Create a Visual Filter

Visual Filters augment the text of a resource to focus your attention on specific features in that resource. This article will demonstrate how you can create custom visual filters to apply to specific resources. Click here to learn more about using existing visual filters.

 

Visual Filter Types

There are three types of Visual Filters. These correspond to three of the types of searches you can perform in Verbum. Visual Filters are also constructed in the same manner that you would create a search query using the Search tool.

• Basic Visual Filters can be applied to any resource.
• Bible Visual Filters can only be applied to BIble resources.
• Morph Visual Filters can only be applied to morphologically tagged resources.

 

Specific Resources vs. All Resource Types

When you create a custom visual filter, Verbum allows you to be as narrow or broad as you’d like. You can create a filter for a specific chapter in a single resource (see example below), or you can create a filter that covers the entirety of multiple resources.

For example, if you wanted to better understand how a particular author speaks of the role of the Holy Spirit in the act of Salvation, you could create a filter that looks specifically for “Holy Spirit” references within a specific chapter in the book. Conversely, you could create a broad visual filter showing any time any resource uses the phrase “Holy Spirit”.

Note: Depending on your specific visual filter, remember that not all resources talk about the Holy Spirit in the same way. Older resources may use “Holy Ghost” or others may simply say, “Spirit”.

 

Create a Basic Visual Filter

1. Click Docs > New > Visual Filter. (Visual filters you’ve already created will appear in the main pane of the Docs menu.)
2. Select the Basic Visual Filter type by clicking it in the top right of the toolbar.

3. Give your Visual Filter a name by clicking in the title field and providing a descriptive title.
4. You can leave the search field as All Text, or set the search field for your Visual Filter by clicking the Search Field drop-down menu and  entering a field, or making a selection from the list.

5. Specify the resource(s) you want to search by opening the Search Resource drop-down menu and entering a resource title, or by making a selection from the list.
6. Enter the query for your Visual Filter in the Search box.
7. Select the way your search results will be highlighted by clicking the Formatting drop-down menu and making a selection.

8. Open the resource to which you want to apply the Visual Filter. Click the Visual Filter icon  and select the Visual Filter you just created.

9. All of the results from your Visual Filter will be highlighted in your open resource.

 

Create a Bible Visual Filter

A Bible Visual Filter will use information about the biblical text that has been tagged by the team at Faithlife. This allows you to create more specific visual filters for the biblical text. In this example, I will show you how we can use visual filters to explore trinitarian formulations in the Bible.

Note: A member of the Godhead may be simply referred to by a pronoun and not by name. However, because Bibles in Verbum have each word tagged with specific information, the visual filter will now include pronouns in the results.

1. Click Documents and select Visual Filter from the left pane.
2. Select the Bible Visual Filter type by clicking it in the top right of the toolbar.
3. Give your Visual Filter a name by clicking in the title field and providing a descriptive title.
4. Set the search field for your Visual Filter by clicking the Search Field drop-down menu and entering a field, or making a selection from the list.

  

5. Specify the section of the Bible you want to search by clicking the Search Passage drop-down menu and entering a reference or range of verses, or by making a selecting from the list. 
6. Specify the Bible you want to search by clicking the Search Resource drop-down menu and entering a resource title, or by making a selection from the list.
7. Enter the query for your Visual Filter in the Search box.
8. Select the way your search results will be highlighted by clicking the Formatting drop-down menu and making a selection.
9. Open the Bible to which you want to apply the Visual Filter. Click the Visual Filter icon and select the Visual Filter you just created.
10. All of the results from your Visual Filter will be highlighted in your open Bible.

 

Create a Morphological Visual Filter

Morphological Visual Filters are constructed based on the morphologically tagged data attributed to each word. In this example, we will create a Morphological Visual Filter to highlight verbs in the imperative mood in the original Greek. This filter will identify commands in the morphologically tagged resources of your library.

Note: Biblical Greek has additional ways to indicate a command outside of the imperative mood. Therefore, this filter will not show every command, but only those from verbs in the imperative. Create additional filter queries to cover for other morphological constructions corresponding to commands.

1. Click Documents and select Visual Filter from the left pane. (Visual Filters you’ve already created will appear in the right pane.)
2. Select the Morph Visual Filter type by clicking it in the top right of the toolbar.
3. Give your Visual Filter a name by clicking in the title field and providing a descriptive title.
4. Set the search field for your Visual Filter by clicking the Search Field drop-down menu and entering a field, or making a selection from the list.
5. Select the section of the Bible you want to search by clicking the Search Passage drop-down menu and entering a reference or range of verses, or by making a selecting from the list.
6. Select the resource(s) you want to search by opening the Search Resource drop-down menu and entering a resource title, or by making a selection from the list.
7. Select the Morphology system you want to search by clicking the Search Morphology drop-down menu.
8. Enter your search query by typing it in the Search box. You can type your query, or make a selection from the list of suggestions that appear. To open the Morph search dialog box, enter the @ symbol and make selection in the boxes that appear.

Note: You do not have to make a selection in every column of the Morph search box. The visual filter will highlight everything that matches the criteria that you do specify.

(In the example above, the Visual Filter will highlight every occurrence of a demonstrative pronoun in an open resource.)

9. Select the way your search results will be highlighted by clicking the Formatting drop-down menu and making a selection.
10. Open the resource to which you want to apply the Visual Filter. Click the Visual Filter icon and select the Visual Filter you just created. All of the results from your Visual Filter will be highlighted in your open resource.