1.6.2 - Windows - Combined Queries Window - Additional Options
This section describes the additional options that the Combined Queries Window (CQW) provides.
The following options are described in this section:
"What type of queries do you want to combine?" Area
"Switch to Simple Query Window" Button
The "What type of queries do you want to combine?" Area
The "What type of queries do you want to combine?" area, pictured above, allows you to choose between queries that find statements, and queries that find nouns.
The Combined Queries Window (CQW) allows you to create new queries based on queries that find nouns or statements, but not both.
So the new, combined query you create using the CQW will either be a statements query or a nouns query.
When you select one of these two options, the CQW fills the left-hand scrolling list with queries of that type from the current model.
When you choose "queries that find statements", the CQW hides the "Combine queries using" Area, pictured below.
When you choose "queries that find nouns", the CQW shows the "Combine queries using" Area, pictured below.
The reason for this behavior is that the options in the "Combine queries using" Area do not make sense when finding statements. We could explain why here, but doing so would take up too much space and confuse some people. Feel free to contact us directly if you'd like to know more about this topic.
The "Combine queries using" Area
The "Combine queries using" Area, pictured above, allows you to choose the way you would like to combine the queries included in the combined query.
The included queries are displayed in the right-hand scrolling list in the Combined Queries Window (CQW).
If you've chosen to combine queries that find statements, the "Combine queries using" Area will not be displayed.
You can choose to combine queries using "OR" or "AND".
NOTE: Take a close look the descriptions of the "OR" and "AND" options listed below. The way these options work may differ from the way you expect them to work. The reason for this difference is that "OR" and "AND" have very specific meanings in Computer Science. In casual English speech, many people use "OR" and "AND" interchangeably.
Combine Using "OR"
If you choose "Combine queries using OR", the CQW finds all the nouns that match any of the included queries.
For example, if you include three queries:
1) One that finds doctors.
2) One that finds people in California.
3) One that finds people with brown hair.
The CQW will find people that meet any of these three criteria.
Each person found may be a doctor, may be in California, or may have brown hair, but the person will not necessarily be a brown-haired doctor from California.
In Computer Science terms, this type of "OR" is called an "inclusive or".
Combine Using "AND"
If you choose "Combine queries using AND", the CQW finds only those nouns that match ALL of the included queries.
For example, if you include three queries:
1) One that finds doctors.
2) One that finds people in California.
3) One that finds people with brown hair.
The CQW will find people that meet all of these three criteria, i.e. brown-haired doctors in California.
If a person meets only one or two of these criteria, the CQW will not find that person.
If you create a combined query using "AND", and it doesn't find any nouns, it's because there are no nouns in your model that meet all the criteria you specified.
The find button will look like this:
or this:
depending on whether you've chosen to find nouns or statements.
If you click "Find Nouns", the CQW fills the Nouns List of the Model Window with nouns that match the criteria you entered.
If you click "Find Statements", the CQW fills the Statements List of the Model Window with statements that match the criteria you entered.
Clicking the "Help" button in the Combined Queries Window (CQW) opens the MindModel help file to the section on the CQW.
The Switch to Simple Query Window Button
Clicking the "Switch to Simple Query Window" button in the CQW closes the CQW and opens the Simple Query Window.
Once you get used to using the Combined Queries Window, you'll find that you often switch between the Combined Queries Window and the Simple Queries Window. This button will save you time when doing so.