D6. Working in the Browse Pane

This lesson provides a detailed guide on using the Browse Pane in FLEx to view, sort, filter, and configure dictionary data efficiently. Here’s a summary:

Objective:

• Learn how to add, remove, and reorder columns in the Browse Pane.

• Use sorting and filtering to manage and analyze data.

• Configure display settings to optimize workflow.

Key Topics:

1. Overview of the Browse Pane

• The Browse Pane presents lexical entries in a table format.

• Entries are displayed in rows, with columns representing different fields (e.g., Headword, Gloss, Definition).

• The pane consists of:

  • Header Bar – Used for sorting.

  • Filter Bar – Used for filtering data.

  • Data Table – Displays dictionary entries.

2. Configuring Columns

• The Configure Columns tool allows customization of displayed fields.

• Quick List: Provides common fields like Headword, Gloss, Definition, Grammatical Info.

• Detailed Dialog Box: Allows access to all available fields.

Adding and Removing Columns

• To add a column: Click Configure Columns → Select a field.

• To remove a column: Click on the field in the list to uncheck it.

• Reordering Columns: Drag and drop columns to rearrange them.

Resizing Columns and Pane

• Columns can be resized using a drag-and-drop function.

• The entire Browse Pane width can be adjusted, but excessive resizing may hide the Edit Pane and Preview Pane.

3. Sorting Data

• Clicking a column header sorts entries in ascending or descending order.

• Secondary sorting is available for refining results.

4. Filtering Data

FLEx provides several filtering options:

Built-in Filters

• Show All – Displays all entries.

• Blanks – Shows entries with missing data in a column.

• Non-blanks – Shows only populated entries.

• Spelling Errors – Highlights incorrect spellings (if a spelling dictionary is installed).

• Choose… – Used for list reference fields like Grammatical Info.

• Restrict… – Used for numeric and date-based fields (e.g., filter by date modified).

Custom Filters (Filter for…)

• Users can create custom search filters using:

  • Anywhere – Finds text anywhere in a field.

  • At Start / At End – Filters by word position.

  • Whole Item – Exact word matches.

  • Match Case / Match Diacritics – Refines search sensitivity.

Combining Filters

• Multiple filters can be applied simultaneously (e.g., finding verbs while excluding affixes).

• Yellow highlighting in the Filter Bar indicates active filters.

• Click "Turn off all filters" to reset filters.

5. Managing Homograph Numbers

• Homographs (words spelled identically but with different meanings) have assigned numbers.

• Users can edit homograph numbers in the Homograph Number column.

• Clicking Refresh updates their dictionary order.

6. Configuring Writing Systems in Browse Pane

• Fields with text support multiple writing systems (e.g., English, Spanish glosses).

• Users can display multiple versions of the same field:

  • Example: Gloss (English) and Gloss (Spanish) in separate columns.

7. Semantic Domains as a Thesaurus

• Semantic Domains help group words by meaning (e.g., all words related to "Animals").

• Users can filter by domain to find synonyms or related terms.

Completion:

• Includes hands-on activities for sorting, filtering, and customizing the Browse Pane.

• A quiz (80% passing score) tests comprehension.

• Encourages backing up FLEx projects regularly.

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com