Once the SFM file has been cleaned up and the empty database prepared, then it is time to do the actual import into FLEx. The mechanics of this process are explained below.
There is a lesson on the DLS Course site that covers the general principles of importing a simple SFM file into FLEx. This explains the basic mechanics of the Import Wizard in FLEx, providing foundational principles that will apply to all imports.
Here are some videos about the most basic parts of doing an import into FLEx:
Import videos (playlist on the DLS Lexicography Course site)
Tables
Multiple etymology fields
Importing Extended Notes
Cleanup after the import
Import Residue
[Draft comments about Phase 5 errors:
There are quite a few situations that can cause failures in phase 5, missing or incorrect homograph numbers, non-digit characters in homograph numbers, variants or subentries identical to the entry headword, circular references (e.g., entry a is a variant/subentry of entry b which is a variant/subentry of entry a), etc. The errors are almost always related to variants, subentries, or main entries, but could be lexical relations or possibly references to other lists. One way to help isolate a problem outside the debugger is to disable some of the reference fields to see what makes it go away. ]
Some possible things to check for:
Be sure you have validated homograph numbers, using the instructions in the Verify Homograph Numbers section.
Are there any circular references? These should have been found by doing the procedures in the Check Cross References section, but you may need to run these tests again.
Are there any entries that have more than one \va field pointing to them? Or more than one \se field pointing to them? For the FLEx import, a variant or subentry can have only one parent. After import, it is possible to make the additional links by hand. For a recipe to find these cases, see the Check Cross References section.
Do any lexical entries end with a digit? If so, any reference to them (\cf, \sy, \lv, \va etc) will treat the digit as a homograph number, not as part of the lexical entry. You may need to temporarily append an alphabetic character at the end of the Lexeme Form (and in all references to it) so it will import correctly, and then remove that after import.
Adjustments to the database after import
Notes to the Compiler ("breadcrumbs")
Reversal Index
Formatting assistance
Archiving your work