What happened to Topic Search in Logos 6?

Topic Search (the Topic section at the top of a Basic search through your entire library) was my favorite quick way for looking up definitions and encyclopedia articles on all sorts of items in LCV (people, theological terms, etc.)

What happened to it? It's gone in Logos 6. Was it supposed to be replaced by an Everything search (there's no Topic section in that) or Topic Guide? A topic guide has a whole lot of other extraneous sections so one has to make a custom guide template with only the Topic section and then you've got to find that within the jumbled unsorted menu of custom guides (which we still can't order the way we want to). And in a Topic Guide, the section of encyclopedia articles isn't expanded by default; it only shows the first few and you have to click more to expand.

Please bring back the Topic section in Search with its quick already-expanded "Look it up" section.

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

Ted Hans

I agree with you. Please add my vote to this request [Y][Y]

Cynthia Tucker

This brings to mind a question I've been wanting to ask: Why does each new version of Logos "remove" things? Yes, very helpful things are always added, but I don't understand removing features. I admit there may be a lot of things I don't understand on the backend, and I guess they have their reasons. Still, my idea of an upgrade is to keep what I had and add to it. But things are constantly being dropped. I understand it with resources; that often can't be helped. But can't we keep all the features we've grown accustomed too, while also getting new features?

Mark Barnes

I'm glad it's gone from the "all resources" search, but I agree it should be in the everything search.

Mark Barnes

But can't we keep all the features we've grown accustomed too, while also getting new features?

People already complain that there are multiple ways of searching, multiple tools to look things up, etc. If Logos never removed features when new ones were added, then it would be even worse.

DMB

Rosie, I don't have L6 yet. Are you referring to the 'whole' topic section? (example below). I really like the horizontal row across the top.

Rosie Perera

Rosie, I don't have L6 yet. Are you referring to the 'whole' topic section? (example below). I really like the horizontal row across the top.

..

Yes, I'm referring to the Topic section that appeared across the top of search results (in Entire Library) in L5. I liked it. Mark is glad it was removed, but wouldn't mind having it in the Everything search. I for one detest the Everything search. It's got too much kitchen sink for me. I like the more streamlined search but I did always like having the Topic section. If they could give us a way of customizing the template for our Everything search, so that we can have just what we want in it (I'd put back the Topic section and Your Books and Library Results, to mimic how L5's Basic search worked), then I'd be happy.

Todd Phillips

I think it should still be in the regular search too. Seems like it was still in the All Resources search late into 6.0 beta cycle....was it removed in 6.0a? or is it a regression bug (since there isn't an equivalent search anywhere as far as I can tell)?

Dave Hooton

Yes, very helpful things are always added, but I don't understand removing features.

Other than the Topic section, what else are you missing?

Simon’s Brother

I'd like to point out another reason why I believe the topic section needs to be added into Everything Search. If you take a look at the screen shot below of the old Search Entire Library in the topic section you will notice in addition to providing a launching point for a topic guide and providing suggested alternative searches it also searched for relevant reading lists.

An Everything Search is not really an Everything Search because you have to run a topic guide and open the reading lists tool separately to actually search everything.

I don't believe it holds that because Factbook is available in Logos 6 a topic section is not required in Logos 6 Everything Search. Factbook doesn't provide links to relevant topic guides , it does not search for relevant reading lists , and it does not provide alternate search terms. I don't see these things as logically fitting in the Factbook anyway and believe they should be in the Everything Search tool which then becomes a launch point to your library, topic guides, reading list, factbook etc.

Cynthia Tucker

Other than the Topic section, what else are you missing?

The visible Work offline option is missing. Now you have to hit Ctrl something to start Logos up when not online? Being able to just select that option was very convenient.

Dylan Rondeau

Topic Search (the Topic section at the top of a Basic search through your entire library) was my favorite quick way for looking up definitions and encyclopedia articles on all sorts of items in LCV (people, theological terms, etc.)

I looked into this, and there is a case to investigate the loss of this functionality. We'll reply to this thread once there's an update.

Roger Pitot

I'm bumping this because we've heard nothing for over a month, and since I upgraded to Logos 6 a month ago, it is the single feature I miss the most.

I am really struggling to weed out important results in a search. It's not really helpful when I'm searching for info on Athenagoras, for example, to be faced with a choice of only 2 dictionary hits in the Topic Guide (when I know there are others that aren't showing up) or else plowing through 2000 results in 1434 articles in 173 resources.

Wayne

I am liking the search function on Logos 6. I just looked up a very common word like resurrection. The ranked feature brings out articles that have that as a topic. One of the click on options that comes up is topic. It used <Topic resurrection> and brought up five resources in my library. The Sense search brought up 253 articles in 13 resources.

MJ. Smith

Current beta

Mark Smith

I am really struggling to weed out important results in a search. It's not really helpful when I'm searching for info on Athenagoras, for example, to be faced with a choice of only 2 dictionary hits in the Topic Guide (when I know there are others that aren't showing up) or else plowing through 2000 results in 1434 articles in 173 resources.

Roger, to relieve your current stress (a bit), you could add a Collections section to the Topic Guide (if it isn't there) and choose "All Resources" in that section. Here's what I get:

It is hard to see, but I get 68 results in 62 articles in 21 resources in my Library.

Mark Barnes

I am really struggling to weed out important results in a search. It's not really helpful when I'm searching for info on Athenagoras, for example, to be faced with a choice of only 2 dictionary hits in the Topic Guide (when I know there are others that aren't showing up) or else plowing through 2000 results in 1434 articles in 173 resources.

Until this is fixed, the quickest way to get the results you need is to click on one of the two dictionary hits you get, then click on the little plus next to the tab. You'll get a list of all the dictionaries with an entry for Athenagoras:

Roger Pitot

Thank you Mark - I never knew this great feature existed.

JAL

If you are following this thread don't forget Uservoice where there is a similar topic.

Bring back Topic Search and Fuzzy Search

http://logos.uservoice.com/forums/42823-logos-bible-software-6/suggestions/510241-bring-back-topic-search-and-fuzzy-search

Cast your votes.