Profiles

Helpful tips for successful searching

Frequently Asked Questions

• Wildcard search
• Multi-field search
• Searchable phone number formats
• Invalid search characters
• Error messages

• Why can't I find the person I'm looking for? I know he or she is affiliated with Harvard.
• Why can't I see all of an individual's contact information?
• How do I get login credentials?
• My own contact information is missing or incorrect. What should I do?
• How do I update the visibility of data (e.g., phone and email) in the Harvard directories?

Search Tips

Wildcard search:

Partial searches are available using the asterisk (*). For example, johnst* returns Johnston and Johnstone.

Multi-field search:

To narrow your search, enter criteria in more than one field. This may be helpful when searching for an individual with a common last name.

Searchable phone number formats:

Phone numbers should be entered without dashes, spaces or other characters. For example: 6174951000. If you do not know all 10 digits of the phone number, use the wildcard. For example: *51000.

Invalid search characters:

Special characters, by and large, should not be submitted as part of the search criteria. Allowed special characters vary by the search criteria:

Error messages:

"Too many results to display. Please refine your search."

If you receive this message, enter additional information to narrow your search. For example, if you have searched by last name only, search by last name and first initial followed by the asterisk (*), or any other piece of information you may have.

"No matches to your query. Please try again."

If you receive this message, check your spelling or number format and try again. If you still do not receive a match, no information is available.

"You have exceeded the maximum number of daily queries. No results are available."

To discourage directory compilation, each user is allowed a maximum number of queries per day.
If you have reached your max, you may try again tomorrow. If you absolutely need to find an individual's contact information today, call the Harvard operators at 617-495-1000. If you are a Harvard administrator and need assistance with looking up a number of people, contact the HUIT Helpdesk.

"An invalid special character was submitted. Please revise your search."

If you receive this message, please remove the special characters submitted and try again. If you believe there is a disallowed special character in the desired return, you may try using the wild card search or you may wish to try a different search criteria combination. See above Invalid search characters for a list of the allowed special characters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why can't I find the person I'm looking for? I know he or she is affiliated with Harvard.

A: Individuals may elect to keep all or some of their contact information private. If you have Harvard login credentials, click the "Log In" button to view additional data available only to the Harvard community.

Q: Why can't I see all of an individual's contact information?

A: The individual may have chosen to make some data available while keeping other information private. Some schools, for example, will only make email data available to those within the Harvard community. To view more data, click the "Log In" button.

Q: How do I get login credentials?

A: To learn more about Harvard login credentials, including eligibility, visit reference.iam.harvard.edu.

Q: My own contact information is missing or incorrect. What should I do?

A: Please visit the IT Help Portal for information on updating the data that appears for you in the directory.

Q: How do I update the visibility of data (e.g., phone and email) in the Harvard directories?

A: To update your privacy settings, which control what data is visible in the directory (e.g., phone number, email address), contact your departmental directory contact. If you are unsure who your directory contact is, check with your department administrator or local HR contact as they are typically aware of who manages directory information in each school or unit.