DT3 Word Searching Capabilities and Concordance

DEVONthink Feedback
1

So part of the searching capabilities for words is finding things within documents.

This does not work very well with the Analyze Text Document Task ( or Concordance function). Let me give you an example and explain.

So lets say you are looking at a document and you find the word “cheatsheet” in a document as part of the analyze text function (I have 2 documents on homebrew application, one for cheatsheet, the other the release notes). So here are where the work flow problems start!

If I want to see if this word is found anywhere within the document I double click on it and it inserts it in to the search function. Ok so the word is searched for and now you can see that there are two documents, one I was looking at and another document.

So you jump to the second document, but you are interested in where this word is used as relation to the other words. I can search for it and it comes up immediately in the search window.

The problem is now that I know the word is here and I want to see the relationship of this word in the document, I can not easily do so (at least do not know of a way). I figured that the search functionality at least would highlight the word if you are looking at it through the search within document function.

Now I know you can also select multiple documents and find similar words within document (or at least I think this works by multiple document selection). But when you jump to the specific document the word is lost, and you have to find it manually.

If I am missing something my apologies ahead of time, if I am not then this is something that is needed, a highlight, or a search box sit-in the list /cloud area specific to that.

2

If a word is listed in the Concordance inspector, then it’s definitely in the document. Clicking on the word once should be sufficient to highlight all occurrences, double-clicking performs a global search.

3

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4

The highlighting is nice in a short document. It is not particularly helpful though in a long document since you have to manually scroll through and try to find the highlights.

Much more useful would be if a list were created of each instance of the word in context with a sentence or two before and after the word and if then you could click on one of those context examples to go to the corresponding page.

5

(Like in Taskpaper, HoudahSpot, MaxQDA, NVivo and others)

6

You don’t “have to manually scroll through and try to find the highlights”.

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…as well as Go > Next / Previous Highlight.

Much more useful would be if a list were created of each instance of the word in context with a sentence or two before and after the word and if then you could click on one of those context examples to go to the corresponding page.

This is already present in the Search inspector, so press Command-F and search the document or double-click a term in the Concordance to do a global search. This also opens an in-document search, showing just what you mentioned.

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7

OK I see that works well - thanks

8

Ok … yes… but go try to find the word on the right panel the you are looking for in Concordance inspector. Yes I know a word can be found in the document… that is easy.

Here is what is missing:

  1. Find a word in one document in concordance inspector
  2. Search for that word across multiple documents
  3. Open the second document the word is found in.
  4. Look at Concordance inspector, find that word without having to scroll through EVERY word on the list. <-- This is the workflow problem
9
  1. Find a word in one document in concordance inspector
  1. Search for that word across multiple documents
  2. Open the second document the word is found in.
  3. Look at Concordance inspector, find that word without having to scroll through EVERY word on the list. ← This is the workflow problem

I think this can be condensed to: A search field for the Concordance inspector would be useful. :stuck_out_tongue:

10

You can enter the first characters of a word to select it (just like in other views or the Finder).

11

The problem with that (and I knew about that one), is that if you have 20 words starting with a letter (which I had which was C as the letter) then finding it on the list is impossible.

Which is why I think that it either needs a find feature, or ability to take a word in the find window on the main or within the document and select it when switching.

12

You can enter more than one character actually.

13

Another good tip!

AND I finally understand why I can’t jump to different item in a list (such as going through the list of choices in the dropdown list of search predicates). I keep hitting one character (e.g. C) and hope that the selection will jump from “content” to “comment” and it is not happening. In fact, I should just type “con” or “com” quickly for jumping to the right item!

14

Actually, typing in multiple letters in the Concordance is moving the selection with each letter.
Typing wra selects a word starting with w, then r, then a.