- THE VIETNAM CENTER AND ARCHIVE
- Texas Tech University
How to Use the Virtual Vietnam Archive Maps Search Page
How to Use The Virtual Vietnam Archive Maps Search Page - Search Examples
Step-by-Step Searching - Basic Search
1) Using the pop-up menus on the left column of most of the Vietnam Center and Archive
webpages, access the maps search page.
2) On the search form, enter information in as few or as many of the search
fields as you would like. For example, enter Saigon in the first keyword field.
3) Hit enter on your keyboard, or click "Start Search" in the left column.
4) If necessary, enter more terms in the search fields to narrow the searches
down more. Try 1:50000 in the Scale field.
5) Click "Update Hits" in the left column.
6) To view the results of your search, click "Display Search Results" in the left column.
7) On the Browse Results page, you can view the actual map by clicking on
the thumbnail.
8) To see more information about the items, click the "More Information" link in the top right of each record.
9) When you are finished with your research, click the "Exit" link in the
left column.
Examples of Common Searches
Searching for Maps of Major Vietnamese Cities
To search for a major city in Vietnam, such as Hanoi, enter the city name in the Title / Keyword field. For Saigon, enter Saigon; Ho Chi Minh City to search for both the former and current name.
Search for a Map of a Small Village
To search for a small village, the best thing to do is to first find the latitude and longitude coordinates for the village:
1) Click on the link for the appropriate country in the top box of the right column.
3) Read through the pdf until you find the village you are looking for. Make note of the latitude and longitude.
On the search page, enter the latitude and longitude in the appropriate fields. Separate degrees and mins. Do not include the N or E designators. Then hit Enter on your keyboard or the "Start Search" button in the left column. If your search results in any hits, click the "Display Search Results" link to view the results. Please note that we may not have a copy of a map for the area you are searching for, particularly outside of Vietnam. On the other hand, we may have many maps for those coordinates. If this is the case, you may want to limit your search by scale. 1:50000 maps and smaller are very detailed and may suit your purposes.
Search for a Town or Village You Don't Know the Name Of (Vietnam Only)
If you do not know the name of a town or village, but you have an idea of where in Vietnam it was located, you can use our graphical navigation feature to search for your map:
1) In the "View the Country" block of the right column, click on the appropriate part of the country. This will open a new window with the map of the provinces as they appeared during the war.
3) Click on the part of the map you believe the area you are looking for is located it. This takes you to a page of 1:50000 maps for that province.
4) Click on the part of the province map that you believe has the area you are looking for. This returns you to the main window, opening the More Information report for that 1:50000 map.
5) Click on the thumbnail to open a bigger version of the map, or use one of the links in the Download Version section.
6) If this is not the correct map, but is close, use the navigational links around the thumbnail to move in the direction you believe the area you are looking for may be located. (See More Information section of this tutorial for more information about this)