Resource File Viewer 3.02
A new version of the Resource File Viewer has been produced which allows word searching on the 1881 census returns. While it is a great improvement on the earlier viewer in that one can search for occupations, dwelling names, etc., it does not allow a combination of a normal search and and the new text search.
This can be seen with a simple example - you are looking for someone called SMITH, born in Hertfordshire between 1839 and 1843, who worked with bricks. A conventional search for "SMITH, born in Hertfordshire between 1839 and 1843" produces 139 hits. A word search for "SMITH, Hertford, Brick*" produces 127 hits which starts off with a workhouse entry where one inmate is called Smith, another was born in Hertfordshire and several were bricklayers. There is no automatic way to select the entries common to both lists.
When selecting words in scrolls a list of words that occur so that you can think about variant spellings, etc. This shows how erratic spellings (as input to the data file) can be. Some errors it reveals - such as an occupation of "T0bacconist" with an numeric "0" should never have got past any proper verification process.
Demonstration Searches
The Red Lions of Hertfordshire
It is possible to purchase the new viewer separately.