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A Brief Guide to PatMotif

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The PAT Window (2.1.1)

The PAT window contains five areas which are described in detail in relevant sections of the PatMotif manual from which these sections are excerpted. The following is a brief overview:

Menu area: The Menu area, or Menu bar, runs across the top of the PAT window. This area contains labels which may be used to activate pull-down menus.

Data Entry area: The Data Entry area is identified by the prompt "Search For:". This area is used for entering strings for searching and file names for importing and exporting results.

Results area: The Results area displays one line of information for each search during the session. The Results includes three columns: Result, Component, and Count (see Section 3.4 for more detail). When the total number of results for a session exceeds the available space, a vertical bar to the right of the area allows scrolling through the session history.

Sample area: The Sample area displays one line of context for each member of a sample set for a given result. Scroll bars allow you to view a larger number of matches or more context.

Components area: The Components area, which runs down the right side of the PAT window, outlines the text components that are predefined for the text database you are using. Text databases may consist of different sets of components. The ones used to illustrate this tutorial will differ from those in the database you use.

Button area: The Button area includes the Display and Cancel buttons. They are situated above the Components area on the right side of the PAT window.

The LECTOR Window (2.1.2)

The LECTOR window shows the context of a single result. To activate LECTOR, click with the mouse on one sample of results in the Pat window. (See section 4.1 of this help sheet and section 4 of the PatMotif manual for more detail.) The following is a brief overview:

Menu area: The Menu area, or Menu bar, runs across the top of the LECTOR window. There are two pull-down menus available for navigation and changing display format. A Help menu is optional.

Text area: The Text area of the LECTOR window is the area in which the text is displayed. This area utilizes the majority of the space in the LECTOR window.

Navigation area: The Navigation area runs across the bottom of the LECTOR window. It contains buttons that enable easy navigation through the text being displayed.

Search Basics (3)

PAT allows you to search for any sequence of characters, including letters, numerals and nonalphanumerics, with no loss in performance. Unlike other text retrieval systems, PAT is not restricted to searching for words. PAT searches on all sequences of characters in the same way. Word or unit delimiters - usually blanks - are simply alternate characters to PAT. For ease of use in this manual, the character sequences are arbitrarily divided into partial sequences, words and phrases.

Partial Sequence Searching (3.1)

A partial sequence is a string of characters that does not specifically form a complete word or unit. For example, the search string "pin" is a partial sequence of any character string beginning with " p in" such as "pint ","pinafore ", and "pinto ". A search on "pin" also retrieves the word "pin " since it includes the same sequence of characters. The PAT system is not limited, however, to retrieving only the word "pin " when the blank delimiting the word is not included in the search string. Similarly, the search string " 19 " is a partial sequence of any character string beginning with " 19 " such as " 1993 ", " 19abc ", and " l9@20n2L ". A search on " 19 " also retrieves the number " 19 " since it includes the same sequence of characters. The PAT system is not limited, however, to retrieving only the number "19 " when the blank delimiting the number is not included in the search string. To search for the partial sequence "music" (and therefore retrieve all words and phrases that begin with this character sequence):

  1. Move the mouse cursor into the PAT window.
  2. Enter the character sequence "music" in the Data Entry area. It is not necessary to enter the double quote marks.
  3. Press the return key.

Word Searching

In order to search for single complete words or units, you must enter a blank (press the space bar) or other delimiter after the character sequence. This applies to any character sequence including letters, numbers, nonalphanumerics or any combination of these characters. For example, "raunchy " rather than "raunchy" or "19 " in place of " 19 " are entered. To search for the word "raunchy ":

  1. Move the mouse cursor into the PAT window.
  2. Enter the character sequence "raunchy " in the Data Entry area, not forgetting the final space. It is not necessary to enter the double quote marks.
  3. Press the return key.

Phrase Searching (3.3)

A phrase consists of more than one word or unit separated by blanks or another delimiter. Phrase searching proceeds in exactly the same way as partial sequence and word searching. Phrase searching, including very common words such as "by ", "to ", "and ", "or ", as well as letters, numbers and nonalphanumerics, is possible with PAT without affecting speed of retrieval. If the phrase is longer than the Data Entry area, the text will scroll as it is entered to provide sufficient space. A phrase may end in a partial sequence or a blank, and PAT will retrieve all matches to the character sequence. To search for the two-word phrase "music by ":

  1. Move the cursor into the PAT window.
  2. Enter the character sequence "music by ".
  3. Press the return key.

To search for the phrase beginning with the word and partial sequence "music by ":

  1. Move the mouse cursor into the PAT window.
  2. Enter the character sequence "music by".
  3. Press the return key.

Proximity Searching (7.4)

To search for two words near each other, use the Combine menu's Near option. For example, if you wish to research music specifically for the viola, you might try the phrase "viola music ", but you will find 0 results. To search"music" near "viola" (but not necessarily beside it),use Combine and Near:

  1. Place the mouse over the Combine menu and press the left button.
  2. Select the Near option with the mouse.
  3. A prompt appears in the Data Entry area requiring that a selection be made.
  4. Select a text result or component from the Results or Components area and press the left button.
  5. Select a text result or component from the Results or Components area.
  6. View the result of the process in the Results area.

Summary of Results (3.4)

Each time a search is carried out by PAT, a summary of the result of that search is displayed in the Results area. The Results area is located under the Data Entry area in the PAT window. One line of information for each search is summarized in columns that are labelled Result, Component, and Count. The Result column displays the result number assigned to each search and the string entered into the Data Entry area to create the result. Search strings appear inside double quote marks in order to differentiate partial sequence and word searches: for example, the partial sequence "music" versus the word "music " which includes a blank at the end of the search string. The Component column indicates the component, if any, retrieved by a search. Searches can retrieve a set of matches to a text string (a point set) or a set of components (a region set). It is only in the latter case that a component is identified in the Component column; otherwise a dash indicates no component was retrieved. Text components are explained in detail in Section 5. The Count column indicates the number of matches that result from the search. For example, the word " music " is matched 3097 times within the illustrative database.

Sample of Results (3.5)

When a search is completed, a sample of the result appears in the Sample area. The Sample area is positioned below the Results area in the PAT window. The sample is selected to be representative of the entire result. The size of the sample is determined by available vertical space in the Sample area and allows one sample match per line. To view more context to the right, use the horizontal scroll bar that runs along the bottom of the Sample area. The content and layout of the Sample area depends on a number of defaults which can be changed for a session as described in Section 10.1 (Control Panel) of the PatMotif manual. There are also a number of Sample options available through the Sample menu, described in Section 9.

Displaying a Single Match (4.1)

In order to display the text component which includes a single match, make a selection from the Sample area of the PAT window. This sends the default component which includes the match to the Text area of the LECTOR window. The match is highlighted in the formatted text of the display. In cases where the displayed component includes more than one screenful of material, you can enlarge the screen or navigate through the data. For resizing windows, see the manual for your window manager. For navigation within LECTOR, see Section 8 of the PatMotif manual.

  1. Move the mouse cursor into the Sample area.
  2. Place the cursor directly over the match to be displayed.
  3. Press the left mouse button once.
  4. If this is the first item selected for display, it is necessary to wait for the viewer to start up.
  5. For the placement of the viewer window, refer to the documentation of the window manager you are using.
  6. The matched string will be highlighted in the Text area of the LECTOR window.
  7. Use the buttons or mouse to navigate through LECTOR (details in Section 8).

Displaying an Entire Result (4.2)

In order to display an entire set of matches, select a result from the Results area of the PAT window. All default components in which one or more members of the match set occur are sent to the viewer. If you select a result set with more than one hundred matches, a window appears stating that the current maximum has been exceeded and that the default may be changed by accessing the Control Panel option of the File Options menu (see Section 10.1).

  1. Move the mouse cursor over the Display button in the PAT window.
  2. Press the left mouse button once and the Display button will be highlighted.
  3. Move the mouse cursor into the Results area.
  4. Place it directly over the result set to be displayed and press the left mouse button once.
  5. If this is the first item selected for display, it is necessary to wait for the viewer to start up.
  6. For the placement of the viewer window, refer to the documentation for the window manager you are using.
  7. The matched strings will be highlighted in the Text area of the LECTOR window.
  8. Use the buttons or mouse to navigate through LECTOR (details in Section 8). 4.3

Introduction to Text (5)

Components

Text components are regions of text within a database. Text components generally recur across the database and are identified as a group based on the type of information they provide. Text components, also called components in this manual, are referred to by a range of names in the industry including elements, document structures, docs, structures, sections, and regions. To provide a concrete example, the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) database used for the examples and illustrations in this manual includes the following components among others: Author, Bold Subhead, Cited Form, Date, Definition, Entry, Etymology, First Quot.., Label, Language, Pt. of Speech, Pronunciation, and Pseudonym. Text components vary according to the database and are not imposed by the software. Databases other than the one illustrated here will have a different set of components.

Using Components (5.3.3)

Pre-existing components, whether predefined, dynamic or synthetic can be used to define the beginning and end of synthetic components. The beginning of each component selected will form the new boundaries. In the case of the OED database, for example, the Lookup Form component might mark the beginning of the synthetic component and therefore be included in the new component. The end of synthetic component might be bounded by the first Definition component which would not be included in the new component.

  1. Place the mouse cursor over the Components menu and press the left mouse button or select the corresponding hot key.
  2. Select the Define Component option with the mouse or corresponding hot key.
  3. A prompt appears asking for a selection defining the beginning of the component. Select the desired component (predefined, dynamic, or synthetic).
  4. A prompt appears asking for a selection defining the end of the component. Select the desired component.
  5. The Result column of the Results area indicates the scope of the synthetic component. The Component column indicates that the component is New.

Displaying According to Component (4.3)

Each database is set up with a default text component for display. The default component appears at the top of the Components area and is highlighted when the PAT window is first opened. The display component can be changed for all or part of a session as described in the following steps.

  1. Move the mouse cursor over the Display button in the PAT window.
  2. Press the left mouse button once and the Display button will be highlighted.
  3. Move the mouse cursor to the Components area and select a text component for display.
  4. Press the left mouse button and the component will be highlighted. This component will remain highlighted and be the default display component until it is changed again, or for the remainder of the session.
  5. Select a single match or an entire set for display (see Sections 4.1 and 4.2).
  6. To change the display selection or to return to the default, repeat Steps 1-4.

Using Text Components in Searching (6)

Text components can be used to refine searching. By using the structure of the database (i.e., its components), and combining text and components, or components only, search power is increased. Predefined, dynamic, and synthetic components are all used to increase the power and precision of information retrieval. For example, a search for the string "music " across the entire OED database retrieves 5473 matches. In order to narrow the result, it is possible to limit the search to a particular component - for example, in the same database, "music " occurs only 15 times within Lookup Form. Text components are used to carry out complex, hierarchical searches in order to retrieve precise information in a relatively simple step-by-step process.

For example, a user may identify all the 19th-century texts cited in the First Quoted usage of the word "music ". In order to constrain your search in this manner:

  1. Search for "music " without component constraint.
  2. Click with the mouse on the "Components" menu above the search window.
  3. Within the "Components" menu, click on "Within Component."
  4. The window will prompt you to "Restrict active; select anything." Click on the word you are searching for, "music ".
  5. The window will prompt you to "Select something to restrict by." Click on the component you wish to constrain by -- in this case, "C19." Pat will run the search, and will give you the number 1318 for your result.
  6. To constrain still further, repeat 3. through 5. When you repeat step 4, use your last constrained result ("music within C19") as your selected search object; in step 5, use "First Quot." as your element to "restrict by."

Pat will give you 131 results for this doubly constrained search. You now have only the 19th-century contexts containing "music "which were excerpted as First Quot. (first quoted usage).

In order to provide precise search control and maximum retrieval power, PAT allows you to distinguish between text results (points) and component results (regions). Text results indicate the location of a particular character sequence within the database. Component results indicate the location of a specific component (e.g., Lookup Form) that include a given character sequence. In combining text and components, you can specify the type of result you wish to have. A components including search retrieves the set of components that include a given character sequence (e.g., Lookup Form components including one or more occurrences of the character sequence "music"). A within component search retrieves the set of text points that occur within a given component (e.g., all occurrences of the character sequence "music" found within one or more Lookup Form components).

Within Component (6.2.1)

The Within Component option of the Components menu allows you to retrieve either a previous text result or a component that occurs within a given component. If two components are involved, and the second is within the first, the result count is zero. The system does not automatically reverse the search as it does when using the mouse (see Section 6.1.4).

  1. Place the mouse cursor over the Components menu and press the left mouse button or the corresponding hot key.
  2. Select the Within Component option with the mouse or corresponding hot key.
  3. Select the text result or component that you wish to retrieve.
  4. Select the component which it should be restricted by (i.e., the component it is located within).
  5. View the result in the Results area.

Limit Searches by Component (6.3.2)

The Limit Searches by Component option of the Components menu allows you to constrain all future searches according to any component - predefined, dynamic, or synthetic - available during the current session. The search limitation can be removed by an alternate selection from the Components menu. In the case of the newspaper database, for example, it is possible to constrain all searches to a predefined component (Headline), to a dynamically created component (all Headlines including the word "music "), or to a synthetic component (staring at the beginning of the Story component and ending at the beginning of the first Paragraph component).

  1. Place the mouse cursor over the Components menu and press the left mouse button or corresponding hot key.
  2. Select the Limit Searches by Component option with the mouse or corresponding hot key.
  3. Select the component by which you wish to constrain all future searches.
  4. In order to remove the constraint, repeat Step 1, and then select the Remove Search Limitation option.
  5. View the result in the Results area.

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