed is according to a sort order determined by BSI. Draft documents are listed first, followed by Current documents, followed by Withdrawn documents.