How can I highlight a few letters?

There was just two letters of a Hebrew word I wanted to highlight, but even when I select the two letters, and I can see when I right click that only the two letters are selected, it nonetheless highlights the entire word. Is there a way to prevent this and only highlight a letter?

Also, if I do figure this out, how does it influence cross highlighting? (I forgot what it is officially called already).

Thanks for any clarity anyone can provide.

ps - I need to add a tag now?? I tried to create it without a tag and got an error message.

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MJ. Smith

In Program settings, what is your Text selection setting?

Kristin

Hi @MJ. Smith, it's set to character.

Dave Hooton

@Kristin Even with Character selected in Program Settings I found some words would not permit selective highlighting, but the Notes tool showed the characters selected. Other words would accept highlighting of some characters.

@Kristin Also, if I do figure this out, how does it influence cross highlighting?

What is the effect you are trying to describe?

Kristin

Hi @Dave Hooton, ya, what you said is what I am experiencing. I am able to select characters, and even copy specific characters, but then when I highlight the selected characters it highlights the whole word. From what I understand, this is just a quirk of the system and not something I am doing wrong.

Regarding the effect I was trying to describe with cross-highlighting, you know how if you highlight a word in a random version, the system (depending on your settings), will show the same highlight of the word in other versions. So when I was highlighting a few characters in Hebrew (which resulted in the entire word being highlighted), it also highlighted the entire corresponding word in the ESV. So I had been wondering, if I could highlight just a few Hebrew characters, would it highlight the entire corresponding word in the ESV? Or just a few letters in the ESV? It was just not clear. However, if I understand correctly, it is totally hypothetical since I can't highlight only a few characters.

Also, if you don't mind, I have two other questions about highlights. First, if I remember correctly, there is a way to tell highlights to go to a specific Notebook, so it doesn't clog up the actual notes in the Notebook. Is this correct? And if it is, how do I do this?

Second, I know people can create multiple highlight palates, and I started messing with it, but I quickly learned that it wasn't practical since the other highlight palates slowed down my work. If I used highlights from the main highlight palate, my recents would show up, so I could easily access them. However, if I used highlights from a palate I made (even though I was just using normal highlights and did not include images), my recents from that palate gave zero indication what they even were. I assume there is not a way to fix this, so is there a way to move my highlights from my new palate to the main palate, so they will show up under recents? Also, given this issue, do most people do everything with one highlight palate? I can attach a screenshot of what I mean.

Graham Criddle

Also, if you don't mind, I have two other questions about highlights. First, if I remember correctly, there is a way to tell highlights to go to a specific Notebook, so it doesn't clog up the actual notes in the Notebook. Is this correct? And if it is, how do I do this?

This is done at the palette level - where you can specify which notebook you want highlights from that palette to appear in

This is outlined here

Second, I know people can create multiple highlight palates, and I started messing with it, but I quickly learned that it wasn't practical since the other highlight palates slowed down my work. If I used highlights from the main highlight palate, my recents would show up, so I could easily access them. However, if I used highlights from a palate I made (even though I was just using normal highlights and did not include images), my recents from that palate gave zero indication what they even were.

I don't understand what you are describing here. Please clarify

so is there a way to move my highlights from my new palate to the main palate, so they will show up under recents?

Do you mean that you want to move a highlight you have created in one palette to another? This can be done by right-clicking the highlight in the Highlighting Tool, selecting the Move option and then choosing the new palette.

Or do you mean you want highlights that have been created in one notebook to be moved to another? The way to do this is outlined here

Kristin

Hi @Graham Criddle, thank you for the link. Regarding assigning highlights, I see the issue now. I had previously assigned highlights to go to a highlight notebook, but I now see that it ONLY applies to the original highlight palate, so I would need to re-do that for any additional palates, but I think I am going to get rid of the additional palates, for the reason below…

When you asked, "I don't understand what you are describing here. Please clarify" What I was referring to is connected to my screenshot above. When I highlight, pretty much 100% of the time I don't have the actual highlight panel open. I only do if I am trying to edit something. When I am just highlighting the text, however, I don't have it open. Thus, to highlight, I just select a word or phrase, and when I do, this little highlight window appears (my screenshot above). The little highlight window has a list of my recent highlights. So if I want yellow, I just click it from the recents, or green, I just click it from my recents.

However, as you can see in my screenshot, while green and yellow appear, the remaining 4 recent highlights are hidden, and only represented by this little person symbol (no idea why). So all the little gray people are unique highlights, like purple, or underline, or whatever, but they don't function as recents to choose from since they are all masked with a person icon.

I have discovered that when the recents show the actual recent highlight (like yellow or green in my screenshot), that is coming from the main palate, but the other 4 which are hidden are coming from a palate I created.

I am not sure if the reason the recent isn't showing is because it is a new highlight style, or from a new palate. I am hoping that if I just move my created highlights to the main highlight palate that they will show in recents. Thank you for the clarification.

That said, if I am understanding the correctly, the advantage of moving the highlights in my created palate to the main highlight file, is that they will be functional in recents. However, the disadvantage is that I wouldn't be able to turn them off and on (how specific highlight palates can be viewable or not).

I have some highlights I use for class, which I don't really want or need when I am just personally doing something in the Bible, hence having them in two different palates. But since I spend a lot of time highlighting for class, it would help if the recent highlights were viewable.

Kristin

Hi @Graham Criddle, I am sorry for another reply, but I have an update and a question. Regarding the update, I think I fixed my class problem. I see that the "Emphasis Markup" "Highlighter Pens" and "Inductive / Precept" are all show in recents just like the solid colors, AND I can move them to separate notebooks. :) I have never used any of those before, but I just designated all of those to a special class notebook, so they will be in recents and also be able to be turned on and off. :) So that solves that.

My question, however, is how to move my current class highlights to the new file. To be clear, I don't mean literally move them to the Logos palate, but rather, find them in the text so that one by one I can delete the highlight and re-assign it something in the "highlighter pens" section.

However, when I look at my class palate, I literally have no idea how to find stuff. For example, if I want to find all the words highlighted currently as "blue" how do I do that? I had tried moving all my class highlights to a temp notebook, but it didn't work since it didn't retroactively move the highlights there, but will only work going forward. So how can I find them now in the text?

Bildschirmfoto 2026-01-12 um 08.50.08.png

Graham Criddle

For example, if I want to find all the words highlighted currently as "blue" how do I do that?

You can search for all highlights of a particular type within a particular palette.

Here's the search syntax to find all highlights made with the Green Highlighter in the Highlighter Pens palette.

highlight:"Highlighter Pens/Green Highlighter"

Kristin

Hi @Graham Criddle, thank you for your help, and I am sorry about the delay. I had a class. Tbh, I think I am still doing something wrong since when I do that it still shows no results. However, I discovered that if I add a word it does work. For example, if I search for the green highlighter and then include the word "God" or whatever, then it will show all the verses where that applies. Then after I address those verses, I can search for "Moses" or something, and then likewise it will show all the words with that highlight. It is ok, and this method works fine.

Thank you again for your help.

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1391448#Comment_1391448

That will give spurious results. If looking for God in a specific highlight style search with:

God INTERSECTS highlight:Green

(a drop down will give you all styles with "Green" so can select the one you want)

That said, if I am understanding the correctly, the advantage of moving the highlights in my created palate to the main highlight file, is that they will be functional in recents. However, the disadvantage is that I wouldn't be able to turn them off and on (how specific highlight palates can be viewable or not).

You can only move your highlight styles to a user created palette (not the main/system provided ones).

Logos does not visually identify recent styles in user created palettes, but if you hover over a style icon it will display the style name.