Direct Dictionary

ASUNDER
ASUNDER Member Posts: 259 ✭✭✭

I set it up so when I double click a word it jumps to the dictionary definition of it.
But if I manually try to define a word by typing it out in search it doesn't work. It finds the word in the content of the book, not just fetching the word. That's no good. We have to use the table of contents to manually find words.

Can you give us a 'dictionary define-word' search box please.

1
1 votes

Already Offered · Last Updated

Dictionaries can be navigated directly by typing words into the active reference box.

Comments

  • Aaron Hamilton
    Aaron Hamilton Member, MVP Posts: 1,604

    Search appears to be working as expected in your screenshot. Perhaps "Find" (Ctrl+F) would meet your needs better in this scenario?

  • ASUNDER
    ASUNDER Member Posts: 259 ✭✭✭

    The desire is to be able to use the dictionaries in Logos as if we were doing just an internet search. An English dictionary is not the same format as other reference books. Things like Ctrl + F Find is not the tool for this.
    So these word dictionaries would have a double use. The current double click = jump to definition. But also a manual search for a word, when we have a word in our head that we want to learn about. The same as if we were typing "define (the word)" into a google search box.

    In my example word, "supplication" Google's results would jump me to dictionary definitions. Logos doesn't do this.
    While ironically Logos is named Logos and Google is not.

  • Aaron Hamilton
    Aaron Hamilton Member, MVP Posts: 1,604
    edited March 18

    I understand better now; thank you. Another thought would be to try the command box or smart search for the result you're looking for. I don't mean to detract from the feature request; just trying to make a suggestion that may be helpful for the time being.

  • Aaron Hamilton
    Aaron Hamilton Member, MVP Posts: 1,604

    Come to think of it, I recall Mark Barnes mentioning once that Smart search currently does not work well within individual books. However, I think exactly that is what would be needed here: the ability to ask a dictionary to define a word. Hopefully, one day it will work well enough to accurately identify material from within a single book. In this case, I think this feature request would be satisfied.

  • ASUNDER
    ASUNDER Member Posts: 259 ✭✭✭

    Ok, thank you.

    The ideal scenario is for Logos to be a background helper when not in use; being the moderator for all our text activities. Like defining words, scripture reference pop ups, quick notes, etc.

  • Bradley Grainger (Logos)
    Bradley Grainger (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 12,109

    We have to use the table of contents to manually find words.

    Type into this box to look up words:

  • Aaron Hamilton
    Aaron Hamilton Member, MVP Posts: 1,604

    Hey, that works great! I was also looking into the "headword:" search extension, which I also find to be very useful. Logos is packed with hidden gems!

  • ASUNDER
    ASUNDER Member Posts: 259 ✭✭✭

    Oh, looks like I was just in the wrong search box, thank you.

  • Bill
    Bill Member Posts: 391 ✭✭✭

    @Bradley Grainger (Logos) Out of curiosity, What happened to the Heading Text option in "search fields"? That is what I would have used for Supplicate in a regular search, but it no longer exists in the options for search fields in inline or regular search.

    Too soon old. Too late smart.

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 54,939

    Part of the problem for many users is that they use the term "search" too broadly. If one thinks of it as "looking up" a word in the dictionary, it is "obvious" that one would use the reference box rather than a search. Unfortunately, 6 months of thinking about it has not led me to a solution of the search vs. lookup problem.

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."

  • Aaron Hamilton
    Aaron Hamilton Member, MVP Posts: 1,604

    Well observed. I was stuck on needing to "search" for the answer. I normally associate the reference box with Bibles. Clearly its usefulness stretches further.

  • Bradley Grainger (Logos)
    Bradley Grainger (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 12,109

    Out of curiosity, What happened to the Heading Text option in "search fields"?

    It's always been dependent on the tagging that's available in each resource. (Use "Show information" to see this.) If the book doesn't support it, you can't search by it.

  • Bradley Grainger (Logos)
    Bradley Grainger (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 12,109

    Pro-tip: in books with Greek or Hebrew headword indexes, you can use g: or h: to untransliterate as you type:

  • Bill
    Bill Member Posts: 391 ✭✭✭

    @Bradley Grainger (Logos) True. However, I would have expected all Logos Type:dictionaries, encyclopedias and lexicons to have head word search capabilities since that is one of the normal ways of searching these resources.

    Too soon old. Too late smart.

  • Aaron Hamilton
    Aaron Hamilton Member, MVP Posts: 1,604
  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 54,939

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."

  • Bradley Grainger (Logos)
    Bradley Grainger (Logos) Administrator, Logos Employee Posts: 12,109

    He means the "Heading [Text]" search field, not headwords.

  • Bill
    Bill Member Posts: 391 ✭✭✭
    edited March 20

    @MJ. Smith and @Bradley Grainger (Logos)The example American Dictionary of the English Language in the OP can not be searched using search field Heading Text and it should be.

    My point is,

    Certainly one would use the reference box if one is only looking in one dictionary, encyclopedia or Lexicon. But if I were searching for a word such as "Supplicate" in a collection or all of my dictionaries using "heading Text", this dictionary, or any without that search field, would not show in my results.

    So, shouldn't this resource have that capability?

    Too soon old. Too late smart.

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,347 ✭✭✭✭
    edited March 20

    Not disagreeing. But using the 'Lookup' on the popup menu or right-click menu, switches 'opponent' to 'adversary' (a forced sense-switch) as it reaches for the FSB (my top prioritized for english). I'd of thought (preferred) it'd reach for my Merriam (2nd priority with unswitched 'opponent'). But not important … the always ignore the Logos switcheroo, and use the right-click > Merriam.

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 54,939
    edited March 20

    I have the popup selection menu turned off but the behavior you describe surprises me. I just tried it on 2 Timothy 2:25 and got Louw-Nida because I have prefer lemmas set. If I turn prefer lemma off, I get the Lexham Bible Dictionary adversary which is the same lemma but the LBD has no entry or visible redirect for opponent. I see why you would expect an English dictionary lookup rather than the acute awareness that this is a Bible text.

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."