Thank you for your continued support of Info-directTM Online product. Please find below some of the most frequently
asked questions about this product as well as descriptions of some new features
that are available. We will continually add and update this information based
on feedback from users. We welcome your questions and comments.
Q: What is new with
the 2013 version of Info-directTM Online?
A: The new Info-directTM Online screen that you
see retains the virtues of the old application, but also some new features that
were requested by users. You will now be
able to enter an apartment number into your search and we have improved our
ability to transfer data from this application to your own application. However, most of the work has been done on
the parts of the software that you cannot see, to update the underpinnings of
the software to make sure it continues to work with the latest browsers and
other devices.
Q: Will I keep the
functionality that I had with the old Info-directTM Online product?
A: Yes. All the things that you were able to do
before, you will continue to be able to use, and as well as some new
capabilities.
Q: Will I be able to
do everything in one screen as before?
A: Yes. All the things that you were able to do
before, you will continue to be able to do in the one screen. Instead of having to tab to a new screen to
see search results beyond what can be held in one page, you can now scroll down
in the same page to see more results.
Q: Can we sort the
columns of records that are shown on the screen?
A: Yes, including by
apartment number.
Q: What is the
“Refine Search” function?
A: If your search
returns records from more than one city, the “Refine Search” option lets you
narrow down your search to a particular city or town, simply by clicking on
that city spelling.
Q: What is the
“Alternate Spelling” function?
A: Many place or
person names have more than one way in which they can be spelled. This option allows you to try different
choices of which you might not have been aware.
Q: What does the E on
the left hand side of a record stand for?
A: Some records may
have an “E” on the left. This stands for “EnhanceScan”
In order to provide you with the most comprehensive database in
the market, we are now able to include over 1 million additional records that
come from two of the largest data compilers, who provide us with scanned
Canadian names and addresses that we do not capture from our monthly updates.
Q: Where do you get
your information? From the phone companies?
A: Our Online data is
sourced from electronic residential and business White Page listings from the
Telephone Directory Publishers across
Q: Are there any
other sources?
A: Yes, we include
scanned/keyed records for listings that are published in telephone books but
not forwarded to us as a matter of course, such as listings from competing
telephone companies. This data is not as
current as the Telephone Directory Publishers data, however, we do test for
“Not In Service” numbers on this data every two months, so as to give you the
most up to date data possible.
Q: Where do the Telephone Directory
Publishers get the White Page data, and what dat
A: When a residential
or business customer requests a new landline telephone number from their local
service provider, the phone company will ask their customer how they would like
their listing to appear in the telephone directory. This information is provided to the Directory
Publisher to print the listing as specifically detailed by the customers of the
local service providers. On
Q: How many listings
are available?
A: Info-directTM
contains over 13 million National listings, comprised of 1.7 million business
records and 11.1 million residential records.
In addition, we have several million “Last Known Address” records, that
used to be in the directory listings.
Q: What are these
Last Known Address records?
A: Last Known Address
records are listings which used to appear in the directory listings but which
no longer do. We include them, as some
individuals are still at that location and may have ported their landline number
over to a cell phone.
Q: Are Cell Phone
numbers included?
A: Generally, cell
phones are not included. We do have some
numbers that are cell phones that show up as the owners want them to appear in
the telephone directory listings, but this is the exception, rather than the rule. Telephone companies automatically treat cell
phones as “unlisted” or Non-Published numbers.
Q: How often
is your database updated?
A: The Info-directTM database is updated monthly. Depending on the update frequency of your license, we update your account monthly or quarterly. Quarterly updates occur in January, April, July and October. You can find the date stamp of the last update at the top right hand corner of your screen.
Q: I am searching for a record that I am
certain is still current, valid and correct, but cannot find it. Why not?
A: The Info-directTM
Online database does not include unlisted (unpublished) numbers, numbers from
independent local service providers (e.g. Wightman) and those people who do not
wish to have their names released. These
people may have contacted us directly, or contacted the individual telephone
directory publishers or are subscribers to the Do Not Promote service offered
by The Canadian Marketing Association.
In total, all three of these groups represent less than 5-10% of the
total National market. While the data
found in the Telephone Directories is considered public domain, anyone listed
in either the White Pages or the Yellow Pages has the option to be removed from
all Marketing lists.
Q: Is the directory
information in your database privacy compliant?
A: The published
phone directories are considered to be public domain information and therefore
are not required to offer name removal options.
However, all telephone directory publishers that contribute records to
the Info-directTM
database in fact offer name removal options.
Q: Is all the address
information complete?
A: No, there is some
information missing from some of the addresses in the Info-directTM database. In some
cases, apartment numbers are not available as some people residing in
apartments do not want their specific unit number listed for security
reasons.
Q: How can you provide postal code
information for a record if the postal code does not appear in the telephone
directories?
A: Postal code
information is also public domain information.
We run the database through Canada Post recognized postal coding
software to append postal codes where possible.
Q: Do you have the
same information as calling Directory Assistance at 411?
A: A large majority
of the Info-directTM
records are found when calling 411. Some of the major differences include:
Q: What is the difference between Info-directTM
Online and www.canada411.ca or any of the other web-based search engines?
A: Data “freshness”
and data accuracy are the major differences between Info-directTM and the other
web-based search engines. Info-directTM Online data has every
record refreshed every month. While Canada411 includes data from across the
country; only data from