Finding an article which appears in a large compilation

Maybe this is a foundational PB question that I missed along the way, but I am wondering if it is possible to have articles within a bigger work show up in my library listing. Several times I have come across an article that I wanted and so figured I would create it in PB format. I looked at my library under the author (and/or title) and it was not there, so I created it. Later I found that it was an article in a separate compilation that I already had. I was stuck--do I delete the new PB of just that resource and just hope & can remember that I have the article in a bigger format or just live with duplicate resources. I could create a separate PB for every article even those that appear in compilations, but that becomes really cumbersome in the PB listing.

Most recent example: I was about to create a PB on an article on Prayer by Alexander Campbell. It didn't show up in my library.
But after creating it, I found that it was an article in an abridged version of a longer work that I already had.

Is doing a Basic Search using the author's name (in this case "Alexander Campbell") the only way to come up with something like that? That seems like a nuisance and I wish there were an easier way.

Sorry if this seems really elementary, but it is a common irritant. (Among life's irritants I recognize it is pretty low, but still would like to know an answer).

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MJ. Smith

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M G Smith

It is not currently possible for articles within larger works to show up in the Library listing. If it was then, for example, all journal articles would appear there separately from the listing of the Volume they are found in. I guess this potential 'overload' may be the reason it is not possible. However, it possible to search on the author's name with the result that all the articles by that author are displayed.

Note: I'm not sure whether Calvin's "Basic Search using the author's name" is what I am describing below. If it is, apologies!!

1. Searching for an author of an article in a larger work (perhaps a journal or an edited compilation).

On the Basic search tab, choose All Resources (doesn't work with Everything selected). Click All Text to access the dropdown menu, and in that, select Author. Click somewhere to get rid off the dropdown menu. The search line should now read: Search Author in All Resources for, with an empty box to enter the details.

[Digression: It is possible to search the Library for the author of a work with the line author:"Surname, First name". Since you may not know the full name of the author, or at least the way that name has been used in a title, I often simply use author:Surname (when it is just one one word it works without the quote marks, and may also do so at other times).]

To accomplish the search we wish on the Basic search tab it is necessary to enter the author's name in the reverse order, First name Surname. Since we are again faced with not necessarily knowing the way the author's first name has been recorded, I often to default to searching for the Surname.

In a journal or similar, the author's name would typically be given just under the title of the article. However, in a dictionary it may well be given at the end of the article. Where Logos has created the book then on the Information tab (click the three dots to the right of the title tab of the open book and select Information) and you will see under Search Fields whether Author is listed or not. If it is then this search will work, if it is not then it won't.

2. Marking up the name of an author who has contributed material to your Personal Book.

Find the occurrence of the author's name (normally in the format First name Surname) and before enter {{field-on:author}} and after enter {{field-off:author}}. When you compile your PB you can now search for the author(s) who contributed to this PB.

Searching in this way is a bit of a hassle, but it does work, and it does give the results desired--a full listing of all articles by that author.

Hope this helps.

Calvin Habig

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1093904#Comment_1093904

Thanks MH! (As usual). I had dispaired of finding a feasible answer but your work around appears to work well. Thanks.

M G Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1093904#Comment_1093904

Since writing the above explanation I have had a niggle that I should know a better way of accomplishing this result and last night worked out what it was. What I described is a valid way of executing a field search (see here: https://wiki.logos.com/Detailed_Search_Help#Fields). However, there is a better way of doing this; better because we can then add other search criteria.

So to replicate the search described above (on the Basic search tab, using the surname of the author for the reasons outlined) we get, author:Surname

Now for the better bit, to implement the search Calvin (see above) asked for, use, author:Surname AND largetext:"some words from the article title" This should return only one hit, unless you have more than one copy of the article by the same author in your library. largetext is another field (there are many, though not all of them appear to be implemented) that you can use to narrow your search. The reason I have used largetext rather than heading, is that while Logos-produced resources seem to implement both, Personal Books only implement largetext.

There appears to be one exception to all of this. If an entire resource is by the one author then the search does not deliver. However, if you use the largetext bit of the search alone then it should pick the article heading. The type of resource I am referring to is, for example, The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer.

It appears that if we wish, in creating our Personal Books containing several articles, to use the {{field-on:author}} {{field-off:author}} markup then it should be done within the confines of the article itself. Marking-up the author's name on the contents page, for example, does not appear to work.