Bulk edit

[Mateo Morales]

I was wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to do a bulk edit to remove compound forms? I have quite a few compound forms in my dictionary but don't like how it links the "compound entry" to the "base" entry. I was simply attempting to use the compound form feature to show the relationship between words in the different lexical entries--not to make the compound a sub-entry of the base forms. 

Is there a way to remove the compound identifier without deleting the entire entry?

Thanks,

Matthew

[kevin_...@sil.org]

Hi, Matthew.

 

Yes, it is possible to unlink the entries that are related as X is a compound of Y, without deleting either of the entries. Because of the complexity of the relationship, however, it is not possible to do this via Bulk Edit. But before you make a final decision to move in that direction, I want to be sure that you are aware that it is possible to maintain the relationship in your FLEx database without displaying the compound as a subentry of its component (as it’s termed in FLEx).

 

Here’s an example of a compound from French (chauffer ‘to heat’ + eau ‘water’ è chauffe-eau ‘water heater’). By default, with the Root-based layout selected as the template for displaying these entries, they look like this:

 

I’m understanding you to say that you don’t like the part that’s highlighted in yellow, but it is possible to suppress this, so that the entries look like this:

 

 

If you want to eliminate all references to the “compound” relationship, that is possible as well. Or if you want the compound chauffe-eau to be mentioned in the component entry, chauffer, but displayed differently than as a subentry, that too is possible.

 

Here are a couple of other ways that these entries can be formatted for display without breaking the link between them. Maybe one of them is close to what you’re wanting?

 

 

Could you mock up an example (in a text editor) of what you would like to see for each entry that is involved in the “compound” relationship, and then take a screenshot of that and share it here? When I understand more clearly what you do and don’t want, I can give you specific advice about how to achieve it—all without unlinking the entries that you’ve told FLEx are in a “compound” relationship.

And if you decide that you really do want to unlink these entries, I can point you toward the lesson in our online course that provides step-by-step instructions for doing that (and alerts you to the fact that if you do it incorrectly, you end up deleting one of the entries!).

 

Best wishes,

Kevin

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[Mateo Morales]

Kevin,

Thanks for responding. I figured out how to unlink individual entries but didn't want to take the time to do that to all of them (since there are quite a few). 

I do like this option (it's pretty close to what I originally had in mind) that you presented:

I just really dislike the current display within the Lexicon edit (next snip) since I can't see any of the examples, etc. in this window--I have to scroll down in the entry pane to see if I've already entered example sentences or not:

Since many of the words are "compounds" I don't want this to be my default display (either within the entry pane or the actual dictionary view).

Thanks,
Matthew

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/flex-list/095d01dcb7e0%246f00e840%244d02b8c0%24%40sil.org.

[kevin_...@sil.org]

Following up on this thread for all who are interested, as I interacted with Matthew off-list until we found how to get what he wanted.

 

1. The Problem

In one of Matthew’s emails to me, he expressed his desire this way:

The main thing I want is for each component to be its own entry--not a subentry of another component. Being able to see/reference the components of the compound is what I originally desired.

 

2a. The Solution – Part 1

The phrasing “each…to be its own entry” gave me the impression that the Lexeme-based view/layout would provide what Matthew wanted. (FW 9.2 calls these “views”; FW 9.3 calls them “layouts,” since we feel that ‘layout’ better describes what they are—basically, templates.) So I suggested that he change to the Lexeme-based layout, and that did indeed resolve most of the ‘undesirables’ in the formatting he had previously.

 

2b. The Solution – Part 2

There was a bit of fine-tuning still required to suppress elements that he didn’t want or include some that were not showing. For that, I gave this advice:

When there is a part of an entry that you don’t want or that you would like to have displayed differently, right-click on that specific part in either the Lexicon Edit preview pane or the Dictionary view, then click the Configure Dictionary link that appears. That will take you directly to the node in the Configure Dictionary tool that controls that piece of the entry. If you don’t want it, uncheck that node. The Configure Dictionary tool has a preview pane as well, so you can see the effect of unchecking the box. If it does what you’re wanting, save the change and you’re done.

 

Finding the configuration node for something that you want to include but which is not currently being displayed can be a bit trickier.

 

Many more details are available in DLS’ online course: https://sites.google.com/sil.org/dls-course/.

 

3. Summary of FLEx’s views/layouts

With regard to the views/layouts that are available in FLEx, I mentioned that the lessons in the online course that treat these in detail are still being written, but here is a summary of their characteristics:

 

Root-based – emphasizes the relationship between a complex form (“compound” is one specific kind of “complex form”) and its components, allowing the complex form to be displayed as a subentry in the entry for one or more of its components and as a minor entry alphabetized with everything else in the dictionary.

Lexeme-based – emphasizes complex forms as elements in their own right, presenting them so that they appear very much like all of the other alphabetized entries in the dictionary. They are also “mentioned” in the entry for their components, but they are presented in such a way that they are just a reference, kind of blending in with the rest of the information in the entry.

Hybrid – a cross between root-based and lexeme-based, with the subentry in the component entry being very concise and the alphabetized entry in the dictionary looking very much like other alphabetized entries in the dictionary that are not complex forms.

 

4. Important note regarding views/layouts

NOTE: One of the things that we recommend in our online course is that you not modify the three layouts that come with FLEx, but that you make a copy of the one that you’d like to use, then give it your own name, and modify that one. Down the road, that will allow you, if you’re wondering what the default configuration settings were, to refer to the original that you left unchanged.

 

Best wishes,

 

Kevin Warfel

Associate Dictionary & Lexicography Services (DLS) Coordinator

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