Performing a Natural Language Search


When you perform a keyword search from any screen with a Keywords field, you select either Terms & Connectors or Natural Language as the search method. A Natural Language search uses regular written language phrases to generate search results. This can be a complete sentence, phrase, question, or list of keywords, up to 500 characters in length. For example, you could enter:

Can I deduct landscaping expenses for my home office?
The search returns a list of results (up to a maximum of 100) that are the most relevant to the search phrase.

To perform a Natural Language search:

  1. On the menu bar, click Search.
  2. On the left navigation bar, select a practice area from the Practice Area drop-down list.
  3. Click the Natural Language option below the Keywords field.
  4. Type your search phrase in the Keywords field using natural language.
  5. Select the appropriate check boxes to select the source sets you want to search. To select an entire source set, click the check box next to the source set name.
  6. Optionally, you can click the Thesaurus/Query Tool link to access advanced search functions: Tools, Thesaurus, Spelling, and Restrictions.
  7. Click Search.



Performing a Citation Search


Checkpoint's citation search templates let you search for specific types of tax information. For example, you can retrieve a specific federal code section, state statute, case decision, or revenue ruling.
In contrast to keyword searching, citation searching is intended for when you know the specific citation you want Checkpoint to find.

To perform a citation search:

  1. On the menu bar, click Search.
  2. On the left navigation bar, select a practice area from the Practice Area drop-down list.
  3. On the left navigation bar, click Find by Citation.
  4. Under Find by Citation, click the citation type you want to search (such as Cases).
  5. Follow the examples provided on the template to enter the appropriate citation format.
  6. On some templates, you may have the option to enter keywords in the Keywords field for a more focused search.
  7. Click Search.



Setting Checkpoint User Options


The Options window displays Checkpoint's current or default settings. You can use this window to set your own preferences for Checkpoint. You can either set each option individually or use the Options wizard to set them at the same time.

To set your own preferences:

  1. On the top toolbar, click Options.
    The Options window opens with General Settings as the default.
  2. On the left navigation bar, you can click each option to display its settings template.
  3. You can change the settings for each of the options by entering values in fields, list boxes, check boxes, and option buttons in the template.
  4. Click Save and close at the bottom of the window to save the changes.

To use the Options Wizard:

  1. On the top toolbar, click Options.
    The Options window opens with General Settings as the default.
  2. On the left navigation bar, click Options Wizard.
  3. When the wizard introduction screen opens, click Next.
  4. Enter your user information and click Next.
  5. Enter time zone information and click Next.
  6. Select your startup screen and click Next.
  7. Select your default practice area and click Next.
  8. Select your default news source view and click Next.
  9. Select whether to have subscribed news content e-mailed to you and click Next.
  10. Select the export formats and click Next.
  11. Select the search and display settings and click Next.
  12. Select whether to see your time tracking project list right after you log in and click Next.
  13. Click Finish to complete the Options setup.



Using the Site Navigator


Checkpoint's Site Navigator provides a quick way to find sources and documents from any screen in Checkpoint. When you enter search criteria in the Site Navigator field on the menu bar, Checkpoint searches through its reference content and returns a list of matching results, up to 20 links at a time. The links are organized into sections such as Search, Table of Contents, and Tools.

Site Navigator search criteria conventions:

  • Upper or lower case letters (case does not matter)
  • Single or multiple words
  • Letters within words (for example, entering "ap por" would find "GAAP Reporter")

To run a Site Navigator search:

  1. On the menu bar, click the Site Navigator field.
  2. Enter the words or phrases of your search criteria.

    Note: You do not need to press or click anything to start the search. Checkpoint automatically builds and displays a list of up to 20 items that include your search term, such as templates, tools, and Table of Content titles.

  3. When the wizard introduction screen opens, click Next.
  4. Scroll through the list and click the document or feature you want to access.
  5. To see the complete list of search results, click View All Results at the bottom of the list.



Performing a Table of Contents Search


The Table of Contents screen provides an outline view of categorized information. You get a bird's eye view of all available information in a category arranged in a hierarchal structure of levels and sublevels. Table of Contents searching is independent of Checkpoint's main Search feature, although the procedures are similar and they both access all of Checkpoint's resources.

To perform a search in the Table of Contents:

  1. On the menu bar, click Table of Contents.
  2. Expand the Checkpoint Contents folders until you locate the folders you want to search.
  3. Select the check boxes next to the folders you want to search, up to a maximum of 15.
  4. Optionally, you can enter search keywords in the Keywords field or click the Thesaurus/Query Tool for advanced search functions.
  5. Click Search to start your search.
    Your search results appear on the Search Results screen.
  6. You can limit your search results to display only the results that contain your keywords by selecting Show hits only in the upper right of the screen.
  7. Expand the results until you find a document you want to view.
  8. Click the document symbol or title to open the document.



Creating Folders and Subfolders


Checkpoint provides the Folders screen for storing searches and documents. You can create and organize your own folders for categorizing the documents or searches you save. You can create up to 250 folders in which you can save a maximum of 1000 searches and documents.

Checkpoint supports the creation of folders within folders, up to six levels of nested folders.

To create a folder or subfolder:

  1. On the top toolbar, click Folders.
  2. On the left navigation bar, click the Create Folder icon.
  3. On the Create Folder window, enter a folder name.
  4. Select All Folders to make the new folder a level 1 folder, or select a parent folder to nest the new folder under.
  5. Click Create.
  6. Repeat the steps if you are creating nested folders, up to six levels.



Linking to Online Help


Checkpoint provides an online Help application to help you learn how to use Checkpoint's features and perform specific step-by-step actions. The Help opens in a separate window that is customizable in size and location so you can view the Help and Checkpoint at the same time.

To link to online Help:

  1. On the top toolbar, click Help.
    The Help window opens. A table of contents (TOC) appears on the left, and just below the TOC,
    you see links to the Index, Search, and Glossary features.
  2. In the TOC, click to expand any folder to show related topics.
  3. Click a topic to have it appear on the right area of the window.
    Note: Below the topic area on the right, you will see links to training PDF files, as well as contact information for Checkpoint Support.
  4. Click Index to find the location of specific information.
  5. Click Search to perform a keyword search for a specific topic.
  6. Click Related Topics at the bottom of the topic to access a list of links that take you to related topics in the Help.
  7. To close the Help window, click X in the upper right corner.



Accessing Help, Training, and Support Tools


Checkpoint provides access to help, training, and support resources that answer your questions and help you perform work tasks.

  • On the Home screen, the Training and Support module contains links to training news, customer support, editorial questions, technical support, frequently asked questions, user guides, and more.

  • On various Checkpoint screens, you will see a question mark icon next to Checkpoint tools and features. Clicking this icon accesses a pop-up window that contains a brief description of the tool or resource along with links to training and support resources.

  • On the top toolbar, hover your mouse pointer over the Help option to display a drop-down menu. The Help menu options are Screen Overview, Support, Training, and What's New.

    • Click Screen Overview to access the Help topic that describes the current Checkpoint screen.
    • Click Support to access the Customer Help Center web site.
    • Click Training to access the Tax & Accounting Product Training web site.
    • Click What's New to access the What's New in Checkpoint document.



Performing a Terms & Connectors Search


When you perform a keyword search from any screen with a Keywords field, you select either Terms & Connectors or Natural Language as the search method.

A Terms & Connectors search lets you search for documents by specifying words and phrases that describe your research question, along with specialized search connectors to filter and customize the search to get more specific results.

To perform a Terms & Connectors search:

  1. On the menu bar, click Search.
  2. On the left navigation bar, select a practice area from the Practice Area drop-down list.
  3. Click the Terms & Connectors option below the Keywords field.
  4. Type your search phrase in the Keywords field using terms and search connector language. Terms can be a complete sentence, phrase, question, or list of keywords, up to 500 characters.
  5. Select the appropriate check boxes to select the source sets you want to search. To select an entire source set, click the check box next to the source set name.
  6. Optionally, you can click the Thesaurus/Query Tool link to access advanced search functions: Tools, Thesaurus, and Spelling.
  7. Click Search.



Adding Quick Links


On the Home screen, the My Quick Links pane contains links that provide easy access to your most frequently used features and content.

You can add links to the My Quick Links pane by using the quick links icon found next to features and content that are linkable in Checkpoint.

To add a link using the quick links icon:

  1. From any screen in Checkpoint, identify the Checkpoint content that you want to add
    to your My Quick Links pane.
  2. Click the quick links icon next to the content.
    The new selection is added to the My Quick Links pane.

Note: You can also modify the My Quick Links pane using the pane's edit icon.
Using the edit icon, you can reorganize, add, and remove quick links.