How to prevent auto change of search version?

[FredGreco]

It may likely be that I simply do not know how to configure the correct settings, but I would like some help with search versions. Bibleworks 8 appears to automatically change the default search version (on the command line) based on the last search. Is there a way to stop this? This behavior slows down my work, and is a little annoying. Here is what I mean:

• I am looking at a passage in multiple version mode. For example, 2 Kings 18:7, with ESV/NASB/WTT and BGT visible.
• My search version is ESV.
• I see a word I want to run a search on - perhaps a Hebrew word
• I double click the word and it brings up the search, opens the secondary browser window (great!) to the first result with all my versions. The search window shows the WTT results.
• The search version is automatically changed to WTT.

So when I close the secondary browser window, I now have the WTT as my search version and search display version. I need to manually fix it to go back to where I was (in this case, ESV). Is there a way to prevent the automatic switch of search version? I realize it may not be possible for the search display version (since that is what was displayed) but I don't know why the (default) search version would automatically change.

Any help is appreciated.

[Jim Wert]

I hit this problem frequently. I don't know Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, so I want my default display version to be NRS. When I hit the footprints, I want to see the context in the language I can read.
But most of my searches are lemma searches, so I will right click (once the popup gloss tells me that I am where I want to be) and search on the lemma.
And now I have lost the ability to hit the footprints, and see the context in the language I can read.

There are two flags in the Browse options that don't seem to work for me, one of which claims to be the answer to my need. (I document both only because of my felt need to ventilate.) Both BW7 and BW8 behave exactly the same for both of these.
1. (copying from BW8 help)
Maintain search version after lemma search
If this option is checked the search version will not change when you right click on a Greek or Hebrew word and do a morphology lemma lookup. Otherwise the version would switch to the morphology version used for the lemma search.
Whether or not this flag is checked, it switches my search version to the relevant Hebrew or Greek Morph version.
2. (again copying from BW8 help)
Automatically make morphology versions display versions
If this flag is set and you activate a Greek or Hebrew morphology as a search version, it will automatically be activated as a display version. This permits you to do morphology searches while having only the text version displayed. For example, you can do GNM searches but have only the GNT displayed in the Browse Window. For non-Hebrew/Greek versions, activating a version as a search version always adds it to the display list as well. If this flag is not set and you activate a Greek or Hebrew morphology as a search version, it will not be activated as a display version. This permits you to do morphology searches while having only the text version displayed.
Whether or not this flag is checked, it never adds the morph version to the browse display. Doesn't really matter to me, but inaccurate help documents are annoying.

The best way I have found to deal with this problem is:
Hit escape twice (to make sure), type nrs, hit enter, and try to suppress any bad words.

[Adamsen]

The best way I have found to deal with this problem is:

I don't use the secondary results window that often, but I would not be surprised if this is how it functioned some time ago. It may even be that this problem was encountered and solved some years ago.

A better way that the one you have found would be to report it to the tech support. They will ensure either that the help file is corrected or that the intended behaviour of the program is (re)implemented. I can say that for sure, because I have done so many times.

In my view, the very function of the secondary results window is to leave one's work exactly as is, do something else, and be able to return again and continue. If FredGreco's settings are the culprit, then they are here as well.

So, tell the support people!

[FredGreco]

Email sent. I would still hope to get some help here.

[DavidR]

I've just installed the upgrade to BW 8, with the latest downloaded updates, so that I'm using version 8.0.007m.1. I've been annoyed by these morphology issues in the past myself. (I read Greek and Hebrew, but I can't imagine why anybody would want to display the morphology texts.) I've just now tried unchecking the "Automatically make morphology versions display versions" flag, and it does work. I can search on a lemma, get the list of results in the search window, but not have the messy morphology version show up among my display versions.

However, when I click on the "footprints," I am advised that "The current search version is not active as a display version" (just what I wanted!), and asked, "Do you want it activated?" No, I don't; but when I click No, I am left in multi-version mode. The browse version and the search version, apparently, must be the same; browse mode has to pick one of the multiple displayed versions to use, and the only way it can know which one to use is to pick the search version. I wish it were otherwise, but there it seems to be. As Jim indicates, changing the search version back to what you want (and suppressing the bad words!) is the only solution.

The key is the failure of "Maintain search version after lemma search." Setting his flag doesn't work for me either -- doing a lemma search does indeed change the search version, and thus the browse version. This is the issue that the programmers need to address. If it's not really possible to keep the search version from changing after doing a lemma search, then the option flag needs to be eliminated.

Thanks, Fred, for bringing this to the attention of tech support. Let's hope for the best!

[FredGreco]

Any help?

I submitted to BW support last week, and have not heard anything.

[MBushell]

A little history may help to illuminate the problems with the secondary browse windows. The secondary windows preceded the Search Pane tabs and the Analysis Pane Browse tab. The bottom line is that there are too many fetures competing for control of the search version. It got even worse with BW8 when the search version was disconnected from the search results list. The original idea when we added the tabs was to get rid of the secondary windows and replace them with something better, namely the tabs. That has worked well, I think. I even tried a couple of times to remove the secondary window option entirely. That is still my preference. But any time we remove anything, and I mean anything, we get complaints and heartfelt pleas to put it back. So the secondary windows were put back, grudgingly. But we strongly encourage users to take advantage of other ways to manage multiple views. Trying to make them work without colliding with other features that share the same purpose, is difficult amd may never work pefectly. Put another way, problems with the tabs have a very high priority. Secondary window problems are, well, secondary.

Mike

[SkipB]

The one reason I would like to see secondary windows hang around is very selfish I am afraid. When working through the Hebrew text on a classroom projector. I put up a full screen secondary window on the projector, while I have the main program screen showing on my laptop. The text is all I project, but I have all other features at my fingertips. While the class looks at the displayed text I can reassure them with statistics about difficult forms they will not encounter often. It keeps them motivated. The secondary window is just handy to put on the extended desktop. Now if there is a better way to do this, tell me please, and you can take my secondary window away.

[FredGreco]

A little history may help to illuminate the problems with the secondary browse windows. The secondary windows preceded the Search Pane tabs and the Analysis Pane Browse tab. The bottom line is that there are too many fetures competing for control of the search version. It got even worse with BW8 when the search version was disconnected from the search results list. The original idea when we added the tabs was to get rid of the secondary windows and replace them with something better, namely the tabs. That has worked well, I think. I even tried a couple of times to remove the secondary window option entirely. That is still my preference. But any time we remove anything, and I mean anything, we get complaints and heartfelt pleas to put it back. So the secondary windows were put back, grudgingly. But we strongly encourage users to take advantage of other ways to manage multiple views. Trying to make them work without colliding with other features that share the same purpose, is difficult amd may never work pefectly. Put another way, problems with the tabs have a very high priority. Secondary window problems are, well, secondary.

Mike

I can appreciate that, and I am more than willing to live with a "workaround" if secondary browse windows are not a priority.

But I would respectfully point out that the tabs are nowhere near as robust as any other program with tabs (IE, Firefox, etc.). Not being able to name tabs, for example, makes it very impractical to use them on a multiple session basis. Not being able to use keystrokes to navigate between tabs makes them more difficult to switch between, etc.

I am not saying that tabs need to be perfect, but it would help people to give up what they have been using as useful functionality if the new functionality was either full-featured, or more detail was given (i.e. "we are working toward naming of tabs, etc.")

[Michael Hanel]

But I would respectfully point out that the tabs are nowhere near as robust as any other program with tabs (IE, Firefox, etc.). Not being able to name tabs, for example, makes it very impractical to use them on a multiple session basis.

Well at least this one is on its way to being solved if you check out the post on this feature being added.