In the recently completed Beam Improvement Survey, quite a number of QBs asked for two features. They were the ability to see the Beam on line, and the ability to search Hangar reports for specific QBs. Both of those features are now available. Here's how to get to them:
Beam On-Line - If you are a current subscriber to the Beam, you can see it on qbird.org with the following steps --
2. You will immediately see the Main Page, currently labeled Breaking News.
3. On the left side of the page, click on Beam Stuff.
4. You will immediately see the Beam Page.
5. Click on "Click here to view Beams".
6. You will immediately see the Beam Archive Page.
7. Click on the desired Month in the Year column. (For example, you can see the most recent Beam by clicking on April, under 2010.
8. The issue of the Beam you have selected will open as a .pdf page. You can scroll down through all the pages of the Beam for that month, and you can enlarge the Beam page size by adjusting the percentage value in the header bar just above the Beam page. This makes for much easier readability for those of us that are less than eagled-eyed these days.
9. Explore any of the back issues available on the Beam Archive Page to your heart's content.
Note: Should you decide you prefer seeing the Beam on-line and wish to discontinue receiving the printed Beam, just let QBHQ know and they will cancel the printed version for you, but you will still be able to access the On-Line Beam.
If you are not a current Beam subscriber, you will not be able to access the Beam Archive page. You can fix that by becoming a subscriber!
Hangar Report Search Feature - Current Beam subscribers can use the search feature by following steps 1 through 8 above.
1. When you have the Beam issue of your choice opened on your screen as a .pdf page, click on the Binoculars icon on the left hand side of the page.
2. A Search dialog box will open.
3. In the box under the question "What word or phrase would you like to search for?", type in the last name of the QB you are looking for in that issue.
4. There are various search options, but I recommend you check only the small box labeled "Whole words only".
5. Click on the Search button.
6. The name of the QB you are searching for will pop up in the box below, giving the page number. That page will also open up on your screen,
7. Click on the name in the dialog box and it will be highlighted on the Beam page.
8. If the name of the QB appears more than once in that particular issue of the Beam, you will see multiple page references in the Search dialog box. By clicking on each of them, the page with the QB name highlighted will pop up to the right.
Give it a try -- it is a pretty slick way of finding your friends in the Beam. You can also find your Hangar report quickly by using the same search feature, inserting either the Hangar name or Hangar identifier in the "What word or phrase would you like to search for?" dialog box. (See 3 above) If the Hangar name or identifier appears more than once in that Beam issue, the search results box will show all of the pages (See 8 above)
If you are not a current Beam subscriber, you will not be able to access the Beam Archive page. You can fix that by becoming a subscriber!
We hope you'll find these features useful, helpful and fun!
Bob Kietzman
EC - Beam Operations