Synonyms

Synonym files can facilitate more extensive and accurate searches of your textbase. The Synonym list lets you search for keywords linked conceptually, rather than simply searching for individual keywords. For example, you could use the Synonym list to retrieve all entries dealing with the weather - entries that include words like storm, rain, snow, sleet, haze, fog, etc.

In order to take advantage of the synonym feature in Orbis, you will need to enter terms in a synonym file. Synonym files have the extension .syn. The default Synonym file is nborbis.syn and it is in your Nota Bene home folder.  Most people use only the default synonym file. However, if you wish to define different synonyms for different textbases, a synonym file (with extension .syn) is created for each textbase and saved in the location of the other textbase files. Additional synonym files can be created as needed. Note that although you may have many different synonym files, only one can be active at a given time.

After synonyms are entered in a synonym file, a synonym search can be performed by entering a plus sign + and the synonym headword--the first word in a group of linked words. For example, to search for all the entries dealing with the weather, you would type +weather as the search string.

For more information about synonyms, see the following pages: