Output information from text with the Show Command

The SHOW command, located in the ACTIONS menu, is a powerful feature for working with text information in askSam. The SHOW command allows you to use words and phrases to output sections of text. Much like you use a field name, the SHOW command will output the context of a word or phrase to the screen, to another file and even in a report. The SHOW command enables you to output using the natural elements contained within blocks of text. With the SHOW Command, it is possible to output sentences, lines, or paragraphs which contain specific words or phrases. For example, you could search through the complete testimony of the Iran-Contra hearings and output every line containing the phrase "Oliver North".

The SHOW command can be used directly from the ACTIONS menu to output text to a temporary file for viewing or can be used in a report to include output of text.

A. To use the SHOW command from the ACTIONS menu - For example we might want to see the lines around the phrase "Show Command" in the electronic version of the askSam manual...

1. Choose ACTIONS -> SHOW

2. Enter the word or phrase in the FIND WORD OR PHRASE box

3. Select a QUANTITY, STRUCTURE and DIRECTION. For example...

- 5 words before word or phrase

- 2 lines on either side of the word or phrase

- 1 sentences after the word or phrase

- 1 paragraph containing word or phrase

4. Click OK.

All items are output together on the screen. If you want to separate the information by document you can set a Search Line Separator in the FILE -> PROPERTIES menu. Once the separator is set run the SHOW command again to see text divided by document.

While viewing the text output you can double click on any line to go to the full text of the document.

B. To use the SHOW command in a report - For example if you want to search for a word and then output a certain section of text matching that request and combine that with contact information in a report...

1. Create a new report - TOOLS -> REPORT

2. Name the report and click CREATE

3. Choose REPORT -> SELECT DOCUMENTS -> SEARCH

4. Choose PROMPT

5. Type - "Enter the word or phrase you wish to locate" (no quotes needed)

6. Click OK on the PROMPT menu. Click OK on the SEARCH menu.

7. Layout the desired fields

8. Place your cursor on the screen area where you want the SHOW text to appear

9. Choose REPORT -> SHOW

10. Set "Use Last Prompt from Selection" to YES

11. Select a QUANTITY, STRUCTURE and DIRECTION. For example...

- 5 words before word or phrase

- 2 lines on either side of the word or phrase

- 1 sentences after the word or phrase

- 1 paragraph containing word or phrase

12. Click OK.

Note: You can set a Report Output Separator as a division between documents.

13. Choose REPORT -> RUN (select OK to save changes if prompted)

14. When prompted enter a word or phrase to search (I am using the word "communications")

15. View your report.

Note: You can double click on any line to return to the full document.

For more information on using the SHOW command in a report visit chapter 11 of the askSam Users Guide. You can view it online at

You can also use the SHOW command to output the first structure of each document. For example if you have a database of newspaper articles you can use the show command from the ACTIONS menu or in a report to output only the first line, sentence or paragraph to produce a summary of your document. To use this feature simply click the "First Structure of Each Document" option in the show command.

The SHOW command give you a lot of flexibility for working with unstructured data.

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