Durham County
HomeWebsite Help
Since there is more than one way to surf a website, we included several different ways for you to explore ours.
First things first
A few of the most popular services, primarily for individual citizens, are listed right on the home page of the site. You can jump directly to these services and information resources simply by pointing to the desired choice and clicking (for example: Services and Departments & Offices).
A quick way to get answers to some of the most common questions is to read the F.A.Q., our Frequently Asked Questions page. First-time visitors are encouraged to review these questions and answers. Also, many popular services are listed in the Quick Links drop-down box on the home page, "Most Requested Pages." Check that out, too.
Know what you want, but don't know where to look?
There are several ways to explore the content of this site to find what you're looking for. You can enter key words into the search box and click "Search." More detailed information about searching Durham County Government is available by clicking the "Advanced Search" link.
The links across the top of each page on the site will take you to pages that are focused on primary information.
At the left of the each department webpage, you will find a list of subject categories. As you point to each one, you will find that each is the top, most general category in a hierarchy of menus. Moving your mouse pointer into this menu will allow you to click on a destination category or open a webpage on that topic. You will find everything in the site is linked by these type of paths.
Browsers
This site was built taking into consideration older browser technologies that are still predominant throughout the Internet today. If you don't see a menu open automatically as you point to one of these categories, it means you are using an older version of your Internet browser. In that case, you'll need to click on the category you are interested in. This will take you to another page that displays a series of links. These links will either take you to your destination, or to another page of links, depending on the choice.
You are encouraged to upgrade your browser to a minimum of Firefox 2.0 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 in order to take advantage of some of the modern features of Durham County Government. You can download Firefox from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/. You can download Microsoft Internet Explorer from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/.
Adobe Acrobat
As you visit the various links provided you will find information that can be downloaded. Many departments use a .pdf document format that must be opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Documents on the Durham County website which are in the PDF format are designated as "[PDF]". Use this link, http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html, to get instructions on how to download and install the Acrobat Reader.
Browse by Category
Browsing by category is an easy way to navigate Durham County Government and to find websites in related areas. You need no special commands or keystrokes... everything is "point-and-click."
As you move from one category to the next, highlighted category names mark your progress. With this path you always know where you are and where you've been. You can always go back to any section of the path just by clicking on that section or by using the Back button on your browser.
Search by Keyword
Keyword searches quickly finds specific names, titles and terms within the Durham County website. Just type a word or phrase into the search box and click on "Search."
The Durham County Government search engine checks the webpages within the Durham County Government website. When the process is complete, you receive a list of sites that match the topic of your search.
For more detailed information about searching, click the Advanced Search link.
Keyword Search Tip: Think big! Don't worry if you end up with a large number of results, because the most relevant content will be listed first. If you find that your search results are too broad, then go back and add some more specific terms. Remember that you'll get more precise results by typing "Durham County Boards Committees Commissions and Authorities" than, for example, just "Boards" in the search box.
Error Messages
Occasionally, everyone browsing the Internet encounters error messages of one sort or another. The editors of Durham County website try hard to maintain accurate destination links, but occasionally, we miss one. If you encounter an error message on a link you've followed from Durham County Government, we'd appreciate it if you'd let us know.
503 Service Unavailable.
If you see this message, it means the computer that you are needing to communicate with to access the resource you want is too busy to handle your request at the moment. Wait a few moments and try again.
Feedback and Contact Information
We are very interested in your experiences with Durham County Government and ask you to please contact us if you have comments, suggestions, or recommendations to help make the site better. Please review the "E-mail & Phone Directory" link on any page to identify who will best be able to address your suggestions or questions.
Still stuck?
For assistance, you can send e-mail to webmaster@dconc.gov.
First things first
A few of the most popular services, primarily for individual citizens, are listed right on the home page of the site. You can jump directly to these services and information resources simply by pointing to the desired choice and clicking (for example: Services and Departments & Offices).
A quick way to get answers to some of the most common questions is to read the F.A.Q., our Frequently Asked Questions page. First-time visitors are encouraged to review these questions and answers. Also, many popular services are listed in the Quick Links drop-down box on the home page, "Most Requested Pages." Check that out, too.
Know what you want, but don't know where to look?
There are several ways to explore the content of this site to find what you're looking for. You can enter key words into the search box and click "Search." More detailed information about searching Durham County Government is available by clicking the "Advanced Search" link.
The links across the top of each page on the site will take you to pages that are focused on primary information.
At the left of the each department webpage, you will find a list of subject categories. As you point to each one, you will find that each is the top, most general category in a hierarchy of menus. Moving your mouse pointer into this menu will allow you to click on a destination category or open a webpage on that topic. You will find everything in the site is linked by these type of paths.
Browsers
This site was built taking into consideration older browser technologies that are still predominant throughout the Internet today. If you don't see a menu open automatically as you point to one of these categories, it means you are using an older version of your Internet browser. In that case, you'll need to click on the category you are interested in. This will take you to another page that displays a series of links. These links will either take you to your destination, or to another page of links, depending on the choice.
You are encouraged to upgrade your browser to a minimum of Firefox 2.0 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 in order to take advantage of some of the modern features of Durham County Government. You can download Firefox from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/. You can download Microsoft Internet Explorer from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/.
Adobe Acrobat
As you visit the various links provided you will find information that can be downloaded. Many departments use a .pdf document format that must be opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Documents on the Durham County website which are in the PDF format are designated as "[PDF]". Use this link, http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html, to get instructions on how to download and install the Acrobat Reader.
Browse by Category
Browsing by category is an easy way to navigate Durham County Government and to find websites in related areas. You need no special commands or keystrokes... everything is "point-and-click."
As you move from one category to the next, highlighted category names mark your progress. With this path you always know where you are and where you've been. You can always go back to any section of the path just by clicking on that section or by using the Back button on your browser.
Search by Keyword
Keyword searches quickly finds specific names, titles and terms within the Durham County website. Just type a word or phrase into the search box and click on "Search."
The Durham County Government search engine checks the webpages within the Durham County Government website. When the process is complete, you receive a list of sites that match the topic of your search.
For more detailed information about searching, click the Advanced Search link.
Keyword Search Tip: Think big! Don't worry if you end up with a large number of results, because the most relevant content will be listed first. If you find that your search results are too broad, then go back and add some more specific terms. Remember that you'll get more precise results by typing "Durham County Boards Committees Commissions and Authorities" than, for example, just "Boards" in the search box.
Error Messages
Occasionally, everyone browsing the Internet encounters error messages of one sort or another. The editors of Durham County website try hard to maintain accurate destination links, but occasionally, we miss one. If you encounter an error message on a link you've followed from Durham County Government, we'd appreciate it if you'd let us know.
503 Service Unavailable.
If you see this message, it means the computer that you are needing to communicate with to access the resource you want is too busy to handle your request at the moment. Wait a few moments and try again.
Feedback and Contact Information
We are very interested in your experiences with Durham County Government and ask you to please contact us if you have comments, suggestions, or recommendations to help make the site better. Please review the "E-mail & Phone Directory" link on any page to identify who will best be able to address your suggestions or questions.
Still stuck?
For assistance, you can send e-mail to webmaster@dconc.gov.