Search All Question

[Paul Daunno]

I am using Accordance 8.4.3 and I own the Library Standard, AMP, NKJV, ESV Study Bible and Graphics DVD. I've only been using Accordance for about 3 months, mainly for personal Bible study. What I would like to do is take a passage of Scripture and do a Search All of everything with the exception of the Texts so I can look at what each tool has to say about that passage.

 

Here's what I've done so far:

 

1 - Created a Search All tab with ^Command F.

 

2 - I selected "Scripture" in the left selection box.

 

3 - I selected "[All Tools]" in the right selection box.

 

4 - I entered the passage I'm interested in, 2 Peter 1:16-21 in this case.

 

4 - Clicked the Search button.

 

I get LOTS of results some noted as (Scripture), some (Entry), some (Reference) - Can someone explain what the difference is and is there a way to limit it to just one type at a time?

 

I believe I've done the search correctly but am wondering if there's a better way to study a passage. Would it be advisable to break the search into multiple parts by creating groups that represent the categories of tools (English, Reference, General, etc.) and do individual searches for each group? I suppose what I'm really looking for is a way to make this more manageable and less overwhelming. For this passage there are 400+ search results.

 

If you have a method/best practice that you can share with me that would be most helpful.

 

Thanks,

-Paul

[David Lang]

Paul,

 

About the only thing you should do differently is to put an equals sign before the scripture reference in the argument entry box. "2 Peter 1:16-21" will find any Scripture reference which contains those verses, such as 2 Peter or 2 Peter 1-3. "=2 Peter 1:16-21" will find only references which contain one or more of those specific verses.

 

The Reference or Entry field includes the verse references at the beginning of each article of a commentary or study Bible. Clicking on the links for the Reference field of the ESV Study Bible will take you to the notes on those verses. The Scripture field contains all the Scripture references within the articles. So when dealing with commentaries and other reference tools, the hits in the Reference field are more likely to be relevant. There's no way to limit the search all to just one field, but you can use the field designations to help you decide which results are worth exploring further.

 

I hope this helps.

[DanG]

 

I get LOTS of results some noted as (Scripture), some (Entry), some (Reference) - Can someone explain what the difference is and is there a way to limit it to just one type at a time?

 

I believe I've done the search correctly but am wondering if there's a better way to study a passage. Would it be advisable to break the search into multiple parts by creating groups that represent the categories of tools (English, Reference, General, etc.) and do individual searches for each group? I suppose what I'm really looking for is a way to make this more manageable and less overwhelming. For this passage there are 400+ search results.

 

If you have a method/best practice that you can share with me that would be most helpful.

 

 

I tried the same search (with David's suggestion for putting "=" preceding the scripture--Thanks!). I also got hundreds of results--too many to count. Now, I remember why I seldom do this kind of search--because the results are overwhelming and not presented in a very inviting manner. It's tedious to have to click on each title's triangle in order to see the summary, then click again on each reference--that's hundreds of clicks! (I know you can click on the module title to open the module with each reference highlighted, but then you still have to click on the triangles at the bottom of the window to move through each reference--it's still hundreds of clicks).

 

There's got to be some way to present the search results in a way that you could visually scan them for what might interest you. The same idea could be applied to searching all Bible's too. Getting the results your looking for is one thing, but managing the results is what is overwhelming, at least to me.

 

Paul's idea of grouping and maybe improving the visual layout of the results would be a big step forward here. This might be a great suggestion for the forum that's currently discussing improving the GUI of Accordance.

[David Lang]

Dan,

 

We've already got plans to do the very things you're suggesting.

[Paul Daunno]

Thank you David and Dan for your comments and suggestions. I wasn't aware of the '=' so that will definitely be a big help. Getting a better understanding of the Scripture/Entry/Reference fields also is a big help. I think for now what I'm going to do is to break my Search All into more manageable chunks. Part of the issue for me personally is that even with the Accordance modules I'm the proud owner of http://www.accordancebible.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif , I'm not totally sure exactly what I have and what modules might be more useful than others. I figured the best way to check them all out was to do a Search All and start digging into it. I think if I sub-categorize my modules and then do my "=2 Peter 1:16-21" search, I can take smaller more manageable steps. Probably over time I'll figure out which modules are best for different types of studies and that will help. Like most everything else worth doing there's no shortcut to getting the most out of Accordance. BTW, I do love it and have become a big fan http://www.accordancebible.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif. I plan on attending the full day training seminar here in Atlanta in April and that should help a lot too.

 

-Paul

[Timothy Jenney]

Hi, Paul!

 

Even with the high quality of resources Accordance offers, I find the ratio of "chaff" to "wheat" pretty high. I usually save "Search All" for those times when nothing else seems to work—or when I absolutely need every obscure reference I can find.

 

Instead, why not make a custom group of modules that you really like? For your situation I'd suggest one Bible dictionary (Holman will do nicely), a couple of study Bibles (ESVSB and Life Application), a book on customs and backgrounds (Bible Manners and Customs) and a basic theology (perhaps Berkof's Christian Doctrine) or Strong's Systematic Theology). That will give you a well-rounded set of resources that you can search with a single command.

 

You'll notice I did not include a commentary. That's because I am assuming you'll set your preferred commentary as the default. That way you can see it if you hold the command key down and hover your cursor over the verse reference. If you are using the ESV, you can also see your Bible dictionary's article on select words by doing the same over a word. [The ESVS will give you a basic definition of the original Greek or Hebrew word.]

 

Isn't it great to have so many books on the Bible you can pick and choose what to read? My father-in-law preached for over 40 years with nothing but a Bible, a concordance, a simple Bible dictionary and [i think] Matthew Henry's commentary.

 

We've come a long way!

[Paul Daunno]

Thank you Dr. J. Your suggestion is a good one and so I created a custom group of modules as you suggested (with the modules you suggested). That, coupled with using the "=" that David suggested, seems to be giving me a much more manageable number of results to investigate. What a helpful bunch of folks we have here! http://www.accordancebible.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[circuitrider]

Paul,

 

Great question! I too felt a bit overwhelmed when first jumping into Accordance. I just didn't know where to start. I still get the nagging feeling at times that I am overlooking some great feature that would add yet more pleasure to my studies.

I am by no means an Accordance Veteran nor do I have it all figured out, but I would like to add my 2 cents worth.

 

Dr. J's advice was excellent, and is exactly what I did to help bring some semblance of order to my studies. It made a world of difference for me.

 

What I did was make several custom workspaces and saved them each under a descriptive title. Within each workspace I had modules of the same genre. Here are some examples:

 

Reference - Holman, ISBE, Easton, Nave's, Smith's Dictionary

 

Commentary Workspace - Clarke, BK Commentary, Henry, Ryrie

 

Parallel Bible Workspace - ESVS, KJV, HCSB, NIV, AMP

 

So on and so forth..

 

I saved each of these Workspaces and placed them in my Favorites.

 

Whenever I need to amplify a verse or word I just right-click on it, scroll down to Favorites and choose the Workspace group that would best serve my intentions. Accordance then searches each of the tabs in that workspace. Even if you desire to search multiple types of sources (commentaries, dictionaries, etc.) at least you can do it in one common group at a time, instead of having to sift through a Search All results window. This helps me keep a decent workflow.

 

As you continue to use Accordance you will soon develop a goto list of modules. This will help you further customize and narrow down your sources in a workflow.

 

One more thing. Watch David Lang's videos two or three times. And if you haven't yet, subscribe to the blog, David Lang puts out some excellent tips. The same goes for Dr. J's podcasts, I watch most of them more than once. These sources have augmented my workflow results immensely. And I'm still learning!

 

I hope that all wasn't confusing but somewhat helpful.

 

Circuitrider

[Paul Daunno]

Circuitrider, I'm following what you are suggesting but wonder if you could accomplish the same thing by defining search groups. Go to the Resource palette, Search icon and choose 'Define Group'. Then you can highlight a verse or word and amplify to your search group rather than entirely different workspaces. Probably 2 ways to accomplish the same thing.

 

-Paul

[circuitrider]

Paul,

 

I tried the Search Group method and like it! It's good for a birds eye view of your search. The way I am doing it through a Favorite Workspace you don't get a search results window. The Search Group method will come in handy when I want to do a broad search but not an ALL search. I'll use the Favorites method when I want to my search within my goto modules (though the define group could work for that too).

Thanks for the tip!

 

 

 

Circuitrider

[Paul Daunno]

Paul,

 

I tried the Search Group method and like it! It's good for a birds eye view of your search. They way I am doing it through a Favorite Workspace you don't get a search results window. The Search Group method will come in handy when I want to do a broad search but not an ALL search. I'll use the Favorites method when I want to my search within my goto modules (though the define group could work for that too).

Thanks for the tip!

 

 

 

Circuitrider

 

I just tried your method by creating a favorite workspace consisting of the tools Dr. J suggested up above. I then amplified a verse, 2 Peter 1:21, to that workspace. I think I actually like this way more than mine because it skips the intermediate step of presenting the search results tab. Thanks for suggesting it! There's so many ways of doing things in Accordance, I love the flexibility!

 

-Paul