PhoneSearch USA 
Version 2.0 for Windows and Macintosh 
by Larry Grosskopf

The program installed quickly and easily in my 486 DX2-80 machine with 16 MB of RAM, running under Windows 95 with an SVGA graphics card and a quad speed CD-ROM drive. It was a snap to install in Windows 95 and in no time, I was searching away! Once Windows was running, all that was was needed was for me to insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive, choose Start . . . then click on Run and identify where the CD-ROM drive was located, click OK, then follow the simple installation instructions on the screen. It was surprising how little effort it took to get it installed.

 Once it was installed, PhoneSearch USA, Version 2.0 gave me access to over 80 million telephone numbers throughout the fifty states. This digital phone directory provides millions of business and residential phone numbers and other pertinent information, on three CD-ROM discs, organized by geographic regions East, Central and West. You can do multiple searches on one or more regions and add listings that are of interest to your final selections.

Some of the possible uses might be to locate prospective clients, verify street addresses and ZIP Codes, get a listing of all the restaurants in a town or look up an old friend or relative. You are presented with a dialog box and PhoneSearch USA 2.0 will search business and residential listings for any name or number you enter in the dialog box. There are three main types of searches indexed for fast results: name, phone number and business type. Limitations can be set to a particular state, ZIP Code, city or address. The information you provide in the text box is used to make your search more specific. Results will only include those listings that match your criteria.

 A very nice feature of this software is it's ability to search the database for a specific business type based on Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes. You may enter the numeric code in a text box or look up the business code type of your choice by entering two or more key words. PhoneSearch USA 2.0 will even allow you to find the exact number for the business you are looking for from it's vast list. Try typing a topic into the text box at the top of the SIC Codes dialog box and you will find a reduced number of SIC codes displayed. Any occurrences of the key words in the SIC description, regardless of word order will result in the inclusion of that item. From there, you can pare down or expand the list as you choose.

 Once results have been obtained, you might wonder what can you do with them. Well, an unlimited number of listings can be exported to a file for another application, such as Microsoft Word. You then have the option of exporting all listings or just selected listings from either the Search Results window or the Selections window. You may then print them out using the application's print commands. PhoneSearch does not allow for printing directly from the program, rather it exports the results into a text file. PhoneSearch USA 2.0 works quite well in tandem with DeLorme's Street Atlas USA 3.0, a mapping software program. With your accumulated results, you can add to the text results you obtained with PhoneSearch USA 2.0 by displaying them on a detailed street map. There are three match options that vary in the amount of map detail they provide. You are free to choose any option for each listing.

 Overall, the quality of the program was good in that it does what it sets out to do, providing a large digital directory and allowing a variety of search options. The online help feature was a plus and there was a brief tutorial program included. On the negative side, the documentation was not as helpful as it could have been and being unable to print directly from the program limits it's capabilities somewhat. There was also no mention of how revisions or updates would be handled.

As for technical support, this seemed to be a strong area, as they have an 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST support number available Monday through Friday, except for holidays. They also provide numbers for their fax line, 24-hour fax library of technical and sales literature, a Bulletin Board System (BBS) number, an e-mail address and the address for their World Wide Web site: http://www.delorme.com, for posted answers to common questions. The software is available in local retail software and computer stores. For more information or to order DeLorme products, there is a toll-free sales and ordering information number 800-452-5931.

 Larry Grosskopf is a clinical psychologist at the San Antonio State Hospital.