8.0461 Product Info: WordCruncher Newsletter (1/384)
Elaine Brennan (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Thu, 13 Apr 1995 01:06:31 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 8, No. 0461. Thursday, 13 Apr 1995.
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 1995 16:43:35 -0500
From: johnston@ansel.intersource.com (James W. Johnston)
Subject: WordCruncher Newsletter
Elaine, I have had many inquiries about WordCruncher for Windows. Here is
the text of WordCruncher Views, our newsletter.
Thanks for your inquiry about WordCruncher for Windows. The following is the
full text of the
Spring Issue of WordCruncher Views, our newsletter. This issue is dedicated
solely to
WordCruncher for Windows.
OF SAILING SHIPS & E-TEXTS
Reflections on progress
With the release of WordCruncher for Windows, we continue our quest to
provide the tools
necessary to navigate, explore, and analyze electronic texts. As the flood
of information
increases, new tools and techniques emerge to cope with the deluge.
In 1945, Dr. Vannevar Bush, President Roosevelt's Science Advisor, foresaw
the problem we
now call `information overload.' He wrote, in an Atlantic Monthly article
titled "As We May Think:"
"Professionally, our methods of transmitting and reviewing the results of
research are
generations old and by now totally inadequate for their purpose . . . The
summation of human
experience is being expanded at a prodigious rate, and the means we use for
threading through
the consequent maze to the momentarily important item is the same as was
used in the days of
square rigged ships."
Years later, Randall Jones, now Dean of Brigham Young University's College
of Humanities,
observed,
"While it is true that we are living in the Information Age, it is equally
true that we are more adept
at generating information than we are at keeping track of it."
Perhaps Messrs. Jones and Bush would agree that WordCruncher is a tool which
`threads
through the maze,' `helps cut through the summation of human experience,'
and finds what is
important.
What is important? While driving home after dropping our children off early
one morning, the
radio announcer was recounting the daily gloom and doom story. I turned it
off and noticed the
world about me -- the ever-changing beauty of an Indiana sunrise, the early
red bud and
daffodils -- even managing to slow down and let a rabbit cross the road.
Though these things are
admittedly far away from text retrieval and analysis, they were momentarily
most important.
WordCruncher was created to help find what you are looking for and to reveal
what you might
not otherwise have known. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Tell us
how you use
the software, or how you would like to use it. Send us papers, reports, and
books that are the
result of your research. And we'll keep improving and upgrading=
WordCruncher!
WORDCRUNCHER - WINDOWS
It's shipping!
WordCruncher for DOS has earned a loyal following that spans the globe. The
Windows version
will likely expand our constituency.
Beta tester Dr. Erroll Rhodes comments, "The View program goes beautifully.
There is
considerable carry-over from the DOS version, and the enhancements provided
by Windows are
great."
New features include 10 indexing levels, collocation, graphics, hyperlinks,
expert and user notes,
synchronous scrolling, (awarded a U.S. patent), filters, enhanced frequency
distribution reports,
and more.
FILE COMPATIBILITY & SIZES
WordCruncher for DOS
The first questions asked is, `Will it work with my BYB files?' Of course.
Your WordCruncher for DOS files can be reindexed with WCIWIN. Simply add one
line to the
beginning of a file, rename it, create an ETX, and reindex. The whole
process should take less
than ten minutes per file (exclusive of indexing time).
Indexing Time: Indexing time is dependent of your personal setup. System
performance depends
on variables like processor and hard disk speed, caching, controller, ad
nauseam. However, as a
benchmark, a 4.8 MB file takes approximately 20 minutes on a Gateway 2000
486DX/50.
File Size: WordCruncher for Windows indexes files of any size. Although the
`linker' is still
available for updates, you can index large files in one step.
MORE INDEXING LEVELS
Up to ten!
WordCruncher for DOS allowed only 3 hierarchical levels of indexing.
WordCruncher for
Windows allows up to 10. These can be either hierarchical (Act, scene, line)
or non-hierarchical
(character).
Non-hierarchical index levels can be particularly useful when examining
documents which
include multiple speakers (plays, novels, interview data), locales or
correspondents (diaries), etc.
SEARCHING LIBRARIES
Search several documents concurrently
As our electronic libraries expand, it is handy to be able to search several
books at the same
time. WordCruncher allows you to select books from the Bookshelf, create a
search argument,
and then apply it to the books you have chosen. Results will be displayed on
a per book basis.
Then go to the Reference List to view your hits.
Of course, WordCruncher for Windows still supports string, substring, single
word and multiple
word searches with both default and user controlled boolean logic,=
including:
=95 And, Or, Not
=95 Before, After, Before or After
=95 Within of 1 to 65536 words.
Though search results are still displayed in the Reference List Window,
there are new and
improved analysis tools with which to consider results.
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION
A few new analytical options
WordCruncher for Windows has expanded its frequency distribution analysis
features. They now
include:
Table of Contents: Search results are shown with counts for each reference
code in each
reference level. You can `zoom in' on Hierarchical levels.
Percentile: Search results are shown in percentile levels. They can be
viewed in increments of
from .001% to .10% of the entire document.
Index Level Ranges: Search results are shown by reference code ranges. All
of the matching
reference codes for a given index level can be used to create a range. If a
document contains
writings of many authors, this feature can be used for word print analysis.
User edited ranges: These user-defined ranges can consist of unlimited sets
of begin/end points
within the text.
FILTERS & COLLOCATION
New features, new tools
Filters: Filters allow you to confine your search to one or several parts of
a file. For example, if
you are examining questionnaires, you may wish to confine your search only
to responses to
`question one'; in a play, you may want to examine only the dialogue of
specific character(s), etc.
Note that filters can include either contiguous or scattered sections.
Collocation: Collocation automatically extends your search by analyzing
words found around
your search word, and then showing you other words you may want to search=
for.
When searching for a concept, you don't always know every word which
describes it. There may
be other, related words, than those used in a search. The software looks at
every word within a
user defined boundary (between 0 and 10 words) on either side of your `hit.'
It compiles those
words into a list, and gives you a report which will help locate other words
related to your search.
GRAPHICS
Image Library Manager
The Image Library Manager allows you to include graphics in your
WordCruncher texts. It
provides viewers for standard TIFF, GIF, PCX, BMP, and DIB files.
You can build hotspot hyperlinks directly into a graphic file. Suppose you
have a drawings of an
airplane, a wing section, and the turbine engines. You can build hotspots so
the user views the
plane, clicks on the wing, sees a cutaway, clicks on the turbine, goes to an
animation, etc. The
applications are limited only by your imagination. Embed a clip of Old
Faithful on map of
Yellowstone Park on a map of Wyoming on a map of the United States, etc.
SYNCHRONOUS SCROLLING
A patented feature
The U.S. Patent Office does not often grant software patents. BYU's
WordCruncher development
team earned one for `Synchronous Scrolling."
Synchronous scrolling allows you to display two (or more) versions of a text
on the screen at one
time (e.g., translations, commentaries, footnotes, etc.). Though each text
must have the same
index level mark-up codes, the content can be completely different. When you
move in one, the
other will move as well.
For example, view the Hebrew and English versions of the Dead Sea Scrolls at
the same time.
Search for `ELOHIM' in one, the other scrolls concurrently.
HYPERLINKS
Another tool for navigating
WordCruncher for Windows supports several types of hyperlinks:
Internal cross references: Used when linking from one location in a document
to a different
location in the same document.
External cross references: Link from one location in a document to a
location in a different
document.
Graphics: Link to a graphic.
Graphic Embedded or `Hotspot': Link from a region in a graphic to a text,
another graphic, etc.
Bookmarks: Allows you to return to a saved location.
User notes: Annotate a text with thoughts or comments.
Expert notes: Used when distributing text to others -- to include your
thoughts and comments.
External tasks: Start other Windows tasks, such as the clock, a "terminal
session," etc.
DDE Commands: Allows WordCruncher for Windows to start up a DDE session and=
send
commands to another DDE Server.
Audio/Video: Start up third party audio/video drivers.
ETA, ETB, ET AL
WordCruncher has new file formats
Windows gives users detailed control of how text appears on the screen.
Where WordCruncher
for DOS could not display different sized fonts, with different attributes
and justification,
WordCruncher for Windows can.
Formatting: Windows allows you to control how `text' looks. You can define
which fonts you want
to use, what size they are to be, their attributes (bold, underline, etc.),
and justification. In place
of the DOS BYB file, we have the ETA file and the SIF file.
ETA File: The ETA is an editable file which includes text plus index and
formatting codes. If you
have an existing.BYB file with indexing codes, it can be used as an ETA file
with very little
modification. If you want to add formatting codes, you will need to place
them in the ETA file, and
then define those codes in the Style Include File.
Style Include File: WordCruncher uses a "Style Include File" to define how
text is formatted
and displayed. This file allows control of:
=95 document styles (margins, line length, etc.);
=95 paragraph styles (indents, justification, etc.);
=95 text styles (fonts, font size, color, bold, underline, etc.).
ETB File: The ETB (Electronic Text Book) file contains the information
WordCruncher
needs to display the text according to the index levels and formatting you
describe. The ETB file
is created as a result of combining the ETA and SIF files during the
indexing process.
COMPRESSION
Yes or No?
Prior to the Indexing process, you may now choose whether or not your ETB
(book file) is
compressed. If compressed, you may expect that the book file will be
approximately 55% of its
original size. Exact compression ratios vary.
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
Minimum requirements to run WordCruncher for Windows are:
=95 Microsoft Windows 3.1
=95 DOS 3.1 or higher
=95 IBM PC or compatible with 80386, 80486 or Pentium processor
=95 4 megabyte (MB) of memory
=95 5 MB of available hard disk space
=95 VGA / Super VGA graphics card
=95 Mouse
THE CONSTITUTION PAPERS
One of PC Magazines' Top 100 CDs
PC Magazine selected "The Constitution Papers" CD titles in their September
1994 Top 100 CD-
ROMs article. Calling it, "an invaluable reference tool for scholars and
historians," it was only
one of fifteen general reference titles chosen.
We will be releasing a Windows version of The Constitution Papers in Fall of
1995. Suggestions
are welcome. Please send them along to us.
PRICES
WC Windows $695.00
WC Windows Upgrade $249.00
Shipping (US) $ 9.00
Shipping (Int'l) $ 25.00
Constitution Papers CD $ 99.00
WC Scholars CD $299.00*
* This is now out-of-print. There are a very few copies left.
NEW ADDRESS
Hoosiers!
Many have noted our move. We are here to cooperate with IU in exploring new
technology --
particularly that for delivering electronic courseware and a rather exciting
HyperMedia Platform --
more information will be forthcoming.
WordCruncher still provides the ultimate in text retrieval. We appreciate
your patronage and
welcome correspondence.
Johnston & Company
P.O. Box 6627
Bloomington, Indiana 47407-6627
United States of America
(812) 339-9996 (Voice)
(812) 339-9997 (Fax)
johnston@ansel.intersource.com