Dictionary

Tue Jan 31 20:42:39 UTC 2006

Hello all,

   Just my two cents worth about dictionary software, since I have been using both Toolbox and FileMaker Pro for a while now. 

   I was given a ton of data from a dictionary written with FileMaker Pro (around 23500 records) to put into Toolbox, and unless you're comfortable with minimal script writing, I wouldn't try going back and forth between the two, but rather pick one program or the other and stick with it. (...The reason being that Toolbox requires markers in front of the text of each field in order to "recognize" it, while FileMaker does not... The script was to insert the right markers in front of the appropriate text in the exported .txt file from FileMaker so that Toolbox could read it. 23500-ish entries X 20 fields = too much to do by hand!) The director of my research group on Innu-Montagnais (an Algonquian language) wrote and published her dictionary using FileMaker Pro, and it turned out quite nicely. If you're more concerned with the appearance of the final product and you want something more appealing to the eye, I'd go with that. You have way more control and flexibility over the l!
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 with FileMaker Pro, whereas Toolbox is quite limited with respect to page layout, so I have to say, I would not recommend trying to print your dictionary directly from Toolbox. HOWEVER, the same database you create with Toolbox can be read with another SIL program called "Lexique Pro", which is designed for creating a pretty-to-look-at and easy-to-use dictionary interface and works from the same markers as Toolbox. It has the added bonus of being able to create web pages, in case you want to include your dictionary in a web site. If you download this program, it comes with a sample dictionary to give you an idea of what you can do.

   http://www.sil.org/computing/catalog/show_software.asp?id=92 

   In my humble opinion, Shoebox isn't worth using when Toolbox is out there, so don't be afraid to check it out! The Unicode alone makes it worth your while... I don't know if you use any special characters, but we most certainly do, and honestly, it would have been a mess without the Unicode. Toolbox can read all your Shoebox data, so don't worry, you won't have to start all over again. It also comes with a great tutorial (downloaded separately), and you'll see once you work through it that it's not as "user unfriendly" as all that.

   All this, of course, does not answer your question of how to import data from Shoebox into FileMaker Pro... Based on my experiences, I think it's safe to say the two are not easily transferable, but I wouldn't give up on your current software selection just yet. 

   Good luck with everything!

  Sophia Stevenson
  University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM)

Nicholas Thieberger <thien at unimelb.edu.au> wrote:
        I would encourage you to persevere with Shoebox, and to look at Toolbox, the newer version, available for free from the SIL website. They also have training modules available at the same website which are well worth reading. This is very good dictionary software that gives  you many ready-made functions that do not exist in ordinary database software like FileMaker Pro.

  There are some websites that may help too:
  http://www.linguistics.unimelb.edu.au/thieberger/RNLD/RNLDfaq.html#6
  http://www.linguistics.unimelb.edu.au/thieberger/CALW/Shoebox5.htm

  A database program can be a good data entry form, depending on how complex you want your dictionary entries to be. A database program is limited because you may want some entries to be brief while others may need lots of subentries and senses of the headword together with examples. But when you want to produce a neat looking dictionary, both on paper and on the web, for example, Toolbox will do that as part of its inbuilt functions, and a database program will not.

  Can you find a linguist who uses Toolbox locally who can give you some help? Once you are over the first learning curve it is a great way to organise your dictionary.

  Nick Thieberger

  Dear Sirs  
  I found your contact in the Internet. Sorry for the disturbance. I am a linguist and I am currently working on a dictionary for an african language with the program Shoebox of the SIL. I am having some troubles. So I wonder if you could tell me how to import my data into an alternative software, for instance the File Maker (for Windows). I would be very grateful if you had any hints for me because Shoebox is not very user friendly.     Thanks in advance.     Kind regards.   

--   
  Project Manager
  PARADISEC
  Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
  University of Melbourne, Vic 3010
  Australia

  nicholas.thieberger at paradisec.org.au
  Ph 61 (0)3 8344 5185

  PARADISEC
  Pacific And Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures
  http://paradisec.org.au

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