What follows is a list of answers to some of the most frequently posed questions concerning the Napoleonica project. [Link to home page]
If you have other questions, send us an email.

1. What is Napoleonica?
The aim of the Napoleonica project is to digitise and make available rare or unpublished documents concerning the First and Second Empires in digital form.
Through this project, the Fondation Napoléon intends to make available to researchers, teachers, and anyone with an interest, not only raw material that has up until now been little used but also to make it possible to search that material using a powerful search engine. The site will thus further understanding and insight into two crucial periods of French history, the First and Second Empires.

2. How do I view the digitised documents?
The digitised documents are organised into two main groups:

- specific archive collections consisting of documents produced or put together by an individual or an institution in the course of their work.
- sets of documents of a comparable nature, contained in different collections, put together by Napoleonica to form a meaningful whole.

The list of collections can be views on the Napoleonica home page.
It is also possible to use the search engine directly on the full text of all the collections using the "Search" function.

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3. How do I search the documents?
The Search icon Search, is always visible and permits a search through all or part of the site. The collections of original documents and the presentation texts are clearly indicated and can be selected from a list.
Each collection has its own specific search form(s) which can be found by clicking on the icon Extended Search.

The search tool or tools available for each collection are described in detail in the User's Guide section of each collection. As far as possible, pull-down menus are available to guide your search and limit typing errors and unsuccessful searches.

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4. How do I view the documents available on Napoleonica?
The collections digitised in text mode and the fixed images can be accessed using a simple web navigator, version 4.0 or higher. Some documents are in Adobe PDF format and can be accessed using Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 software which you will need to download and install on your computer.

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5. Do the digitised documents on Napoleonica belong to the Fondation Napoléon?
The collections made available by the Fondation Napoléon are housed in public or private institutions, some of them open to the public, some not.
The section entitled "Presentation of the collection" gives precise information on each collection, regarding both the institution in which it is housed and conditions of access to the originals.

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6. Will the Napoleonica project add new digitised collections in the future?
The project will continue to add new archives and document collections. The aim of the programme is to select documents relating to the First or Second Empires that are little-known or of particular interest to researchers, students or teachers. The selection is made on the basis of the historical value of the documents and the technical feasibility of digitising their content without harming the originals.

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7. Where can I find technical information on the creation of the digitised collections?
For each set of digitised documents, the section "Presentation of the collection" provides technical information on the digitisation process.

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8. Puis-je trouver sur Napoleonica des éléments de généalogie ou d’histoire locale ?
There is a possibility that you may find documents relating to relatives or to certain districts. Whilst this is rare, it is worth a try - use the "Search" function

- select "all the collections",
- enter a family name or its variants, the name of a district, département, etc.
- If you get a result you can view the document(s).

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9. Can I use the documents shown on Napoleonica as part of a TPE (supervised personal study), a research paper, a web page or in a publication? Are these documents protected by copyright?
The collections presented are for the most part in the public domain and are free of rights. However, the use of information from certain collections may be subject to restrictions in terms of public use. In this case, any restrictions are described in the section "Presentation of the collection". All the presentation texts are free of rights.
They may be freely used in a school or university context.

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10. How do I cite the documents consulted on line?
For original documents, according to the type of document:

- Drawing, photograph, table, manuscript: Surname of the Author, First name, Title of the document, Date of the document, Title of the digital collection, [page address], [date of consultation], Original held in …..
- Legislative text Number of the text, title, date, title of the digitised collection, [page address], [date of consultation.], Original held in ….

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11. Can I put a link from my site to the www.napoleonica.org site?
You do not need special permission to set up a link to the napoleonica home page. The following icon is available for your link if you wish to use it. However, we are always pleased to know when someone has chosen to create a link to our site. Please let us know by sending an e-mail to the following address: napoleonica@napoleon.org

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12. Any further questions?
Queries concerning the viewing of the originals and requesting reproductions should be addressed directly to the institutions where these documents are held. For each collection, full details are provided in the section "presentation of the collection", and summarised on the page detailing our partners.
Write to us if you have a question or you wish to make a comment, point out a typographical error, a link that is not working or any other technical problem. We will try to respond to you within a week.