languages functioning how they do on Mac

[Kristin]

Someone else had a font viewing question, and while responding I almost mentioned that I had my own feature request with font and wrote the below, but then I figured that I needed to post this separately since his issue was viewing and mine is typing.

 

This post actually contains two separate requests:

1 - Concerning Greek and Hebrew, I wish that when I type it just knows what language I am using. For example, this is a δ or this is a ה, it is not a problem at all to type in as many languages as I want in the same sentence. However, if I type in Accordance the languages can only be used one at a time. This is inconvenient when typing in Tools, as the system can't flip back and forth between Hebrew and other languages, whereas if I do so in other programs (like this website, for example, or Numbers, or MacMail, or anything,...) it is not a problem at all. I can even write "eloהִ֑im" if I really want to. However, it is a real a problem with Research since I can't put two languages together. For example typing "an מַלְאַ֧ךְ of the LORD" in Research to find that exact hit (since some resources do this), is not possible and the closest I can do is writing it in parts with two lines and the WITHIN command, which causes a bunch of unnecessary false hits.

 

2 - Somewhat similar, I hope the system can recognize the difference between "God's" and "gods" as these are not the same concept. While I can use the = to get one or the other, the = does not work in Research and finds both "God's" and "gods".

 

Thank you for considering this,

Kristin

 

[Mark Allison]

1) Accordance isn't unicode-based at this time. It would require a substantial re-write of our code, and I wouldn't expect this anytime soon.

2) Placing the = sign in front of God's or gods to force Accordance to consider case is working for me in the Research tab. If you're looking for the possessive form, try =God*s

Edited February 3, 2022 by Mark Allison

[Kristin]

Hi @Mark Allison,

Ok, thank you for clarifying. If it would require a major re-write, that would for sure not be worth it. If you do not mind, could you briefly explain what Unicode is? So it sounds like my Mac is using Unicode for Numbers and Mail, I guess. But if Accordance is not using Unicode, what does it use instead?

 

On a more relevant note, I am actually looking for the the opposite, trying to find "gods" in research and obviously there are thousands and thousands of "God's" coming up with it making it basically impossible to search.

 

If you don't mind, I would like to just explain what I am ultimately trying to do. The question revolves around Ac 23:8 where the Pharisees acknowledge "them all" and I am basically wondering "them all what?" While I know a lot of people may say angels and be done with it, I am not so sure since Judaism has multiple OT references of being polytheistic, and I am trying to do research on what gods were still around in the 1st century.

 

I have tried "first century" within "gods" or "Jews" within "gods" and obviously I am getting no-where since it just captures "God's" and such.

 

I am not even sure what book would even address something so abstract so maybe without "gods" as an option I need to forget Research and just look at a resource, but I am not sure where to go.

 

Sincerely,

Kristin

[Mark Allison]

A unicode font (like Times New Roman) can contain over tens of thousands of characters. Standard fonts, such as OpenType or TrueType fonts, can only contain enough data for a single language (and sometimes less than that). Accordance can export in unicode fonts, and unicode is used for User Notes and User Tools, but not throughout the rest of the system. It's certainly something we'd love to see, but it's going to be a big project.

 

As far as using the = sign to specify case sensitivity, it works in the Research Tab when you're searching Text, but not Tools. At present time, the = sign doesn't work with any Tool (if you open a Tool and select Search—>Enter Symbol, you'll see that "Exact Form" is grayed out. 

[Kristin]

Hi @Mark Allison,

I see. Thank you for clarifying the distinction of the types of fonts.

Concerning the = sign, just to understand, by Tool, that is not just a Tool I create, but any module is a Tool. Is this correct? Since I can't use Research, I just opened DDD and typed =gods which does not work. But that is expected since it is a "tool". Is this correct?

[Mark Allison]

10 minutes ago, Kristin said:

Hi @Mark Allison,

I see. Thank you for clarifying the distinction of the types of fonts.

Concerning the = sign, just to understand, by Tool, that is not just a Tool I create, but any module is a Tool. Is this correct? Since I can't use Research, I just opened DDD and typed =gods which does not work. But that is expected since it is a "tool". Is this correct?

That's correct. If you look in your Library, we divide almost everything into those two categories. You can think of Texts as your Bibles and Tools as everything else. That's obviously not exactly correct; more correctly Texts are your primary sources and Tools are your secondary sources. So a Text could be the NRSV, Josephus in Greek, or Philo. 

You'll also notice that Texts don't have a Table of Contents button like Tools do. Also, Texts can only be searched by Verse, Word, Flex, Letters, or (in some cases) Section Headings, while Tools can have any number of specialized search fields. 

[Fabian]

2 hours ago, Mark Allison said:

1) Accordance isn't unicode-based at this time. It would require a substantial re-write of our code, and I wouldn't expect this anytime soon.
 

Ah, you talk about a feature request I had for years. Thanks for the reminder.

[Mark Allison]

8 minutes ago, Fabian said:

Ah, you talk about a feature request I had for years. Thanks for the reminder.

I think this feature has been requested for as long as there have been unicode fonts. I'd REALLY love to see this happen soon.