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Working with Search Results

Search results can be manipulated and printed within the FM Pro software or exported for work in a word processor.  From the system ‘Home’, users can review the found set of excerpts and print the output as presented in the preview layout.  Again, such layouts can be customized to suit user preferences and include any number of fields on the output.  Alternatively, users can choose to export search results for use in a word processor.  While somewhat more complicated a process, this strategy affords greater flexibility for users with respect to control over layout design and ease of use once the results are within a more familiar word processor software.  We have found the most satisfying strategy to be exporting results from FM Pro in a ‘merge’ format and then using a mail-merge function in a word processor to import the data (see below for detailed instruction).

Using a Word Processor Program to Manage Search Results

While scripts can be designed to simplify the export process within the EthnoNote system, procedures for using search results involve two stages.  The first is work within the FM Pro software and involves:

  1. Moving to the ‘Excerpts’ file within the EthnoNote system
  2. Carrying out any desired sorting of the search results
  3. Exporting the found excerpts with any other desired fields to be available with the search results into a ‘merge’ format file.

Within the word processor, the user then conducts a mail merge procedure to create a new file with the search results.  Essentially, the user will create a form letter using the exported ‘merge’ format file as the database.  This procedure in MS Word involves:

  1. Opening the ‘Tools’ menu and selecting the ‘Mail Merge’ option
  2. Choose ‘Create a Form Letter’ and then create ‘New Main Document’
  3. Choosing ‘Get Data’ and then ‘Open Data Source’
  4. Navigate to and highlight the new ‘merge’ format file created in the export procedure and click ‘Open’
  5. Click ‘Edit Main Document’ which will present a new menu bar that included a button labeled ‘Insert Merge Field’—at this point you are creating a layout for the exported information by clicking ‘Insert Merge Field’ and then selecting one of the available fields into your new document layout
  6. Once you have inserted all desired field along with any other text and desired formatting, clicking ‘Merge’ activates the merge and creates a new file with the exported data.

Finally, as the output will be organized with page breaks between each record, conducting a search for all page break--indicated by the symbol "^b"--and replacing them with a number of symbols and/or hard line breaks--indicated by the symbol "^l"--to clearly distinguish one record from the next makes for more efficient use of page space (for example, "^l", ^l", "******************, "^l").  While the details for a mail merge may vary from one computer or software to the next, the general procedure is common to most contemporary word processor software.