Fill in the Reversals field

Using the content entered in Gloss fields or Definition fields, you can use the Bulk Edit tools to populate one or more reversal indexes. The Reversal Entries field in Lexicon Edit is called Reversals in Bulk Edit Entries. The Definition fields may have been populated by prior use of Collect Words.

You need to decide which of the steps below are applicable to your situation. For example, you may not need to copy the entire contents from a Definition field into the Reversals field, so you can skip that step.

1. In the Navigation Pane, click Lexicon, and then click Bulk Edit Entries.

2. Click the Bulk Copy tab.

3. Use the Configure Columns dialog box to hide/show/move columns (fields) and select writing systems, if permitted. Show one or more Gloss and Reversals fields.

4. Use the Bulk Copy tab to copy all glosses consisting of a single word into the Reversal field, as follows:

   • Click the Bulk Copy tab.

   • In the Source Field box at the bottom, select Gloss.

     (If Gloss fields are listed in more than one analysis writing system, make sure you select the correct one.)

   • In the Target Field box, select Reversal.

     (If Reversal fields are listed in more than one analysis writing system, make sure you select the correct one.)

   • In the If the Target Field is not empty area, select the applicable option, which is this case is typically Do nothing.

   • In the Gloss column, filter for single words using the following regular expression:

     ^[^ ]+$

     The regular expression consists of “caret, left-square-bracket, caret, space, right-square-bracket, plus sign, dollar-sign”. (You can cut and paste the regular expression into the Filter for items containing dialog box.)

   • In the left column, select the rows you want to change.

   • Click Preview, review the pending changes, and then click Apply.

   Copies of the single word glosses appear in the Reversals field.

5. Use the Click Copy to copy a single word from the Gloss or Definition field into the Reversal field, as follows:

   • Click the Click Copy tab.

   • On the View toolbar, clickto remove all filters.

   • In the Target Field box, select Reversals (in the correct writing system).

   • In the Reversal column, filter for Blanks.

   • In the Copy area, you should leave Word selected.

   • In the If the Target Field is not empty area, you can use the Append option, noting that the active filter allows only blank (empty) fields. However, you can select Overwrite any time you need to correct a mistake or you change your mind.

   • For each entry, click the word in the Gloss or Definition field that you want to use as the reversal index entry for that sense.

     Each word you click is copied into the Reversals field for the associate sense.

6. Use the Click Copy tab to append an additional word from the Gloss or Definition field into the Reversals field, as follows.

   • In Bulk Edit Entries, Click Copy tab, make sure Word is selected in the Copy area.

   • In the If the Target Field is not empty area, select Append, separated by.

   • In the separated by box, type a space (press the space bar on your keyboard).

     Each word you click will be added to the end of the Reversal field.

7. Use the Click Copy tab to copy the entire Definition field into the Reversal field, as follows:

   • In the Copy area, select String, reordered at word clicked.

     If you click on the first word in the Gloss or Definition field, the entire definition will be copied into the Reversals field. However, if you click on any other word, it will become the first word in the Reversals field. Any word in front of it will be placed at the end of the Reversals field with a comma between the two parts. For example, if you click on ‘quiet’ in the definition ‘to gradually become quiet’, it will copy ‘quiet, to gradually become’ into the Reversals field.

8. Use the Click Copy tab to add additional reversal index entries to the Reversals field, as follows:

   • If you are filtering for Blanks in the Reversal column, click on the View toolbar to remove all filters.

   • In the If the Target Field is not empty area, select Append, separated by.

   • In the separated by box, put a semicolon followed by a space (; ).

   • In the Copy area, select Word.

     Each word you click will be added to the end of the Reversals field, but it will be separated from the first reversal index entry by a semicolon. The semicolon is used by FieldWorks to separate different index entries in the Reversals field.

   • In the Copy area, select String, reordered at word clicked if you want to add the entire definition instead of only a single word.

9. Use the Click Copy tab to replace a reversal index entry in the Reversals field, as follows:

   • In the If destination is not empty area, select Overwrite.

   • Click a word in the Gloss or Definition field (or any other field), to overwrite (replace) whatever is in the Reversals field.

Tip

• You can right-click any row (sense) and then select Show Entry in Lexicon to see the results of your changes. Similarly, you can see the changes in Reversal Indexes.

• For additional information about the propose of this topic or when it may be of use to you, on the Help menu, point to Resources and then click Introduction to Lexicography.

Related Topics

Bulk Edit overview

Lexicography Tasks overview

Using regular expressions assistance