45 Phrase Matching Tool (PMT)

The Phrase Matching Tool (PMT) enables you to find the verses that most closely match the content of a search verse based on the number of phrases in common between the search verse and the remainder of the Bible text. The PMT can be accessed on the BibleWorks main menu at Tools | Analyzing the text | Phrase Matching Tool or by selecting "Find Related Phrases" from the Command Line Tools options button.

The Phrase Matching Tool (PMT) Overview

The Phrase Matching Tool (PMT) searches for the phrases in a specified verse to determine the verses in the remainder of the Bible that most closely match the phrases that occur in the search verse.

You can choose the length of the phrase for which you want the PMT to search. You can also specify the number of words permitted between words in matched phrases.

The PMT search results display allows you to view the search results in the version of your choice. The search results can be displayed according to book order, the number of matches, or according to the phrases used in the search.

Using the Phrase Matching Tool

To search for verses with phrases similar to those found in a particular verse, follow these steps:

Step 1 - Select the verse to examine

In this first section of the PMT window enter the verse reference you wish to use to construct the searches. When you open the PMT the current Browse Window verse is entered by default. You must use the standard BibleWorks three letter abbreviations for book names.

Use this dropdown box to select your preferred search version.

Step 2 - Specify the phrase matching parameters

The Phrase length dropdown box sets the number of words that can appear in a phrase. Setting the phrase length to a larger number of words will reduce the number of matches, while setting the phrase length to a lower number will provide a larger number of hits.

The Maximum single gap dropdown box sets the size of the "gap" that can appear within a phrase and still return search results. A gap can be caused by either dropping a word from the phrase or by inserting words into the phrase. If, for instance, you select "3 words", verse text will match a phrase if  (1) it contains the phrase, (2) it contains the phrase with one of the phrase words dropped, or (3) it contains the phrase, albeit with one to three words inserted between two words in the phrase. This setting enables you to find phrases that loosely match (e.g. words added or dropped) the phrases in the search verse.

Step 3 - Find matching phrases

After loading the words, and adding or modifying words in the display window, click the Find matches button to run the search. You can also press the RETURN key with the input focus on the verse text box to initiate the search.

Step 4 - Select options for viewing the related verses

The verse list that displays the search results has a context menu that can be used to export verses and to customize the way the results are displayed. The options are as follows:

•  Select all verses - this option places checks by all verses (so they can be copied).
  

•  Unselect all verses - this option removes checks from all verses.
  

•  Copy selected verses to Search Window - this option copies the checked verse references to the Main Window results verse list.
  

•  Copy selected verses to Clipboard - this option copies the checked verse references to the Clipboard.
  

•  Sort results by book sort order - this option causes search results to be sorted by book sort order. The number of hits in each verse will be listed in brackets. This is the default setting.
  

•  Sort results grouped by most frequently used phrases - This option will display the phrases found with the verses containing the phrases. Each phrase will have in brackets the number of times the phrase was found.
  

•  Sort results by verse with most phrases - this option will show results by verse, with the verses containing the most hits first.

Other options

The Options button opens a menu which permits you to select other PMT settings. The available settings are:

Search all versions in same language

If this option is selected, the PMT searches all Bible versions sharing the language of the base version. For instance, if the base version is the NAS and this option is checked, all English versions will be searched. If the base version is the BGT and this option is checked, all Greek versions will be searched.

Search all Display versions in same language

If this option is selected, the PMT searches all Bible versions displayed in the main window's Browse Window that share the language of the base version. For instance, if the base version is the NAS and this option is checked, all English versions displayed in the main window's Browse Window will be searched. If the base version is the BGT and this option is checked, all Greek versions displayed in the main window's Browse Window will be searched. To limit a search to a specific collection of versions, set those versions as Display versions in the main window and check this option.

Use search limits from main window

If this option is selected, when the PMT searches for verses, the results will be limited by the Search Limits set in the main window.

On startup set search to main Search Window version

If this option is selected, when the PMT opens, both the PMT search and display versions will be set to the current main window search version.

On startup set search auto set to BGM or WTM

If this option is selected, when the PMT opens, the search version will be set to BGM for New Testament and WTM for Old Testament.