Retrieval and IndexingIndexing for fast retrieval is the main feature of Cardbox. Any word, number or date can be indexed in any combination and in any field in the record. You can see which items have been indexed in the databases you: they are displayed highlighted. Cardbox keeps a separate index for every field and this allows you to be specific in your searches. For instance, you can ask for items BY Virginia Woolf as well as items ABOUT her life or her books, etc.
Each field has a unique FIELD NAME exactly two letters long. The name of each field is related in some way to its contents (eg, NA for Name). Cardbox will display a list of the field names in a drop-down box after you enter a Search command.
To take full advantage of the fast retrieval, you should understand how Cardbox has indexed the various entries. So this section starts with a detailed description of how Cardbox indexes words, numbers and dates. The selection commands which you can use are then explained. Retrieval is not confined to indexed items: you can also search the database for unindexed text, but this process is slower.
INDEXING
In addition to keeping a separate index for each field, Cardbox also keeps a separate index for alphabetical strings, such as words, and for numbers and dates. For example, to select records:
by the name of the journal, ‘Adelphi’, you would use the command in the form: Search: Select: Field=PJ, Search for=ADELPHI
by the publication-date of 1967, use: Search: Select: Field=DA, Search for=1967
INDEXED NUMBERS & DATES
You can tell quite simply whether an item is indexed as an alphabetic string or as a number. Look at the first character of the item, ignoring any parentheses. The item is indexed as a number if it begins with 0 to 9. Any other character at the beginning of the item means that it has been indexed as an alphabetic string (ie, as an ordinary word).
Cardbox makes an assumption on your behalf as to whether a character is a number or a word, but this can be overridden.
The only dates indexed in the database are complete years (eg, 1967); as far as Cardbox is concerned, these are indexed as numbers.
INDEXED WORDS
If an item is indexed as an alphabetic string, the characters embedded in the string are indexed according to the rules summarised as follows:
a to z are indexed as the corresponding capital letter
A to Z are indexed
accented letters are treated as if they were unaccented (eg, é is indexed as E)
0 to 9 are indexed as ordinary characters
_ (underline) is indexed; it ranks as a space and is replaced in some outputs by a space
- (hyphen) each part of a hyphenated word is indexed separately, and in addition, the WHOLE word is indexed as one item without the hyphen(s)
other symbols are ignored
Remember that words separated by a space are indexed independently as separate words; and where the words are separated by a non-indexable character, that character is ignored and only the composite word is indexed (eg, O’BRIEN is indexed as OBRIEN). If you are looking for a particular key word, just type it in full and then click on OK. If you can see on the screen, words joined by underlines or other characters, remember in what form they are indexed.
ENTERING COMMANDS
Where you type in descriptors, they may be entered in upper or lower case. Cardbox will echo all commands back to you in upper case. Select, Exclude, and Include all require an optional field name and some text; Cardbox will prompt you for each part of the command as appropriate. Some of sub-commands have a number of further options; Cardbox will list these when you have entered the sub-command. KEEP requires a name to be entered after it, and Cardbox will ask you for this.
SEARCH AND SELECTION
The principal Search commands are Select, Exclude and Include. Each is followed by a specification which identifies a set of records. If you want to use complex criteria, you can do this by combining simpler ones. See
examples.
Selections are cumulative unless you undo them, so the second selection made acts on the result of the first, the third acts on the result of the second, and so on, until the Undo One Selection or Clear All Selections commands are issued. You can also save any selection by giving it a name with the Keep command, and combine it later with other selections.
AMBIGUOUS (FUZZY) SEARCH PARAMETERS
When you are in doubt about the exact spelling of the word you are looking for, or when you want to retrieve records on a range of matching words, use the ‘wildcard’ characters:
? (question mark) will match any single character
+ (plus) will match any sequence of zero or more characters
You can use any number of ‘?’ and ‘+’ signs, and also combine them: eg, SM?TH+ would match SMITHSON as well as SMYTH.
A ‘+’ on its own will find ANY indexed-word entry at all: eg, Exclude: PJ=+ will exclude journals (and books by Virginia Woolf), and leave you with other books, etc.
SELECTION BY NUMBERS & DATES AND RECORD NUMBERS
SELECTION BY NUMBERS AND DATES
If you are looking for a particular number or date, type it in full and then click on OK.
SELECTION BY RECORD NUMBERS
Click on Browse: Go to record: [record number]
These selection commands apply to records in the CURRENT selection and to record numbers in the sequence currently in force, as displayed by Cardbox in its message at the bottom of the screen: eg, Level 5 - Record 14 of 154.
SELECTION ON RANGES
WORDS
S+ for all indexed words beginning with the initial letter ‘S’.
E:K for all indexed words beginning with ‘E’ to ‘K’
+ for all indexed words
NUMBERS AND DATES
1917:1932 matches any number/date between 1917 and 1932, inclusive
1914: matches any number/date greater or equal to 1914
:1930 matches any number/date less than or equal to 300
LISTING THE SELECTION INDEX
If you click on Preview after typing the whole selection command but before clicking on OK, Cardbox will search its index for all words or numbers that match your specification, and will display them on the screen. You can interrupt this process by clicking on Cancel. You can then change your specification and try Preview again or click OK to perform the actual selection or Cancel to cancel it. The listing that you get in this case shows the matching words in the entire index, even if the cards containing those words have been eliminated from the current selection by earlier selection commands. The [Preview] & Count command, on the other hand, will list only those words which occur in the current selection, and it also shows how many times each word or number occurs.
THE [PREVIEW] & COUNT COMMAND
This command lists index entries which match the specification you have given in the command and which occur, indexed, IN THE CURRENT SELECTION OF RECORDS ONLY. For each such entry, the command reports how many records in the current selection are indexed under that entry. To display the results on the screen, end the command by clicking on OK.
SELECTION OF ARBITRARY TEXT
The Search Data commands look in a given field for a specified piece of text, consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, regardless of whether it is indexed or not. The text to be found is defined in exactly the same way as the Select and Exclude commands. Data commands do not distinguish between upper and lower case, and ignore special characters. The unit of search is the entire field, so the specification you enter must match the contents of the entire field exactly. Thus:
THE matches only a field that consists of the single word ‘the’
THE+ will match any field STARTING with the string ‘the’
+THE will match any field ENDING with the string ‘the’
+THE+ will match any field containing the string ‘the’ ANYWHERE
+ will match all the cards that have any text in the given field
2+7 will match all numbers and dates beginning with 2 and ending with 7 (as
long as they are in a field of their own)
You can also use a space in the specification: this will match one or more spaces in the text. DATA commands can be slow.
HISTORY OF SELECTIONS; UNDOING SELECTIONS; KEEPING THE CURRENT SELECTIONS
The Search: History of selections command shows all cumulative selections you have made to get to the current level, and how many cards were found at each level.
Search: Undo one level undoes exactly one selection.
Search: Clear all selections undoes all selections at once, and returns you to level 0, where the entire database is in the current selection.
Search: Keep this selection allows you to isolate the current selection and give it a name - rather like putting some cards in your pocket. You can, for instance, keep the current selection, return to an earlier level, make a new selection, and then Select, Exclude, or Include the selection you have kept. Very complex queries can easily be handled in this way. Cardbox remembers kept selections until you leave the database.
COMBINING KEEP SELECTIONS
The commands, Search: Keep: Select=[name], Search: Keep: Exclude=[name], and Search: Keep: Include=[name], combine the current selection previously kept by means of the Keep command:
Select will keep only the cards that occur in both selections.
Exclude will keep only the cards that occur in the current selection but not in the one specified by name.
Include will keep any cards that occur in either selection.
If you cannot remember exactly under what names you have saved the previous selection, then leave the ‘Search for:’ box blank and click on Preview. Cardbox will then list all matching names.
TAGGING
In addition to using selection commands, you can fine-tune your selection by tagging cards. To tag a card, press the TAB key while Cardbox is displaying the card; pressing TAB again removes the tag from the card. Alternatively, toggle the Tab button in the line above the cards.
You can tag any number of cards, and Cardbox will display a quarter-moon in the top-left corner of a tagged card. The set of tagged cards can then be used in further selections. For example:
To remove a few cards from the current selection, tag them and then use the Search: Tag: Exclude command.
To retain only a few cards from the current selection, tag them and use the Search: Tag: Select command.
Tagging is completely independent of any selection operations, and once a card has been tagged it stays tagged until you explicitly untag it (eg, by hitting the TAB key while it is displayed) or until you leave the database altogether. See also the next section.
TAG COMMANDS
There are four TAG commands available:
Search: Tag: (Un)tag record either untags or tags the current record (it is easier to use the TAB key or the TAG button on the third line).
Search: Tag: Tag rest of selection tags all cards from the current card to the end of the selection
Search: Tag: Untag rest untags all current cards from the current card to the end of the selection
Search: Tag: Clear all tags untags all the cards in the database (this is particularly useful in removing any left-over tag before a new tagging operation)
The status-bar at the bottom of the screen shows how many cards have been scanned and how many are tagged.
SELECTIVE SCANNING
The format of the Search: Browse specifications is exactly the same as that for the Select or Tag commands. When you have entered this command, you can use the scanning keys to scan through the selection as usual, but Cardbox will only allow you to land on records which match the specification you have given (eg, Right-arrow will not take you to the next record in the selection, but to the next record in the selection that matches the specification in the Browse command).
To return to normal scanning, click on Undo last move.
The Search: Browse command can be useful if, eg, you have to leave Cardbox in the middle of scanning the database. Note the record number on which you had to stop, and next time enter the command Search: Browse: Got to record, Record=[no.] with that record number. Then click on OK and continue.
Alternatively, remember something about the card on which you had to stop, say the name ‘Smith’. The next time Search: Browse: Step to specific records: NA=SMITH and scan all the Smiths in the selection with the usual scanning keys to see which one you want. Then click on Search: Browse: Undo last move, and continue.
If you use the Search: Browse command in the middle of a selection, to get back to the beginning after reaching the end of the selection, use the Ctrl+Home keys.
