May/June 2006: Issue 130

PubMed’s My NCBI

MyNCBI is the service within PubMed that allows you to save search strategies and results.  It also allows you to set up Auto Updates through which searches are automatically run and the new results emailed to you. 

Note: To use My NCBI, your Web browser must be set to accept cookies and to allow pop-ups from NCBI Web pages.

Registering for My NCBI     

1. From the PubMed screen, click Register on the My NCBI header (top right corner).

2. Enter a User Name (3-10 alpha-numeric characters) and a Password (6-8 alpha-numeric characters).

3. Choose a security question and answer so NLM can reset your password if you forget it.

4. Enter the characters displayed as an image in the text box. [For security purposes.]

5. Enter a default e-mail address. This e-mail address will be used for both automatic e-mail updates and the Send to E-mail feature in PubMed.

Note:

• Record your user name for future reference; NLM will not be able to access this account information.
• Only one e-mail address may be associated with each My NCBI account.
• A confirmation e-mail message will be sent to the e-mail address to activate automatic e-mail updates.

Saving Searches & Automatic E-mail  Updates         

To save your searches and set up automatic e-mail updates:

1. Sign in to My NCBI.

2. Run or preview your search. You may use History numbers in your search, however, PubMed processes from left to right so order your search statement numbers with this in mind, or use parentheses for nesting.

3. Click the Save Search link next to the query box Clear button. A separate window will open to prompt you for additional information about the search you are saving.

4. You may edit the name of the search. The maximum numbers of characters for the search name is 100. This name will be included in the Subject of the Auto Update messages.

5. Click the Yes radio button to receive automatic e-mail updates of new search results or OK to simply save the search.

6. If you selected Yes to receive e-mail updates of search results, enter an e-mail address in the e-mail box if it is empty. This address will be used for all e-mail updates for the account.

7. You can customize the frequency of your updates by changing the defaults under How Often? E-mailed updates will be sent on the scheduled days starting the day after the schedule is set.

8. Select the Format and either HTML or Text.  [Note:  The HTML option will provide live links within the email messages.]

9. You may also change the maximum number of items to be sent and add additional text, up to 200 characters, to the automatic updates.

10. Click OK to save your search in My NCBI.

11. To change or create a schedule for a saved search click the link under the Details column on your list of My Saved Searches.

Note:

• Links to Related Articles cannot be saved in My NCBI.
• Dates and date ranges are not recommended for saved searches.
• Searches are listed by database (e.g., PubMed, Nucleotide) in descending order by the date and time they were originally saved.
• Click the arrows next to the column headings to sort alphabetically by search name, last updated date, or by the update schedule.
• The maximum number of searches is 100 per user name.
• Saved searches cannot be edited.
• Any e-mail updates that bounce back (cannot be delivered) three times, will be changed to no schedule.
• Each My NCBI account can only have one e-mail address.
• In the rare case of technical problems, updates may miss some citations. Users receiving automatic updates should use the option to link to view complete results in PubMed to minimize the risk.

Confirmation e-mail for automatic e-mail updates

An initial confirmation e-mail message will be sent to activate My NCBI e-mail addresses.

*****  Recipients must confirm their e-mail account before My NCBI will automatically send updates.

This information was Compiled from the PubMed Help Manual.  5-26-06

Questions?

Contact:        Susan Steelman, MLIS
                      Associate Professor
                      Education & Reference Services
                      501-686-6737
                      SteelmanSusanC@uams.edu

                      OR

                      Library Reference Desk
                      501-686-6734
                      LibraryReferenceDesk@uams.edu

We are happy to assist you in transferring search strategies from OVID to PubMed’s MyNCBI service.  Please call or email us with any questions.

 

- Susan Steelman, MLIS

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