Searching TNA AIR 78/x Files

[Resmoroh]

Dear Each/All,
I have, from time-to-time, to search AIR 78 at the TNA. I normally do this ‘on-line’. It takes hours because, as far as I can see, there is no way of going from the first name in any Air 78/x to the last, other than by flogging through it 5 image pages by 5 image pages. One has to guess where the name lies within the file, and even then you can’t ‘Go’ to a particular page. This is (even for me with time to spare!) v boring and v time consuming. If I choose to download the whole humungous file to my steam-driven computer will I be able to use any of the usual search facilities to get anywhere near the name I want. I know I exhibit my lack of computer knowledge, but is there any way this problem can be addressed? If not, then somebody (in the TNA planning dept) needs to be in receipt of a hot rocket up the fuel-dump orifice!
TIA
Peter Davies

[alclark]

There is no way to search the pdf downloads as they were not scanned to recognise text, shame really. Once you have downloaded you can at least skip to a page number of your choice, but even then it is still down to finding the answer by eye. The only route out would be for a large group of people who had months on their hands to go through every file and transcribe it onto into a database so that searches could be run against it, but that would be an enormous task.

[Ross_McNeill]

In time it will be addressed in a similar manner to the WW1 records.

AIR 78 is the first part of the release of the next batch of personal records by MoD.

Once the next batch of individual records are released they will be indexed by name and service number by the TNA and entered as individual piece numbers under AIR 79 or AIR 76 as pre 1923 records currently are.

This means that Discovery or whatever catalogue is in use at the time of release will be able to find them and AIR 78, and any hours spent indexing it, will be redundant.

Ross

[Litcham_Lad]

Peter,

Seems that you need something like this:

http://www.nuance.co.uk/products/pdf-converter-professional/index.htm

I have older version 7.1 which takes an industry standard PDF file and gives the option of converting/saving it as a SEARCHABLE PDF file ... I have found this facility to be very useful

Not cheap though

dg