Video - Getting Started with Avantis

1. Steps 1 to 6 are necessary
   
2. Steps 7 to 12 are optional
   
3. We also suggest you take in our full online training here -  Your First Training Session - Recorded Demo   (video also appears at the bottom of this page)
   
1. This training will introduce a lot of tips and tricks to streamline your workflow and get you the best results and experience using Avantis
   
2. The demo can be consumed in smaller 5- or 10-minute chunks at your convenience
   
4. Below are the most important 12 steps in constructing a search.

1 - Pick a dataset

The first step to constructing a search is to pick the dataset you would like to search in using your dataset selector

Datasets include:

1. Canadian Filings  - from SEDAR - produces a list of documents as an output.  A document from any issuer links to their Issuer Profile.
2. Canadian Issuers  - from SEDAR - produces a list of issuers as an output.  The profile of each issuer links to their Filings.
3. Canadian News Releases  - from 13 newswire services, including all of the TSX recommended newswires, plus investment sites that profile issuers and write articles about them - produces a list of press releases and investor site articles as an output.  Each article links to the Issuer Profile.
   
4. Canadian Insider Transactions  - from SEDI - produces a list of insider trades as an output.  Each trade record links to the Issuer Profile.
5. US Filings  - from EDGAR   - produces a list of documents as an output.  A document from any issuer links to their Issuer Profile.
6. US Issuers  - from EDGAR  - produces a list of issuers as an output.  The profile of each issuer links to their Filings.
7. US News Releases   - from 13 newswire services, including all of the TSX recommended newswires, plus investment sites that profile issuers and write articles about them - produces a list of press releases and investor site articles as an output.  Each article links to the Issuer Profile.
   
8. US Insider Transactions  - from SEC - produces a list of insider trades as an output.  Each trade record links to the Issuer Profile.
9. Canadian Audit Fees  - from Avantis, sourced from SEDAR filings - produces a list of audit fees, related fees, tax fees, other fees, etc., as an output.  A fee record from any issuer links to the source documents as well as to their Issuer Profile.
   
10. Canadian Auditor Change  - from Avantis, sourced from SEDAR filings - produces a list of auditor changes, recording former and successor auditor and dates of change.  A change record from any issuer links to the source documents as well as to their Issuer Profile.

2 - Add criteria

1. Add criteria that you'd like to use in your search by clicking on the + Add criteria button
   
2. Click into any criteria added to your Search Panel
3. Use dropdowns to reveal options, where applicable
   
4. Use type-ahead fields to filter suggestions, where applicable
   
5. Choose selections of interest to limit search results
   
6. See search  Using Search Criteria in Your Search   for more detail

3 - Add a full text search

1. Do this only if you are looking to see specific language or disclosures highlighted in your results
   
2. You can search for simple words or phrases or else use Terms and Connectors searching to increase the level of control you have   (up to an almost absolute level) over the kinds of results you get
   
3. See  Full Text (Boolean) Searching  for more information and resources

4 - Click Search

1. Click the blue Search button on the upper right

5 - Navigate your results

1. Click into a result and it will appear in the viewer on the right
   
2. Use the Key Words in Context (KWIC) pane to look over the instances of your search terms, as they appear in context in the document ( A in the above image)
   
3. Click on any search term you see in the KWIC pane that you'd like to navigate to that location in the full text of the document
4. Search for any new terms or language you'd like to see in the document by using the Full Text Search field at the top of the document  ( B in the above image)
5. Navigate to the next hit using the Next Hit buttons  ( C in the above image)
6. See  Your First Search - Welcome to Your Document Viewer for more detail

6 - Click into the Issuer Profile

1. Click on the issuer name at the top of your full text document in your viewer to see the Issuer Profile
   
2. Issuer Profiles are portals to lots of rich information and data about the Issuer in question
   
3. See Enhanced Issuer Profiles for more detail

7 - Download results

1. Starting from your result list, method 1 - Click on the  download icon  on the far right hand side in your  result grid  beside any result
   
1. This will download the document without any search terms highlighted on it
   
2. Starting from your result list, method 2  - Click on the  checkboxes  beside documents you'd like to add to a zip file to download (up to 50 documents at a time) in your  document viewer  and then click on the  ellipsis  (three dots icon) on the right hand side at the top of your grid and choose  Download
   
3. Starting from a full text document, method 1 - Click on the gear icon on the upper right of any result in your document viewer and choosing download
1. This will download the document without any search terms highlighted on it
   
4. Starting from a full text document, method 2 - Click on the gear icon on the upper right of any result in your document viewer and choose Print
   
1. This will allow you to select page ranges to download to PDF
   
2. This will also allow you to include the hit highlighting on the document you print
   
3. See  Saving Portions of Documents for more detail

8 - Choose and sort your result list columns

1. Select the data points you would like added as columns to your result grid using the Column Chooser
   
2. Sort columns using the "hamburger" icon on the right of each data point (the two short horizontal lines)
   
3. See  Selecting and Sorting Columns for more detail

9 - Export your result list as a spreadsheet

1. Click on checkboxes on the left of your result grid's line items or else click on the global Select All checkbox  in the header of the checkbox column to select items to export
   
2. Click on the ellipsis (three dots icon)  on the right hand side at the top of your result grid and choose Export and then choose a format
   
3. See Exporting Your Results Grid as a Spreadsheet   for more detail

10 - Save your search

1. Click on the Save Search icon at the top of your screen and name your search to save it
   
2. It will be added to your Saved Searches drop down menu
   
3. See  Saving and Sharing Searches   for more detail

11 - Set up your search as an alert

1. Click on the Alert icon beside the name of your active search (or beside the name of any search in your Saved Searches drop down menu )
   
2. Enable the alert
   
3. Enable  Send notifications
4. Choose an email schedule according to which you would like to receive results 
   
5. See  Setting Up (and Deactivating) Alerts   for more detail

12 - Share your search with other members

 

1. Click on the Share Search icon   beside the name of your active search (or beside the name of any search in your Saved Searches drop down menu )
   
2. Choose the members you would like to share your search with and set up alerts for them if so desired
   
3. See  Saving and Sharing Searches for more detail