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New Icons in PubMed Indicate Free Full Text Available

Nahin AM. New Icons in PubMed® Indicate Free Full Text Available. NLM Tech Bull. 2003 May-Jun;(332):e6.

June 19, 2003 [posted]

drop cap letter for n LM recently modified the icons that appear on the Summary display format. We are now able to indicate which citations in PubMed have a link to free full text.

An icon with a green banner indicates there is a link to full text and no payment or subscription is required. An icon with an orange and green banner indicates free full text is available from PubMed Central.

A previously used icon with only an orange banner that indicated free full text was available from PubMed Central is no longer in use.

The table below summarizes the meaning of the icons, including what is shown when you hold the mouse over the icon (i.e., mouseover).

 
Icon Description
Mouseover = No Abstract
Mouseover = No Abstract. This icon indicates the citation has neither an abstract nor a link to free full text. Clicking on the icon displays the Abstract format (albeit without an abstract) which may display a link to another source for the full text of the article.
Mouseover = Abstract
Mouseover = Abstract. This icon indicates the citation has an abstract, but not a link to free full text. Clicking on the icon displays the Abstract format which may display a link to another source for the full text of the article.
Mouseover = Free Full Text
Mouseover = Free Full Text. This icon indicates full text for this article is available free. Clicking on the icon displays the Abstract format with an icon that will link you to the full text at no charge from the publisher's source. There may or may not be an abstract in PubMed (if not, the citation will display "No abstract available").
Mouseover = Free in PMC
Mouseover = Free in PMC. This icon indicates full text for this article is available free at PMC. Clicking on the icon displays the Abstract format with the PubMed Central icon. Click on this icon to go to the full text in PMC. To go directly to the full text from the Summary page, use the Links menu to select, "Free in PMC." There may or may not be an abstract in PubMed (if not, the citation will display "No abstract available").

Searches can be restricted to citations with free full text links. Please see Technical Notes: Free Full Text Subset Available for PubMed Searching. NLM Tech Bull. 2003 May-Jun;(332):e1.

A list of PubMed journals that provide some full text articles free is available.



By Annette M. Nahin
MEDLARS Management Section