User Notes Bugs (I think)

[basnyder527]

Dear Support, 

 

Context

I have spent the last few days talking with the tech support folks at Accordance via TeamViewer and they have advised me to request help in the forum from the developers (or anyone else knowledgeable). I had some notes that would not appear (as if they were lost). We sorted out some bugs with my workspaces (saved new ones) and some of my notes files appeared to be damaged, which they helped me restore. Finally, I have merged 2 notes files into one called "My Otsar."

 

My first question (about which I could not seem to get a clear answer on from tech support) is, can I use a single notes file for all my notes across every corpus or should I have notes files for separate corpora?

Why or why not? Does it matter? Currently, I have everything in a single notes file.

 

Problem

So, here is what is going on... I currently have 1 notes file called "My Otsar." In it, I have notes from the

• Bible (NRSV)
• Philo
• Pseudepigrapha (Aristeas)
• DSS

However, my notes file does not display my DSS notes at first.

 

When I select "My Otsar" from the User Notes icon at the top of the Accordance window and open it, it only displays NRSV, Philo, and Pseudepigrapha notes. My DSS notes are not displayed (see Screenshot 1). 

 

When I select “Qumran Non–biblical Manuscripts” under “Notes Order” they DSS notes suddenly display (see Screenshot 2 and Screenshot 3). 

 

When I am working within the DSS and update a note, "My Otsar" will appear but only display notes related to the DSS. Yet, when I open "My Otsar" in a new tab in the same workspace, my DSS notes do not display as described above. I have to go through the steps just described (see Screenshots 4-9 in that order). 

 

Oddly, when I drag the tab of "My Otsar" straight up into the other tabs that are open in the workspace, everything disappears except the NRSV notes and I get an error saying that the Pseudepigrapha and Qumran texts are not available to Accordance. While I can select to organize the notes by Philo it does not display any notes from Philo and there are other oddities (see Screenshots 10-12 and then contrast those with Screenshots 13-14 where this is not a problem when "My Otsar" is opened in a separate tab).

 

It is possible that the notes feature is working properly, but if that is the case, I would like to put in a feature request to "fix" it because the way it is currently handling notes is very odd to me. 

 

Thank you so much for your help! I can gladly share a screen recording as well, but it will have to be by another means since the file limit is 2 MB. Also, you may feel free to call me. 

 

Sincerely,
Ben Snyder

[Joel Brown]

Hi Ben!  Its great to see you using the notes so much.

 

For your first question, I think its fine either way, but I personally like the idea of just one notes file to span all necessary corpora and tools.  To me, the structure of multiple notes files are for different *types* of content across the same range.  Any actual requirements to split up notes between different corpora would have gone away with our new notes format, introduced years ago in Accordance v10.

 

Aside from philosophy, there are pros and cons to each organization scheme.  If you are syncing your notes to other devices, having one notes file makes for a more straightforward, simple, sync process (argument for combined). On the other hand, it also means you may be syncing more information than you wanted, if for instance, you only wanted your NRSV notes on your other devices (argument for split).  Really, at the end of the day, it is just your personal preference for organization.

 

Regarding the bugs and oddities you noted, I believe these are mostly bugs, but I think they have also been fixed in our upcoming version of Accordance.  Silas, another developer, will jump in and let you know the status of the issues you reported.

[Silas Marrs]

Ok, there are definitely a few things here that I haven't fixed yet.  I'll make sure to sort them out before 12.3.0

[basnyder527]

Thank you Joel and Silas,

 

If you want more info about my situation, feel free to contact me Silas. If the screenshots are sufficient for you to work things out, then that's great too. 

 

In the meantime, is there any cause for concern about my notes? Just keep using them as normal?

 

Ben

[Silas Marrs]

Using them as normal should probably be fine.  I do wonder if you would be willing to send me a copy of your notes file for me to test?  I've sent you my email address in a private message.