The items in the search panel function like this:

• Picture ID: Each item or object in EcoPort has a unique ID number. You can specify a number if you know it to see the relevant picture. You may also use this facility to do random browsing of the Pictures Sub-database; e.g. you may do a 'stab search' by entering a number between 1 and 109,000 to 'poke' the database.
• Subject: Pictures are about subjects. There may be any number of subjects listed associated with a picture. For example, a picture of a field of mixed crops, may name all the visible subjects. Any one of such subject names could be used to find all pictures that feature the relevant subject. (This is part of a set of relational database search procedures that enable you, for example, to find a picture of a subject by specifying any one of the possible scientific synonyms or common names in (any language) of the subject. If the photographer/author has used any one of these alternative names the picture will be found through this 'relational' search mechanism.)
• Caption: Text is written by authors in complete freedom of choice about how and what they write. This flexibility for authors creates search circumstances and needs that can best be fulfilled by a free text search; e.g. by 'trying' search words that may be included somewhere in the caption. For example, a search looking for all occurrences of the words 'cover crop' will find these 34 pictures.
• Author name: Refers to the photographer
• Contributor name: Refers to a person other than the photographer who has loaded the picture and written a caption or provided other information about the picture
• Keyword: Refers to free-form, personal keywords that the author or Contributor may use to create 'virtual' sets or albums of of pictures. For example, in EcoPort at large as distinct from within EcoPort's virtual CA Domain, Jan Breithaupt assigns the keyword 'sunsets' to enable him to display this album of his 101 favourite sunset pictures.
• Picture type: a drop-down list allows you to search pictures of 3 different types.
• Show thumbnails: is an option that is off by default. In this state, it displays (lists) text-only information about the pictures. The facility to display thumbnails is 'off' to cater for users who have slow and expensive Internet connections. Those users who have high speed access that someone else pays for could turn the display of thumbnails on when they initiate searches.