This is a request - I hope a small one.
What I would like is to be able to find the word "cáin" by searching for the word without the accent - just "cain."
Google search operates this way. Plugging in "cain" will give me results using not only that word but also those using "cáin." Searching for "dire" will give me results using not only that word, but also the word "díre."
Biblioscape search is wonderful, but this is one thing is does not do. Would it be possible to add that? My personal need is primarily for words using acute accents. Next in order of importance, for me, would be words using umlauts.
Keara, this feature cannot
Keara, this feature cannot be added for technical reasons.
Thank you for your reply,
Thank you for your reply, Paul. I confess I'm so used to you saying "We'll fix that," that I'm having trouble adjusting to the idea that there is something you can't do. :-)
Does it have something to do with the particular database program you use?
It also makes me pessimistic about my next question - would it be possible for Biblioscape to alphabetize by putting accented letters in their actual alphabetical order (A, A-acute, B, C, D, E, E-acute, etc.)? At present, they are all added at the very end of the alphabet, which is both inaccurate and inconvenient.
This request cannot be added
This request cannot be added in version 8. But I think it can be done in version 9.
Okay, good. I think it will
Okay, good. I think it will be a helpful feature for a number of your purchasers.
I don't know how Google did
I don't know how Google did it. I thought we can support this by allowing users to define a list of words that will be used in searching if any one of them is used. So this won't be automatic. Users have to make the list first. You may not be happy about this.
That would be helpful.
That would be helpful.
Not perfect, but helpful. :-)
I would assume that Google's
I would assume that Google's programming includes a look-up table that is used in parsing the search string that says that (for example) the characters á, à, ã, ä, etc. are equivalent to a.
Yehuda N. Falk
Associate Professor of Linguistics
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Is it that, or the reverse?
Is it that, or the reverse?
(Or do both amount to the same thing?)
Paul, I personally think
Paul,
I personally think that it is important for Biblioscape to address the issue of accented characters, both for searching and for proper alphabetization.
One of your markets should be, I think, people in the Humanities who will often deal with non-English words and non-English bibliographic items, and these will have very frequent accented characters. It's important to be able to find such words, and it matters that one can alphabetize them in proper order.
Fwiw.
That will be one of our
That will be one of our goals for version 9. Thanks, Paul