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Stop List

The Stop List allows you to list words which can be ignored (omitted) when you make a Full Concordance.  A Full Concordance includes every word found in your input files, unless you choose to use a Stop List, in which case it includes all words except those in the Stop List.

A Stop List is often used to omit high-frequency words such as 'the', 'a', 'and' in English.  Omitting just a few high-frequency words can greatly reduce the size of a finished concordance since they occur so often. The concordance will also be made faster.

To prepare or edit a Stop List, choose Edit Stop List from the Text menu, or press Edit Stop List in the Make Full Concordance dialog.

To use a Stop List, first make sure it contains the words you want, one word per line. Then on the File menu choose Make Full Concordance from Files or Make Full Concordance from Clipboard. Before you press the button to make your concordance, tick the Use Stop List box .

A Stop List should consist of words, one per line. Words may include the pattern-matching symbols (wildcards)  ?, standing for any one letter, and * , standing for any number of any letters. This works identically to the Pick List.  See the help for the Pick List under 'Selecting words using patterns'.  

The Stop List Manager

The Stop List Manager works identically to the Pick List Manager.  Again see its help topic.

Stop List Files

When you first open the Stop List Manager, it opens a Stop List file called Stoplist.txt if that file exists in the same folder as the program itself. (It should do, because it was placed there by the installation.) Stoplist.txt is a short sample file.  You can create any number of your own Stop List files and they do not have to be called Stoplist.txt. 

Use the commands on the Stop List Manager's File menu to cereate new Stop List files or save a Stop List file under a different name. If you want a different Stop List file to be loaded automatically when you open the Stop List Manager, use Choose Stop List File on the Options menu and also tick the Auto-load Stop List File option.

On a shared network installation, your system administrator should give you your own copy of Stoplist.txt.