Database Troubleshooting Guide
Problem: I am getting the database vendor (e.g. EBSCO, Gale or ScienceDirect) login screen asking for a username and password.
When you access a library database from a link on the Library homepage, the only login screen you should get is the portal login which prompts for your College Moodle login. If you get a database vendor login screen or are having trouble accessing a database, try accessing the database from our homepage.
If you are experiencing problems logging into Library databases, they might also be due to your firewall settings. If you do make any changes to your firewall settings to use the article databases, don't forget to change them back when you are done.
If you are still having problems, please contact the library for help.
Problem: I emailed some articles from one of the databases and never received the email.
Some company/institution email services screen email especially if they have html attachments. First, check the spam folder for the email. If that doesn’t work, try emailing the PDF, or plain text version if possible. Lastly, try emailing the article to a Web-based email account, like Gmail.
Problem: I emailed some articles from ScienceDirect, but when I select the link all I get is the ScienceDirect login screen.
Opening emailed links to full-text from the ScienceDirect database causes a ScienceDirect login screen to appear because the proxy information is missing from the emailed link. The solution is to access the ScienceDirect database and re-do your search; you can copy the URL address from the address bar into an email to create a permanent link to the article OR add the missing proxy information .hrt-proxy.libraries.vsc.edu into the link that was emailed to you, for example:
http://www.sciencedirect.com.hrt-proxy.libraries.vsc.edu/science?_ob=GatewayURL&_method=citationSearch&_eidkey=1-s2.0-S1574119210000052&_origin=SDEMFRHTML&_version=1&md5=cc80a9d18ceff74bb4703cd2c3a80c88
Problem: I found a great article in a database but there’s only an abstract, no full-text.
Some of the databases contain full-text articles and article citations. When you search with the full-text limiter off you will return both kinds of results. When searching with the full-text limiter off you will see this icon or text next to abstract only articles: 
Always try selecting this link to check if the article is available full-text in another library database. If it is not available, you can request the article full-text through interlibrary loan. Limiting to full-text only in your search returns only full-text results.
Problem: I want to share an article with someone but when I send the URL from the address bar, they can’t access the article.
The best way to share an article is to use the tool from the database vendor which contains a permanent link to the information. Visit our How to Link to Library Content page for more information.
Problem: I am having trouble viewing PDF’s from EBSCO databases.
PDF’s from EBSCO databases are best viewed using the latest edition of Adobe Reader. When using Internet Explorer, ActiveX controls must be enabled in your browser and security settings must be set to Medium-High or lower for ActiveX controls to function.
Problem: I’m using a MAC and can’t view PDFs - all I get is a blank screen.
First check to see if you have pop-ups blocked. Giving the library and databases permission to use pop-ups will then provide you with the link to download PDF articles.
EBSCO also recommends installing the free schubert-it PDF Browser Plugin or the Firefox PDF Plugin for Mac OS X extension as the best work-around for this problem.
Problem: I am getting a "EBSCO http handler" error in an EBSCO database.
You need to empty your cache or temporary Internet files, and then verify that your browser is accepting cookies. Refer to help in your browser. If you continue to have problems, contact the Library.
