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The Best of Sherlock Holmes |
The Sherlock Holmes Journal e-SHJ CD-ROM is an outstanding resource for Sherlockian research. It includes numerous special features and tools that make finding material remarkably easy. Many of these are self-evident. Indeed, one of the e-SHJ's strengths is that its elegant design makes it intuitive to use.
However, there are always subtleties and idiosyncrasies that can make you even more productive when using the e-SHJ. The following are personal suggestions, not official procedures from the CD creators. I think you'll find them useful. If you have tips you'd like to share or corrections to this page, please contact me.
Top Tips! The top three tips to get more from the e-SHJ include:
1. The "Search" version of Acrobat Reader is essential. (More)
2. Use Logical Page Numbers to go right to your desired page. (More)
3. Save time when using the Index to locate multiple issues. (More)
You should also consider copying the CD-set to your hard disk.
While I think these tips apply to most releases of Adobe (Acrobat) Reader, the instructions refer specifically to Adobe Acrobat Reader with Search and Accessibility for Windows, version 5.01.
INSTALL ACROBAT READER WITH SEARCH
You'll get much better results by using a special type of Acrobat Reader program. When downloading or installing the Adobe Reader, be sure it is a version that is called "Adobe Acrobat Reader with Search and Accessibility." The "Search" capability allows the program to use the index files that come on the e-SHJ CD. While the Acrobat "Find" feature only looks in a single document, the "Search" feature will check all the SHJ issues at once and is much faster. In addition, it supports powerful Boolean and wildcard features. It is well worth the extra time it takes to download the larger version of Acrobat Reader with Search capability.
You can download Acrobat Reader for free from the Adobe website
Tip: To check if your program has the Search capability, open Acrobat Reader and check the Edit menu. It should have a "Search" option that leads to a Query command and a Select Indexes command, among others.
COPY THE CD-SET ONTO YOUR HARD DISK
All the critical files for the e-SHJ are on Disc 1. Thus you can efficiently use the e-SHJ without swapping CDs. However, it is still useful to copy one or both compact discs onto your hard disk. I found it essential to copy the Baker Street Journal CDs onto my hard disk. It's not as important for the e-SHJ, but I still recommend it.
By copying Disc 1 onto your hard disk, you will get faster access to all the issues. It's slightly faster to view pages in a single issue and noticeably faster to move between issues, especially when using the "Search" feature to locate all instances of a keyword. The files are always available for quick reference and you don't have to find and load a CD when you want to use the product. In addition, you'll be using a backup/working copy of the files, so you don't have to worry about accidentally damaging the original CD or placing excessive wear on your CD drive.
Copying Disc 2 onto your hard disk gives you instant access to the Membership Lists, Dinner Menus, and Christmas Cards. These files are included in both the e-SHJ navigation bookmarks and in the e-SHJ search index. You'll get an error message if you attempt to view those files while using Disc 1. Putting them on your hard drive provides instant and seamless access while using the e-SHJ navigation and search tools. The other files on Disc 2 are less important, but if you have the disk space it can still make sense to copy them.
The only significant issue to using your hard disk is that the files do take up space. See the copying instructions for details on how much space is required.
Please note that the CD material is copyrighted and you should only make a backup/working copy from an original CD set that you own.
e-SHJ Copying Instructions and Tips
FINDING & OPENING A SPECIFIC ISSUE OF THE SHJ
The e-SHJ provides a great tool to quickly jump to a specific SHJ issue. Each SHJ document includes bookmarks that identify and link to specific content. These appear in the Navigation pane on the left side of your screen, which automatically appears when you open an SHJ issue (See the Adobe Reader Tip for Navigation Pane for more details.) To find an issue:
1. Open the e-SHJ home page file (2 Start e-SHJ with Index.pdf)
If another e-SHJ file is already open simply click on the top bookmark labeled "Index to the Sherlock Holmes Journal."
2. In the Navigation pane, scroll until you see the bookmark for your desired volume
Tip: Pause your mouse cursor over a bookmark and the full text of the bookmark label appears with the volume, issue number and date. This allows you to keep the Navigation pane fairly narrow, providing more space to display the document, and still be able to quickly find the correct bookmark. I set the pane just wide enough to show the volume numbers.
3. Expand the bookmark if you want a later issue in that volume
The top-level bookmark links to the first issue for the volume. Click on the expand(+) sign to show additional issues for that volume. Click on the bookmark for the issue you want and it will open.
Note 1: Each issue also has its own bookmarks. These list the title and author of the major articles in that issue. A bookmark at the top of the pane takes you back to the e-SHJ home page, but see also the tip for Checking Several Issues from Index Citations.
Note 2: Since the filename for each issue includes the date, volume number and issue number, you can find and open a file directly from the folder window. However, once you've launched Acrobat Reader it's usually faster to just use the bookmarks.
GO TO A SPECIFIC PAGE (LOGICAL PAGE NUMBERS)
Once you've opened an issue you may want to view a specific page number from the original magazine. While you can Page Down or scroll through the file, it's faster to Go To a page, especially when there are Logical Page Numbers.
When using PDF (Acrobat) files there can be two types of page numbers. All PDF documents have file position numbers. These reflect the page position within the file. In many SHJ documents the first file page position is the magazine cover, the second is the blank back of the cover, and the third file page begins the text of that issue.
Logical Page Numbers (LPNs) are another type of page number. Most of the e-SHJ files support this special feature. A Logical Page Number can reflect the number printed on the original magazine page. For example, page 29 was the first page of text in the original printed Spring 1959 magazine (v. 4, n. 2) since it continued the page numbering from the prior issue.
Page numbers appear at the bottom of the Acrobat Reader window in the status bar. That status display will show something like "5 of 35" if the file only has PDF file position numbers. For documents that also include logical page numbers, it might show something like "29 (3 of 54)" in the status bar, where the first number "29" is the original printed page number (the LPN) and the others reflect the current file position number and the total number of pages in the file. You can type a number into the page number status display area and go directly to that page.
The e-SHJ LPNs allow you to enter the original magazine reference number rather than trying to mentally convert this page number to the file position number. For documents that show LPNs, you can go directly to the LPN by doing the following:
1. Click on top of the current LPN in the status display
The LPN is the number on the left that appears before the opening parentheses. In the example above, it would be the "29". When you click on the LPN the entire number area will be selected. If only the right portion in parentheses is selected you clicked too far to the right.
2. Enter the number of the page from the original magazine and press the Enter/Return key.
The desired page will be immediately displayed.
The LPN feature is very valuable and saves lots of time when locating a cited reference. However, it can occasionally have some unusual results, as noted in the e-SHJ Errata.
CHECKING SEVERAL ISSUES FROM INDEX CITATIONS
When using Geraldine Beare's Index to the Sherlock Holmes Journal you may find that you have several articles or citations to check. You can use the tip on Finding & Opening a Specific Issue and the tip on how to Go To a Specific Page to quickly locate the first citation. After reviewing the material, you'll want to check the next article or citation. Unless you noted it elsewhere, you'll need to go back to the exact point in the Index with the citations in order to view the data for the next article.
To return to your prior location in Beare's Index, use Document > Go To Previous Document
HOT TIP: It's even faster to just hold down the Shift key and click the Go To Previous View button in the toolbar. (Note: You must be pressing the Shift key when you click the button, otherwise it only steps back one "view" rather than return to the Index document. Also, don't confuse this button with the Previous Page button.)
Given the title of an article, the fastest way to locate the article is to use the Adobe Reader Search function.
1. Open any e-SHJ file
2. Choose Edit > Search > Query
Hot Tip: It's much faster to just click on the Search button in the toolbar.
If you haven't previously set the Index, click on the "Indexes" button and make sure only the "e-SHJ Index" is checked.
3. Enter several of the words from the title in the "Find Results Containing Text" area and click search
It's best to use distinctive words in a phrase. The Results dialog will appear with all matching documents. Your search may match two or more. It will almost certainly include the "Startup Home Page" because that file contains Geraldine Beare's Index to the Sherlock Holmes Journal. You can find the volume, issue and page number for the article from her Index, then manually navigate to the article.
However, if another document is matched it is often faster to double-click on that entry, which will open an issue and take you directly to the page with the matching text. If that turns out not to be the article that you wanted, click on the Next Highlight button in the toolbar to go to the next matching text. Since errors from scanning may prevent a direct match to the article title, you can always use Beare's Index to get the citation and manually navigate to the article.
Note: An alternative to using the Search function is to simply go to the e-SHJ home page file (2 Start e-SHJ with Index.pdf), which contains Beare's Index, and use the bookmarks in the "Author and Title Index" section to manually locate the title and citation.
If you know the author of an article but are not sure about the title, it's best to use Geraldine Beare's Index to the Sherlock Holmes Journal. Her index has entries for the last name of an author and his/her associated article page citations. However, the author entry does not list the title of each article. This would require you to check several documents for an author with several articles. Fortunately there is a better approach.
1. Open any e-SHJ file
2. Choose Edit > Search > Query
Hot Tip: It's much faster to just click on the Search button in the toolbar.
If you haven't previously set the Index, click on the "Indexes" button and make sure only the "e-SHJ Index" is checked.
3. Enter the author's last name in the "Find Results Containing Text" area and click search
Your search will likely match many documents, including the "Startup Home Page" that contains Geraldine Beare's Index.
4. Double-click on the "Startup Home Page" in the Results dialog
This document will open and the first match in Beare's Index will appear. Matching entries will include the author entry (as noted above) plus the individual title entries (which show the author's last name in parentheses following the title). Click on the Next Highlight button in the toolbar to go to the next matching entry until you locate the desired article citation. It will list the volume, issue and page number. To quickly display that article, see the tip on Finding & Opening a Specific Issue.
Note: This approach of searching all entries in Beare's Index is probably also more reliable than just checking the author entry. I found at least one case where an article was missing from the author entry but was included as a title entry. If you do use the author entry and plan to view all the articles, see this tip on Checking Several Issues from Index Citations.
There are two useful approaches to locating information on a subject. One approach uses Geraldine Beare's Index while the other relies on the Adobe Reader Search function. Each approach has its pros and cons.
Beare's Index offers an efficient summary of the main articles on many topics. It's an excellent tool to get a solid understanding of a topic. However, not all topics are indexed. Even if a subject is indexed, it's possible that some references to the subject were not included. Finally, some topics are not cross-referenced in the index so you may need to search the index for certain subjects.
The Search function matches text in all the SHJ issues. It will probably find more information for you than Beare's Index but may take longer to use. It works best when your subject articles all have a few critical, distinctive words. "Sherlock" appears in all the issues, while "Beeton's Christmas Annual" is only found in a few. Unfortunately, text-scanning errors can cause the Search function to miss some references.
You may want to use both Beare's Index and the Search function. When I want to do really comprehensive research, I start with her Index, check the indexed articles and take notes, then perform a Search. I use my notes to decide on the best words or phrases to use in the Search.
Using Beare's Index
1. Open the e-SHJ home page file (2 Start e-SHJ with Index.pdf)
If another e-SHJ file is already open simply click on the top bookmark labeled "Index to the Sherlock Holmes Journal."
2. Click on the expand(+) sign for "The Subject Index" sub-bookmark
The Subject Index is a subsection of the overall Index. Expanding this sub-bookmark will reveal bookmarks for various letters in the section.
3. Click on the bookmark for the first letter of your subject word
Try some alternative words for your subject if you don't find the first subject word listed. If you still can't find something relevant, it's possible that the topic is indexed under a different main topic heading. For example, there is no subject heading for "manuscripts." Instead the term is sub-indexed under other topics such as "auctions" and the names of specific Holmes stories.
While you can use the Search function to locate such sub-indexing, it may be faster to use the Find function. To "Find" it, first click on "The Subject Index" sub-bookmark. This takes you to the first page of the subject section of her Index. Now you can use Find (Edit > Find) to locate text in the Index starting in the Subject section and skipping the Author, Title, and Media sections. (See the Find versus Search tip for more details.)
4. Check the articles cited in the Subject entry
See the tips on Finding & Opening a Specific Issue and on Checking Several Issues for how to do this efficiently. You may also want to copy and paste the Index entry with all the citations into a word processing document to keep for your notes and further reference. For serious research I copy some or all of the text from relevant articles into my "notes" document and include the source citation at the beginning of each article. By keeping these article notes in chronological order it's easy for me to see whether I've already checked the article when I later do a complete text "search" of the entire e-SHJ.
Using the Search function
1. Open any e-SHJ file
2. Choose Edit > Search > Query
Hot Tip: It's much faster to just click on the Search button in the toolbar.
If you haven't previously set the Index, click on the "Indexes" button and make sure only the "e-SHJ Index" is checked.
3. Enter one or more words in the "Find Results Containing Text" area and click search
It's best to use distinctive words or a phrase. However, there are many considerations for picking words that get the best possible results. See the tips for Searching for Word Variations and Search Efficiently, and be sure your Adobe Reader preferences are set correctly. You can limit searches to certain years by entering them in the Document Title field of the Search dialog. For example, to only search for material from 1990 and later, you'd enter "199* OR 200*" in the Document Title Field.
4. Decide if this result is useful, and move to the next match
Take notes for relevant items, and consider copying text plus the citation to a separate document. Click on the Next Highlight button in the toolbar to go to the next matching text.
When taking notes from the e-SHJ you may want to copy some or all of the text from an article and paste it into a word processing document. However, the SHJ text is copyrighted material. Just because you are able to copy it does not mean that you can use or reproduce it elsewhere. Please do not steal or plagiarize from this material.
Using Acrobat Reader v5 and Microsoft Word 2000:
1. In Acrobat Reader, click the View menu and select "Continuous" (allowing you to copy across pages)
2. Click/select the "Text select tool" button in the Acrobat Reader toolbar
3. Click just before the first word you want and drag through the other words that you want, then release the mouse.
4. Choose Edit > Copy (Ctrl+C)
5. Change windows to a Microsoft Word document
6. In Microsoft Word, choose Edit > Paste
The e-SHJ has some improvements over the BSJ CD related to copying text. The e-SHJ text retains its original formatting including italics, bold, and font information. However, for better readability you may want to select the pasted text and change the font name and size to a single common choice (e.g., Times New Roman 12) while retaining the italics and bold settings. Also, when you copy the entire page of text in the standard SHJ two-column format, the second column of text will be pasted following the first column. Thus you don't have to copy each column separately.
Tip: In most of the files, text is shown in two columns. To select only the text from a single column,
a) Press and hold Ctrl+Alt (Windows) or Option+Command (Mac) before starting your selection, then drag the box around only the text you want
or
b) Select the "Column Select Tool" from the toolbar (usually available by clicking the tiny triangle next to the Text Select Tool button). Then drag the box around only the text you want.
Tip: If you have set the View to Continuous mode and you choose Edit > Select All, it will select most of the text in the document. However, according to the Acrobat Reader Help file, it will not actually select all the text. When I tried this, it wasn't obvious what text (if any) was not selected.
RECORDING THE ARTICLE CITATION
The e-SHJ makes it easy to always know which issue you are viewing. This is especially useful when you are using the Search function and are jumping between documents as you view search matches.
Tip: The volume number, issue number, and issue date is always visible in the title bar of the Acrobat Reader window.
The original magazine page number is usually visible in the document area. For files with Logical Page Numbers, the original magazine page number is also found as the first number in the status display area at the bottom of the Reader window.
The article's title and author are usually indicated by the bookmark with the gray icon. Pause your cursor above that bookmark and the full title and author information will appear.
You can also copy drawings, photographs, and other graphics from the SHJ pages. Graphics and photographs are also copyrighted material so please do not steal or reuse them.
Using Acrobat Reader v5 and Microsoft Word 2000:
1. In Acrobat Reader, click/select the "Graphic Select Tool" button in the Acrobat Reader toolbar
3. Click and drag a box around the area you want to copy, then release the mouse.
4. Choose Edit > Copy (Ctrl+C)
5. Change windows to a Microsoft Word document
6. In Microsoft Word, choose Edit > Paste
Tip: The magnification level used in Acrobat Reader when selecting the graphic will affect the size of the pasted image.
Note: Unlike with text, you can only select an area on a single page. To copy images from successive pages, you need to repeat the process for each page.
RELATED PAGES
An In-Depth Review of the e-SHJ
Errata for the e-SHJ (including some tips and workarounds)
You can buy the e-SHJ from The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box or The Sherlock Holmes Society of London.
Other Electronic Sherlockian Journals
Tips for Using Adobe Acrobat Reader
Manuscript Facsimiles in the Sherlock Holmes Journal
This site has a section devoted to Conan Doyle's manuscripts. It includes a Checklist of Facsimiles of the Sherlock Holmes Stories. Its associated List of Citations is sorted so all the reproductions in the Sherlock Holmes Journal are listed together.
Vers. 2.0ax-RN Original work
Copyright ©2003
Randall Stock. All Rights Reserved.