A topic outline file specifies all the combinations of words and phrases, Verity operators and modifiers, and weight values that the search engine uses when you issue a query using the topic. The outline file is an ASCII text file in a structured format.
For example, the following outline file defines the topic “saint-bernard”:
$control: 1 saint-bernard <accrue> *0.80 "Saint Bernard" *0.80 "St. Bernard" * "working dogs" * "large dogs" * "European breeds" $$
When you issue a query specifying the topic “saint-bernard”, the Enhanced Full-Text Search engine:
Returns documents that contain one or more of the following phrases: “Saint Bernard,” “St. Bernard,” “working dogs,” “large dogs,” and “European breeds”
Scores documents that contain the phrase “Saint Bernard” or “St. Bernard” higher than documents that contain the phrase “working dogs, “large dogs,” or “European breeds”
This example is a very basic topic definition. An outline can introduce more complex relationships by using:
Multiple levels of subtopics
Combinations of Verity operators (this example uses accrue)
Verity modifiers
In Windows
NT, you can use the graphical user interface of the Verity Intelligent
Classifier product, which is available from Verity, to create topic
outlines. If you use Intelligent Classifier, it automatically creates
a topic set directory, and you can go to “Creating a knowledge base map” to continue setting up your topics.
