New Textbase

When you use Orbis to search your files, you search a defined set of files. That set of files is called a textbase. The textbase you search can be either of the following:

Automatic Textbase: In popup Orbis, certain textbases can be created automatically. For example, you can search all of the files in the current folder, or all of the 100 most recently edited NB files, or all note-taking files linked to the Ibidem database in the active file. See Automatic Textbases.

User-Defined Textbase: You can define a set of files to be searched, normally consisting of all files in specified folders. The process of creating your own user-defined textbase is described here.

To create a new user-defined textbase, you define a set of files to be searched and create an index of every word in those files. This process is called creating a textbase. You can select either individual files, or folders that contain files with specified extensions. Traditionally, Orbis could only search .NB or .TXT files. Now, if you have purchased, Orbis+, you will be able to also include PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF and HTML files. If you specify folders and file types (as opposed to individual files), then any file that is later added to that folder will be automatically added to your Orbis textbase. If you select a folder to be included, you can specify that subfolders are also included.

The most basic way to create a textbase is to use the pre-defined Files in Documents Folders Textbase. This is a textbase that includes all of the .NB files in your Documents folders, that is, your Windows Documents folder and subfolders, and your Nota Bene document folder and subfolders. The textbase that is created is named "Nota Bene files." Most people save their documents in one or more of these Documents folders, and this textbase works well for beginners.

As you become more familiar with Orbis, you may wish to have different textbases for different purposes. For example, you might want to have a "Research" textbase that you use to search only documents that are related to your research. By default, the paragraph is the "entry" or basic unit of text that is searched and retrieved. But a textbase can be set up to use a different type of entry -- e.g. sentences or whole files. See Entries.

When you create a textbase, the instructions you provide are stored in index and management files that are saved in the Textbase subfolder of your Nota Bene Home folder (You can specify a different folder, but there is normally no need to do so.) For information about your Nota Bene Home folder, see Folder/File Structure or Cloud Storage or www.notabene.com/setup.html

The program generates an index of every word in every document that is in the textbase. For a large textbase, the creation of this index may take several minutes, but once the index is created, your Orbis searches will be almost instantaneous, even for a very large textbase. If your textbase includes PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF and/or HTML files, the initial creation of the textbase will take even longer (hours in some cases). The process of creating a textbase does nothing to change the Nota Bene files that you have written and saved. The same files or folders can be included in more than one textbase.

1	Open the Orbis Gateway. From the main Nota Bene screen, clicking Tools, Orbis will open either Orbis Gateway or the most recently used textbase. From an open Orbis textbase, click File, Orbis Gateway.

2	Click the Create New button. The Create New Textbase dialog will open.

3	Fill in the information as follows, and then click GO. For detailed instructions for each of the different types of textbases that are available, click the links below.

Textbase Name: Type in an identifying name for the textbase. The name you choose will display in textbase dropdown list that is used for selecting a textbase to search, and in the Open Textbase and Maintain Textbase dialogs. If you select Files in Documents Folders, the name "Nota Bene files" will be filled in automatically.

Create Management Files In: Index and management files will be created in the folder shown in this field. It is recommended that you accept the default setting in this field, but if you would like to save the index and management files in a different folder, you can do so by typing in a different path or by clicking the button to the right of the field to browse through a tree of your available folders (and/or to create a new folder).

Files in Documents Folders: This option is the quickest and easiest way to create a textbase. It indexes all of the .NB files in your Documents folders (your Nota Bene document folder in your and your Windows or Mac Documents folder and any subfolders of these Document folders). The textbase that is created is named "Nota Bene Files."

Files/Folders Selected by User: This option allows you to choose which files and/or folders will be included in your textbase. This option is useful if you want to be able to search some, but not all, of your files. For example, you might want to create a "Research" textbase to search your research files and a "Personal" textbase to search your personal documents. If you have purchased Orbis+, use this option or one of the following options if you want to include PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF and/or HTML files in your textbase.

Ibidem Note-Taking Files: This option is used to create a textbase of all of the documents that are dynamically linked to an Ibidem database.

Custom Format: This option gives you the most flexibility in setting up your textbase. In addition to choosing the name of the textbase and the files/folders and file types to be searched, you can select the type of entry to be used, keyword settings, capitalization, and more.

Create New Textbase