Modify the Empty FLEx Database

Modify the empty FLEx database created in Create a FLEx Database.

1. 1. Create a custom field for special tags that will get created in different step (e.g., call the field SPEC).  It should be at the Entry level.

   2. Create a dummy entry (model entry).  Make sure it has more than one sense.  This will serve as a model for the promotion script to know what main entries look like.  (It can have anything for the Lexeme Form and Gloss, but using something obvious like "MODEL ENTRY" will remind you to delete this entry after the import process and before you give the FLEx project to the compiler.)

   3. Create a dummy subentry (model subentry), with the following properties:  

      • Make it a subentry of one of the senses of the model entry (not the whole entry).

      • Set the Complex Form Type to be the one you want for the subentries of senses that you will be importing.

      • You will need separate model subentries for each Complex Form Type that you will be importing.

      • The Lexeme Form and Gloss can be anything, but something obvious like "MODEL SUBENTRY" will remind you to delete this entry after the import process.

      • You will need to fill in the SPEC field (next step), but apart from that, it doesn't need anything else.

   4. In the model subentry, put a text string into the custom field SPEC.  

      • This will be the “Model Tag”,  a marker to tell the Var2Comp process that this is the model subentry for a certain Complex Form Type.  It needs to be unique (not likely to be confused with other strings in the project).  Example of a Model Tag:  MODEL DERIV ENTRY

      • Your data will need to have a “Modify Tag” in it, to mark the entries that need to be changed to this Complex Form Type.  It would be good at this point to figure out what tag you will use in the data.  You will add it to the SFM file in the next step, and it will be in the imported subentries after they come into FLEx.  It needs to be different (and not a subset of) the Model Tag, but it needs to make the relationship clear.  For instance, a good Modify Tag might be _DERIV_    to go with the Model Tag of MODEL DERIV ENTRY

5. If you will be importing more than one Complex Form Type, then make one model subentry for each type.  Set the Complex Form Type, and fill the SPEC field with a different tag for each type.  Example:  MODEL COMPOUND ENTRY,  MODEL IDIOM ENTRY, etc.

6. Remember what tag you used for each complex form type.  You will need this information when you prepare the settings file for the Var2Comp process.