Re: SSDI wild card search

Ray-

Here's why...the * is used as a TRAILING WILDCARD--meaning that you
list the beginning of the name and then the * represents zero to
five (or maybe six) missing or unknown characters. So the searches
would ignore anything that comes after the * because nothing is
supposed to follow a trailing wildcard. Now, if the searches

bob gillis...

I often times am looking for a person in the SSDI and I am not sure
of the spelling. The sound is similar but the vowels can be
different.

Is the SSDI free on Ancestry? If so how can I reach it.

R. Scanlon...

I subscribe, so I can see it. Here's its link to try:

bob gillis...

Thanks, I got into the SSDI and it seems to work for a
non-subscriber.

bob gillis

bob gillis

I remember several years ago the Ancestry SSDI had a fuzzy year
search which was nice. But I felt the RootsWeb interface was
better.

bob gillis

bob gillis

supported the ? wildcard which they don't--the ? represents ONE
missing or unknown character and it can fall in the middle or end
of the name. But not the * when used as a trailing wildcard.

R. Scanlon...

I was thinking quirky because I thought it would inherit its
behavior from Ancestry.com, where it's not a trailing wildcard.
Wrong again!