ETH Zurich People Search Expanded
The new ETH-Zurich People Search, www.people.ethz.ch, in operation since the spring of 2009, has been in intensive use ever since. As of 10 September 2009, an update with numerous improvements and minor modifications is available.
In the following article we will present the new features and adjustments. However, for help with daily use of this tool we recommend referring to the context-sensitive Help found on each page.
Utilization with mobile devices
In the past, although it was possible to access www.people.ethz.ch from mobile devices (e.g Smartphones), the layout of our web pages was really not designed with small screens in mind. This has now improved. If the www.people.ethz.ch website is accessed, for example from an iPhone, this is automatically detected by the environment, and the pages are adapted accordingly to the screen size and resolution.
The web application for mobile devices can also be directly accessed at www.person.ethz.ch / mobile. We recommend this approach if the built-in automatic device detection is having trouble detecting a new small-screened device and consequentially directs you to the normal web application instead of the one for mobile devices.
Expansion of search criteria
The People Search features listed below are available in the ETH Website-integrated search function (http://www.ethz.ch/people/index) as well as in the standalone search function at www.people.ethz.ch.
Hierarchical Search:
Due to repeated requests, a hierarchical search is now available. This functional extension allows you to enter an ETH organisational unit code and search not only for people directly belonging to this unit code but for all persons connected to subordinate unit codes within the hierarchy of the organisation database (www.org.ethz.ch) as well.
Refining your search for professors
A more refined search function for ETH Zurich professors is newly available. For example, it is now possible to search for emeritus professors as well.
Add-ons to the details page
Additional information
According to the data available, the People Search details page will display additional information. These additions include, for example, presentation of the Golden Owl for committed teachers at ETH Zurich (see also http://www.eule.ethz.ch/) or links to awards or memberships as mentioned in the professor’s CV.
vCard
The address displayed on the address page can now be obtained as vCard (Link to http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/VCard). To access the address page, click on the printer icon found next to the address on the details page.
Contact forms
Various e-mail forms for different purposes have been integrated into People Search 2009.2
Sending e-mails
Users who have logged on to People Search with their nethz account and want to send a message to a certain person can use the e-mail form. Once you have logged on, click on the hyperlink of a selected e-mail address for the e-mail form to open. The form comes in handy when the device used for calling People Search has no e-mail program installed or one does not wish to make use of it.
Users who are not logged in can of course, as in the past, send e-mails using a locally installed e-mail client.
Feedback and technical support
Feedback or technical inquiries can be sent via the link “Feedback / Support” in the footer; an e-mail form is newly available.
Requests for CV mutations
ETH professors can now send their CV data mutation requests to the Office for Faculty Affairs or Corporate Communications. Since CV mutations are now being centrally handled by the above organizations, professors can log on to People Search (www.person.ethz.ch login), continue to their personal details page and activate the mutations link found there to open the mutations form and send their request.
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