Using the ARCHIVE Command for
After-the-Fact Purchase of Archival Rights

You have the ability to purchase archival rights even if you have already displayed or printed the search results. This is called after-the-fact archiving or redistribution.

The ARCHIVE command grants after-the-fact permission to store STN records within your worldwide organization for the purposes of electronic access by a specified number of users. Each of the specified users is authorized to make one copy of the records for his or her own use. Further redistribution is allowed only when the right to redistribute is purchased using the REDISTRIBUTE command.

The ARCHIVE command assumes that you have already displayed the STN records you wish to ARCHIVE. Use the DISPLAY ARCHIVE command to both display and archive your search results.

ARCHIVE allows you to store the STN records in perpetuity, or for the time allowed by the database producer. Other ARCHIVE terms and conditions may apply to a particular database. Review the Usage Restrictions for the file from which you wish to purchase archival rights for more details.

To use the ARCHIVE command, enter the file from which archival rights are to be purchased. Then enter ARCHIVE and answer the prompts. You will be prompted for the number of users who will have electronic access to the records and the total number of records whose archival rights you wish to purchase.

    
To avoid STN prompts, enter ARCHIVE followed by the number of users who will have electronic access to the records, followed by the number of records. This parameter order is critical. The number immediately following the ARCHIVE command indicates the number of user accesses. The next number indicates the total number of records to be archived.

Using the ARCHIVE Command with Databases that Require Accession Numbers

Some databases may require accession numbers for the records that were archived. Enter the accession numbers using commas or spaces as separators. View the List of STN Databases Participating in the STN Information Keep and Share Program to see which databases require accession numbers for ARCHIVE.

     
If the answers to be archived are in an L-number that is active for the current session, and you have not used the DISPLAY ARCHIVE command to archive the answers, then you can archive after-the-fact by specifying the L-number and answer numbers within the L-number rather than entering the individual accession numbers. The L-number must be entered on the command line. There is no prompt for the L-number.

Using ARCHIVE with Multifile Answer Sets

The ARCHIVE command can be used with multifile search results. When searching in multiple databases, you are prompted for the file name from which you wish to purchase archival rights if you do not supply an L-number, or if the L-number you supply contains answers from multiple databases.