---
name: "thescoder"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "thescoder"
version: "0.6-1"
release: "Debian 5.0 (Lenny)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/thescoder"
---

# thescoder(1)

Compiler for OpenOffice.org 1.x thesaurus files

## NAME

thescoder - Compiler for OpenOffice.org 1.x thesaurus files

## SYNOPSIS

**thescoder** \[*options*\] inputfile prefix\

## DESCRIPTION

Thescoder compiles thesaurus data into the two **.idx** and **.dat** files used by the OpenOffice.org 1.x thesarus.

Compared to the equivalent tool found in the OpenOffice.org development tools, thescoder has additional features:

- •

  it is possible to insert spaces between different synonims;

- •

  it is possible to use any character as a separator between synonims;

- •

  if a synonim is not present as a word, the word gets added automatically without synonims (and a warning is shown when it happens);

- •

  if there is a word without synonims, it is preserved (and a warning is shown when it happens);

- •

  the word list need not be sorted.

## OPTIONS

- **-sep *separator***

  Specify a different separator character for the input (default is the semicolon: ';')

## INPUT FORMAT

The input file is a text file.

The first line is the sequence of symbols that are considered correct, such as:

```
   qwertyuioplkjhgfdsazxcvbnmQWERTYUIOPLKJHGFDSAZXCVBNM-'àèéìòù
```

The next lines contain the words followed by their synonims.  Everything is separated by semicolon (';') or by the character specified using the **-sep** commandline option.  For example:

```
   poeta;araldo; verseggiatore
   araldo; verseggiatore; poeta
```

The resulting file for this tiny sample thesaurus will then be:

```
   qwertyuioplkjhgfdsazxcvbnmQWERTYUIOPLKJHGFDSAZXCVBNM-'àèéìòù
   poeta;araldo; verseggiatore
   araldo; verseggiatore; poeta
```

## EXAMPLE

Here is a small tutorial on how to install a new thesaurus in OpenOffice.org. You must an OpenOffice version between 1.0.2 and 2.0.

- 1

  create a text file as explained previously in the section "INPUT FORMAT"

- 2

  run the command:

  ```
     thescoder thesaurus.txt th_it_IT
  ```

  it will create the two files th\_it\_IT.idx and th\_it\_IT.dat.  If you used a separator that is different than the semicolon, use the **-sep** option.  For example:

  ```
     thescoder -sep "," thesaurus.txt th_it_IT
  ```

- 3

  close all running OpenOffice.org applications, including the quick-started applet if you use it.  This will make it so the next time you run OpenOffice it will reload all the data, including the new thesaurus.

- 4

  Copy the two files **.idx** and **.dat** into the directory where OpenOffice keeps its thesarusu data (in Debian it is /usr/share/myspell/dicts/).

- 5

  edit the file dictionary.lst and add the line:

  ```
     THES it IT th_it_IT
  ```

- 6

  open an OpenOffice application (Writer, for example)

- 7

  Open the menu Tools/Options/Language settings/Linguistitcs and you will be able to select your thesaurus in the section "Avaliable linguistic modules" for the language of your thesaurus.

- 8

  The thesaurus is now ready to use: just put the cursor on a word and press Ctrl+F7 to see its synonims.

## AUTHOR

**thescoder** has been written by Giuseppe Modugno (gppe.modugno@libero.it).

This manpage has been written by Enrico Zini (enrico@debian.org), translating parts of the original Italian readme file.