TRIST Jar Tool
First Run
Begin use by executing the Jar file called TRIST.jar. This is normally achieved by double-clicking the file. This will cause the tool to run a database test to make sure the connection settings are correct.
The Jar tool will not execute unless the ODBC connection has been set up correctly in the previous section. If you see this error message then check the details of the ODBC connection. If the connection is set up correctly, you will be let straight into the TRIST tool.
Once the first test is done, you can begin use of the TRIST tool.
Begin Using TRIST
The TRIST tool begins with a simple interface that consists of a menu, button panel, combo-box panel and a view pane. In order to appreciate how TRIST works you need to understand some basic concepts of its operation.
TRIST Concepts of Operation
Instead of explicitly selecting files to be indexed, the tool uses ‘Watch Folders’. These are folders where all compatible files are added automatically to the index. Files within these folders that are modified since indexing are re-indexed and files that have been removed are automatically removed from the index. For the web interface to operate correctly, the folder must be a virtual web directory. More details on how this is done is available with the details about creating a watch folder.
Because some words are grammatical and not useful in keyword searching, TRIST manages a ‘Stop List’. This is a list of words that the tool ignores from the index. These typically consist of words such as ‘to’ ‘a’ ‘I’ etc. However, they can be made contextual by adding high frequency words that return vast numbers of documents on searches.
An index of computer related articles might all contain the term ‘computer’. By adding ‘computer’ to the stop-list you remove it from the index making it more efficient and giving better search results.
Documents awaiting index are queued up in a ‘Pending List’. It details the paths of all the documents that will be indexed when the index documents method is called.
Returning to the TRIST tool, the following is a description of each command to familiarise you.
Menus
Application
Full Index - TRIST searches all Watch folders for new files, checks all files for modifications and takes the appropriate action, then indexes all the files it identifies as requiring it.
Clear Pending - Where the Pending List has files listed, it clears the list resetting to show no documents.
Exit - Closes the TRIST tool.
View
Indexed Documents - Shows a summary of the files already indexed by the system.
Pending Documents - Displays the list of files on the pending list awaiting index.
Token List - Displays the list of keywords that have been put into the system. This reflects the words that will generate results from a search.
Stop Words - Previews the terms that have been stop listed.
Documents
Check File Accuracy - Checks all the documents that have been indexed for modification or removal. It then takes appropriate action by either adding the document to the pending list or removing from the index.
Find New Files - Looks through the watch folders for any files that have been created since the watch was last indexed.
Watch Folders
Add Watch - Navigate and set up a new ‘Watch Folder’.
Remove Watch - Remove a ‘Watch Folder’. This only removes the reference to the folder and not the folder itself. The index of the documents within it are removed next time the ‘Check File Accuracy’ command is used.
Watch Folders - Sets the view pane to a list of the watch folders and URL equivalents.
Watch Folder Files - Shows a list of the files of compatible type within the watch folders.
Stop Words
Add Word - Prompts for a single word input to be included in the ‘Stop List’.
Remove Word - Removes the entered word from the ‘Stop List’.
Button Panel
Index Pending - Add the documents queued up in the ‘Pending List’ to the index.
Search - Actions a keyword search on the index for documents of relevance.
Add Watch - Same as the ‘Add Watch’ option from the ‘Watch Folders’ menu.
Clear Pending - Same as the ‘Clear Pending’ option from the ‘Application’ menu.
Combo Box Panel
The combo box labelled as ‘Pending Documents’ represents the ‘Pending List’ (PL). As and when documents are added to the PL the file path appears in this box. By selecting a file name, TRIST displays a summary of the terms from within that document in the view pane.
