Drawing trees

There are two modes for drawing trees in Tree Builder: assisted draw and free draw. In assisted draw, the user is led through the process of drawing a tree. The process is guided by the phrase structure rules and proceeds in a top-down fashion. In free draw, the user is not bound by the rules of the grammar and can proceed in either a top-down or bottom-up fashion. You can choose the drawing mode by selecting Tools|Assisted Draw or the   Assisted Draw button on the toolbar to toggle the state of the program between these two modes.

The operations to create the structure of a tree can be found under the Structure menu heading and include Add Daughter(s), Add Sister, Add Mother, Dominate Right Adjacent Node, Dominate Left Adjacent Node, Link With Left Adjacent Node, Terminate with Phrase, and Terminate with Word.

Changes to the structure of a tree can be accomplished with the basic edit operations under the Edit menu as well as the Remove All Daughters and Rename operations under the Structure menu. In addition, subtrees and nodes can be dragged and dropped from their current location to a new position in the tree.

Subscripts and superscripts can be added to a node with the Add Subscript and Add Superscript operations under the Structure menu as and symbols can be added to a node with the Symbol button that is located on all dialogs that addd or modify nodes.

Applying transformations to a tree can be accomplished with the operations under the Transformation menu, which allow the user to apply movements, insertions and deletions to a tree.

The operations involved in drawing a tree require the user to select nodes of the tree. You can select a node by moving the mouse pointer over a node until it changes to a hand and then clicking the node. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard to select a node. Pressing the Home key will select the root node and the arrow keys can be used to traverse the tree. The Up key will select the parent of the current node, the Down key will select the first daughter of the current node and the Left and Right keys will select the left and right sister of the current node respectively. Selecting the whole tree or a subtree can also be accomplished by the Select All and Select Subtree operations under the Edit menu.

Creating Trees in Assisted Draw mode

You can choose assisted draw by ensuring that the Tools|Assisted Draw menu item   or the   Assisted Draw button on the toolbar has been selected. Assisted draw is only available when there are phrase structure rules included in the project. If there are no rules for the project, the above options will be greyed out.

All trees are drawn in assisted draw mode using the top-down method. You start with a root node, add daughter nodes to represent the various categories and then terminate the categories with words or phrases to create the sentence.

Starting a new tree

You start a new tree by choosing Tree|Add Tree or the   Add Tree button on the toolbar. This will open a dialog that will prompt the user for a starting root. The dialog will present the user with a list of choices for the root, which it receives from the heads of the rules in the grammar. In assisted draw mode, the user will be forced to choose a root from that list.

After choosing the root node, a new drawing canvas is displayed on the desktop with the chosen root.

The process of drawing a tree consists of selecting a node on the drawing canvas and choosing operations to perform on that node. In assisted draw mode the allowable operations on a node are restricted to those permitted by the phrase structure rules. Non-permissible operations will be greyed out on the menus and toolbars.

If the node is a head of a rule, then you are permitted to either add daughters to that node or terminate that node with a phrase.

Adding daughters

Daughters can be added to a node by selecting the node and choosing Structure|Add Daughter(s) or the   Add Daughter(s) button on the toolbar. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node. Alternatively, if the selected node is the head of a rule, then Add Daughters is the default operation which can be chosen by double clicking on the node. This will bring up the Add Daughters dialog allowing the user to choose the daughters for the selected node. In assisted draw mode, the precise nature of the dialog will be determined by the corresponding rule and the user may be stepped through a series of dialogs to choose the daughters that he/she wishes to generate from that rule.

If the rule contains optional categories, the user will be presented with a list of categories and prompted to select which optional categories to include. In such a case, the required categories will be initially selected and non-editable.

If the rule contains a choice, the user will be presented with a list of choices and prompted to select which choice to include.

If the rule contains a repeated category, the user will be prompted to enter the number of repeats.

When the user has finished selecting the categories to include, they are added as daughters to the selected node.

Adding a phrase

A node can be terminated with a phrase by choosing Structure|Terminate With Phrase or the   Terminate With Phrase button on the toolbar. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node. This will bring up a dialog for the user to enter the phrase and will attach the phrase to the node with a triangle.

Adding a word

If the node is not the head of a rule, then you are only permitted to terminate that node with a word.

A node can be terminated with a word by choosing Structure|Terminate With Word or the   Terminate With Word button on the toolbar. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node. Alternatively, if the selected node is not the head of a rule, then Terminate With Word is the default operation, which can be chosen by double clicking on the node.

This will bring up a dialog for the user to either choose or enter the word and will attach the word to the node. The suggested words listed in the dialog are retrieved from the lexicon and consist of all words that have the selected node as their category. The user, however, is not restricted to choosing from this list. If the user leaves the word blank, a null character will be displayed for the word.

Creating Trees in Free Draw mode

You can choose free draw by ensuring that the Tools|Assisted Draw menu item   or the   Assisted Draw button on the toolbar has not been selected. This is the default drawing mode. Free draw allows the user to draw a tree that contravenes the rules of the grammar and to draw a tree in a project that contains no phrase structure rules. When drawing trees in free draw mode, the user has a wider range of options available than in assisted draw mode. If the user knows what he/she is doing, free draw is a quicker means of drawing trees and once you've become experienced at drawing syntax trees, you will likely prefer this mode.

There are actually two methods of drawing trees in free draw mode. Whereas, assisted draw is restricted to top-down drawing, in free draw you can draw trees in either a top-down or bottom-up fashion.

In top-down, you start with a root node, add daughters to represent the various categories, and then terminate either with words or phrases to create the sentence. In bottom-up, you start with the sentence, add the parts of speech (lexical categories) to the words in the sentence, and then continue adding dominating nodes and linking together nodes to build up the tree, ending with a root node.

Although all operations, for both top-down and bottom-up drawing, are available in free draw mode, you can set your preference by selecting Tools|Options and clicking the appropriate choice for drawing direction in the trees tab. The preference that is selected will determine whether you are prompted for a root or sentence when starting a new tree, whether New Root or New Sentence operations are available on the right click menu and whether the Add Daughter or the Add Mother operation is the default operation when double clicking on a node.

Creating Top-Down Trees in Free Draw Mode

Starting a new tree

You start a new tree by choosing Tree|Add Tree or the   Add Tree button on the toolbar. This will open a dialog that will prompt the user for a starting root. The dialog will present the user with a list of choices for the root, which it receives from the heads of the rules in the grammar if any exist. However, in free draw mode, the user will be able to enter a root not included on the list.

After choosing the root node, a new drawing canvas is displayed on the desktop with the chosen root.

The process of drawing a tree consists of selecting a node on the drawing canvas and choosing operations to perform on that node. In free draw mode the user is only restricted from performing those operations that would create an invalid tree structure. For example, adding a sister to the root node, terminating a node with more than one word etc... Non-permissible operations will be greyed out on the menus and toolbars.

Adding daughters

Daughters can be added to a node by choosing Structure|Add Daughter(s) or the   Add Daughter(s) button on the toolbar. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node. Alternatively, Add Daughters is the default operation, which can be chosen by double clicking on the node. This will bring up the Add Daughters dialog allowing the user to input one or more daughters (separated by spaces) for the selected node.

When the user has entered the categories to include, they are added as daughters to the selected node. If the user leaves the daughter blank, an empty node will be displayed for the daughter.

If the selected node has existing daughters, the add daughters operation will add the new daughters to the right hand side of any existing daughters. If you wish to replace the existing daughters, they can first be removed by selecting Structure|Remove All Daughters. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node. To add a daughter to a different location see "Adding a Sister."

Adding a sister

Sisters can be added to the left side of a node by choosing Structure|Add Left Sister or the   Add Left Sister button on the toolbar. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node. This will bring up the Add Left Sister dialog allowing the user to input a sister for the selected node.

When the user has entered the category, it is added as a sister to the selected node.

Adding a phrase

A node can be terminated with a phrase by choosing Structure|Terminate With Phrase or the   Terminate With Phrase button on the toolbar. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node. This will bring up a dialog for the user to enter the phrase and will attach the phrase to the node with a triangle.

Adding a word

A node can be terminated with a word by choosing Structure|Terminate With Word or the   Terminate With Word button on the toolbar. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node.

This will bring up a dialog for the user to either choose or enter the word and will attach the word to the node. The suggested words listed in the dialog are retrieved from the lexicon if one exists and consist of all words that have the selected node as their category. The user, however, is not restricted to choosing from this list. If the user leaves the word blank, a null character will be displayed for the word.

Creating Bottom-Up Trees in Free Draw Mode

Starting a new tree

You start a new tree by choosing Tree|Add Tree or the   Add Tree button on the toolbar. This will open a dialog that will prompt the user for a starting sentence.

After entering the sentence, a new drawing canvas containing the sentence is displayed on the desktop.

The process of drawing a tree consists of selecting a node on the drawing canvas and choosing operations to perform on that node. In free draw mode the user is only restricted from performing those operations that would create an invalid tree structure. For example, adding a sister to the root node, terminating a node with more than one word etc... Non-permissible operations will be greyed out on the menus and toolbars.

Adding mothers

Dominating nodes can be added to a node by choosing Structure|Add Mother or the   Add Mother button on the toolbar. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node. Alternatively, Add Mother is the default operation, which can be chosen by double clicking on the node. This will bring up the Add Mother dialog allowing the user to add a dominating node to the selected node.

When the user has entered the category, it is added as a mother to the selected node. If the user leaves the mother blank, an empty node will be displayed for the mother.

If the selected node has a dominating node, the add mother operation will add the new mother between the selected node and the its dominating node.

Linking Adjacent Nodes

If you wish to add a mother to two adjacent nodes, this can be accomplished by selecting the right most of the two nodes and choosing Structure|Link With Left Adjacent Node. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node. This will bring up the Link With Left Adjacent Node dialog allowing the user to input a mother for the selected node and its left ajacent node.

When the user has entered the category, it is added as a mother to the selected node and its left adjacent node.

This operation will only be available if the selected node has a left sister or if neither the selected node nor its left adjacent node have mothers. Furthermore, the user is restricted from using this operation to create an invalid tree structure. For example, linking two words so that the mother node is terminated with more than one word will not be allowed.

Dominating Adjacent Nodes

An existing node can be made the mother of an adjacent node by choosing either Structure|Dominate Right Adjacent Node or Structure|Dominate Left Adjacent Node. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node.

These operation will only be available if the selected node has a sister or if neither the selected node nor its adjacent node have mothers. Furthermore, the user is restricted from using this operation to create an invalid tree structure. For example, a node which is terminated with a word can not also be made the mother of another node.

Editing Trees

Trees can be edited both during the drawing process and after the tree is completed. Trees can also be edited after the project has been closed and reopened.

Changes to a tree can be made with the undo, redo, cut, copy, paste, and delete operations under the Edit menu and the remove all daughters, new root, rename, and add subscript operations under the Structure menu. In addition, nodes and subtrees can be dragged and dropped to a different position in the tree.

Reversing a Change

A change in the current tree can be reversed by choosing Edit|Undo or the   Undo button on the toolbar. Undo only applies to changes within a drawing canvas and does not reverse such actions as adding a tree, removing a tree, or changes to the grammar.

You can undo multiple successive actions by choosing Undo repeatedly. This will undo your changes by "stepping back" through your actions and reversing them to their previous state.

The affect of an undo can be reversed by choosing Edit|Redo or the   Redo button on the toolbar. Redo only has effect after an Undo command. There are multiple levels of Redo.

Basic edit operations

The basic edit operations of cut, copy, paste, and delete can apply to either an individual selected node or a subtree. To apply these operations to a subtree, the subtree must be selected by selecting the top node and choosing Edit|Select Subtree.

To cut the selected nodes choose Edit|Cut or the   Cut button on the toolbar. The cut operation removes the selected node or sub-tree from its current position in the drawing canvas and places it on the clipboard. Cut replaces the current clipboard contents with the selected item. Currently the program does not allow the user to cut the entire tree.

To copy the selected nodes choose Edit|Copy or the   Copy button on the toolbar. The copy operation places an exact copy of the selected node or sub-tree on the clipboard and leaves the original untouched. Copy replaces the current clipboard contents with the selected item.

To delete the selected nodes choose Edit|Delete. The delete operation removes the selected node or sub-tree without placing a copy on the clipboard. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node. Currently the program does not allow the user to delete the entire tree.

Delete is useful if you want to remove an item, but you do not want to overwrite the contents of the clipboard.

Even though you cannot paste a deleted node, you can restore it by immediately choosing Edit|Undo.

To paste the contents of the clipboard choose Edit|Paste or the   Paste button on the toolbar. The paste operation adds the contents of the clipboard as a daughter to the selected node on the drawing canvas. If the contents of the clipboard is a word or phrase any existing daughters of the selected node will be replaced. If the selected node is terminated with a word or phrase the word or phrase will be replaced. If the selected node already has one or more non-terminating daughters, the user will be prompted to choose the location of the new daughter.

The possible locations for the daughter will be indicated by colored circles with the active location represented by a larger green colored circle. Moving the mouse pointer will change the active location and clicking the mouse will paste the clipboard at the active location.

You can paste the current contents of the clipboard as many times as you like until you cut or copy a new item onto the clipboard.

Drag and Drop

You can move nodes within a tree by dragging and dropping rather than using the menus. To drag a subtree select the root of the subtree and drag with the mouse until the subtree is dislodged from the tree.

To move the subtree to a different location keep dragging the subtree until you have selected the new target parent node. At this point the mouse cursor will change to an arrow and releasing the mouse button will result in the subtree being added as a daughter to the selected node. If the selected node has existing daughters, the behavoir will be the same as with the paste method. If the mouse button is released prior to a node being selected, the subtree will be returned to its original location.

Removing Daughters

To remove all the daughters of a node, choose Structure|Remove All Daughters. This operation will remove all daughters, phrases and words from the selected node but leave the selected node intact. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node.

Alternatively, re-performing the Terminate with Phrase or Terminate with Word operations and, in assisted draw mode, the Add Daughter(s) operation will replace any existing phrase, word or daughters of that node.

Replacing a Tree

To replace a tree choose either Structure|New Root or Structure|New Sentence.

The Structure|New Root operation will open the New Root dialog that will prompt the user for a new starting root. After choosing the new root node, the tree on the drawing canvas will be replaced with the chosen root.

The Structure|New Sentence operation will open the New Sentence dialog that will prompt the user for a new starting sentence. After choosing the new sentence, the tree on the drawing canvas will be replaced with the entered sentence.

Renaming a Node

You can change the name of a node on the tree by selecting the node and choosing Structure|Rename. This will display the Rename dialog that will prompt the user for a new name for the selected node. All other nodes, including the daughter nodes of the selected node will be unchanged.

A subscript can be added to the name of a node on the tree by selecting the node and choosing Structure|Add Subscript. This will display the Add Subscript dialog that will prompt the user for a subscript for the selected node. If the selected node already has a subscript it will be replaced.

A superscript can be added to the name of a node on the tree by selecting the node and choosing Structure|Add Superscript. This will display the Add Superscript dialog that will prompt the user for a superscript for the selected node. If the selected node already has a superscript it will be replaced.

Adding Symbols

Symbols can be added to the names of nodes, insertions and features by clicking on the symbol button located on many of the dialog boxes which prompt the user for a name.

Clicking on the symbol button will bring up the Insert Symbol dialog which will allow the user to select a symbol to be inserted at the location of the cursor in the original dialog.

The exact symbols displayed will be dependent on the users computer.

The Special Chars tab allows easy access to some common symbols and provides keyboard shortcuts for these symbols.

Pressing one of the specified short cut key combination in the original dialog will insert the corresponding symbol at the cursor location.

Setting up Features

Features can be added to both internal or terminating nodes by choosing Structure|Set up Features. This will display the Set up Features dialog that will allow the user to specify features for the selected node. As a convenience, this operation is also included on a context-sensitive pop-up menu, which can be displayed by right clicking on the node.

Adding features

Square brackets will be automatically added to the features if the corresponding option is selected from the Tree tab of the Options dialog which is displayed by selecting Tools|Options.

Renaming features

Removing features

Ordering features

Layout of features