Maximizing search potential
Comments
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When I try to drag and drop the "close all" command, I get the little "locator cursor" to show me where I want the shortcut to be placed, but when I drop it, the locator cursor just sits there. Next time I open the program, it is gone. I'll wait for the next version.
Theological Reflection with Practical Application
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Can somebody link to this thread from the Wiki? There is some very helpful information in here about learning to use the search functions effectively.
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Ron Keyston Jr said:
Can somebody link to this thread from the Wiki?
added to Detailed Search Help as subHeading Tips on searching
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steve clark said:Ron Keyston Jr said:
Can somebody link to this thread from the Wiki?
added to Detailed Search Help as subHeading Tips on searching
Also added this thread to http://wiki.logos.com/Tips_from_the_Forum
Prov. 15:23
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After a few whiffs, I'm turning to the forum...
I'm trying to find a specific resource that explains the differences in the account between Josephus and Acts 12 concerning Herod's death.
I've tried:
Josephus NEAR acts 12
Josephus NEAR compar* NEAR acts 12
Any suggestions for creating a more specific search--using several terms?
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Ted Weis said:
Any suggestions for creating a more specific search--using several terms?
You need Josephus NEAR <Acts 12>, so that Logos knows you're referring to the Biblical passage. I may be inclined to search for Josephus NEAR Herod though, or probably Josephus NEAR "Herod Agrippa", or Josephus NEAR Agrippa. If I was feeling particularly clever, I'd go for Josephus NEAR (Herod,Agrippa) and do a ranked search.
Those searches (or a search of Josephus' works for Agrippa) give you the reference in Josephus, and you can then see what resources refer to that. The syntax is <JosephusLoeb ~ Antiquities of the Jews 19.343-352>,<JosephusWhiston = Antiquities of the Jews XIX, viii 2> (remember there are two reference systems for Josephus).
But because you're interested in a comparison with Acts 12, don't search for that on it's own. Instead do a search for the Josephus reference near the Acts 12 reference. That should nail it:
(<JosephusLoeb ~ Antiquities of the Jews 19.343-352>,<JosephusWhiston = Antiquities of the Jews XIX, viii 2>) NEAR <Acts 12>This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Ted Weis said:
Any suggestions for creating a more specific search--using several terms?
One option is creating a Josephus collection, then search for <Acts 12> in that collection:
Another option is searching Entire Library for <Acts 12> NEAR Josephus NEAR death
Keep Smiling [:)]
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Mark Barnes said:
But because you're interested in a comparison with Acts 12, don't search for that on it's own. Instead do a search for the Josephus reference near the Acts 12 reference. That should nail it:
(<JosephusLoeb ~ Antiquities of the Jews 19.343-352>,<JosephusWhiston = Antiquities of the Jews XIX, viii 2>) NEAR <Acts 12>
Yes, this search form worked very well! A very manageable 76 results.
Below is a quote from one resource that directly answered my question:
'The two accounts of his death which we have, in Acts 12:19–23, and Josephus, Antiq. xix. 8. 2, with many variations, are yet in thorough and detailed agreement on the principal points... —It thus appears that the principal points: Caeserea as the scene of the incident, the brilliant robe, the flattering shout, the sudden death—are common to both narratives, although the details have been somewhat diversified in the course of transmission.
Emil Schürer, vol. 2, A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, First Division, Vol. II. (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1890), 163-64.0 -
To follow up...
Does the math signs < and > serve as quotation marks to group Bible book with chapter/verse?
What function is served by " " quotation marks? Does it differ from < > ?
Do parenthesis ( ) group ideas together--sort of a "complete this first" before going to next search element?
Commas , separate differing terms. If one uses a comma, must it be in parenthesis?
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Ted: When you have time, you'll benefit from working your way through http://wiki.logos.com/Detailed_Search_Help - which tells you all you need to know about searching, and is (hopefully) written in a way that can be understood. To answer your specific questions:
- The indicators < and > are used to indicate that we're searching for a datatype (a special link). Logos doesn't look at the text, when it searches, but where the text points to. For example a commentary on Acts that said "see chapter 12" would not be returned for a search for "Acts 12" (the word Acts isn't mentioned), but would be returned for a search that said <Acts 12>, because the underlying link points to chapter 12. Incidentally, the full syntax would be <bible ~ Acts 12>, but Logos recognise that the most usual datatype to be searched is the Bible datatype, and therefore if you leave out the datatype name, it assumes you mean the Bible: http://wiki.logos.com/Detailed_Search_Help#Searching_for_Bible_Verses_and_other_References
- Quotation marks " and " mean that you're searching for a specific phrase: http://wiki.logos.com/Detailed_Search_Help#Phrases
- Parentheses ( and ) do group together search terms. When the items in the parenthesis are separated by a comma, it creates a list, where each of the search terms are examined in turn. So the search (a, b) NEAR c, means first search for a NEAR c, then search for b NEAR c, then show me the results that match either search: http://wiki.logos.com/Detailed_Search_Help#Using_parentheses and http://wiki.logos.com/Detailed_Search_Help#Using_lists
- Commas don't need to be used in parentheses if there's nothing else being searched for. The search string a,b,c is perfectly valid (like the one in my second paragraph). But as soon as you introduce any additional criteria, you need to add the parentheses, e.g. (a,b,c) AND d. That's because otherwise Logos would think you meant (a,b,c AND d) which is quite different. Putting parentheses around a list when it's not necessary won't harm your search, so it's probably best to always do it, unless you're sure you'll remember to add them when needed.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Mark, thanks for the helpful explanations. I appreciate your time and wisdom!
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Mark Barnes said:
It doesn't necessarily matter if you return hundreds of thousands of results if you have a good query, and your results are Ranked or By Count. The best results should come to the top.What is the difference in functionality between By Count and By Title? Obviously both show the titles. COuld you explain why one would use one over the other?
BTW I know a lot of people have complained about topic searching not being as effective as in L3 but as I have learned and used the techniques you mention above (particularly large text search) I have found topic searching to be better for me in L4. I am eagerly waiting to see the further improvements that are said to be coming soon for topic searching!
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Tim Engwer said:
What is the difference in functionality between By Count and By Title? Obviously both show the titles. COuld you explain why one would use one over the other?
By Title - results are placed with their source and resources are sorted by title
By Count - as above but resources are sorted by number of results/hits (highest first).
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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Tim Engwer said:
What is the difference in functionality between By Count and By Title? Obviously both show the titles.
Search results By Count groups Titles by number of results within Title, when number of results is the same, then Titles are alphabetical. In contrast, By Title alphabetizes all resources that have results. Depends on search whether By Count and By Title have the same (all titles have the same number of results) or different order.
Keep Smiling [:)]
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[Y][Y][Y] This thread rocks! Ought to be linked to the Search function in L4. The wiki is great, but there is no comparison with a free-form-conversation to really get to the meat of Searching L4... which is, after all, the meat and potatoes of Logos.
"I read dead people..."
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In the Logos 6 video for Literary Typing, we see them using a search query which looks like this:
In my opinion, there's some pretty sophisticated stuff going on here. My question is, where does one even go to learn
1. A comprehensive explanation of what the search options even are? (This kind of stuff isn't spelled out in any wiki or training video I've found so far)
2. How to use them to in practical ways?
Thank you
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Jonathan Vliet said:
1. A comprehensive explanation of what the search options even are? (This kind of stuff isn't spelled out in any wiki or training video I've found so far)
There is an outline at https://wiki.logos.com/Search_HELP#Logos_6 which gives an overview of some of the types and the syntax
The Bible Sense Lexicon contains all the entries you will find under "Sense"
There is a Logos resource which gives a glossary of the Literary Types - logosres:lxhmglssryltyps;hw=Law,_Casuistic
But it does take some work to understand these.
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