Save Analysis (Analysis window)

The Save Analysis check box determines whether the choices made during the analysis process are saved into a table for later editing. The table is called "elfAnalysis: XXX" where XXX is the name of the database. Prior to version 4.0, this table was located within the user's MDB file. Because merely creating this table does not change the behavior of the interface, the default setting of "Save Analysis" is unchecked (no analysis table is saved).

Beginning with version 4.0, this table is written into a special Custom.mdb file located within the .ELF directory corresponding to the given View. There are pros and cons to this change. The purpose of the table is to allow display of the atomic-level choices made by the interface generator, so the user may change them, if necessary. (Unless "Save Analysis" has been checked for the analysis, clicking the Analysis Editor button on the Access ELF toolbar will bring up a message box, rather than the Analysis Editor.)

This process is often performed in concert with ELF Software technical staff, since it requires a deep understanding of the internal use of the variables presented by the Analysis Editor. In general, this feature is used only when the software is providing unexpected results, so it can best be seen as a debugging tool.

The advantage of moving the Analysis table into the Custom.mdb is that it makes this table transportable along with the interface. This means that on the rare occasions when the Analysis Editor is used to change the behavior of the interfaces, the modifed tables can be distributed as part of the .ELF directory. Prior to v4.0, the database itself needed to be distibuted in these cases, since the elfAnalysis table was previously held within the user's MDB.

This change also solves the problem of having multiple elfAnalysis tables within a single MDB. For databases which have numerous Views associated with them, this had been a problem. Of course, one solution would have been to name the elfAnalysis table using the View name, rather than the database name. However, the current implementation also resolves this problem, since each View has its own Custom.mdb file, and thus its own distinct elfAnalysis table.

The downside to this change is the flip side of the distribution solution. elfAnalysis tables are often used to quantify or isolate the differences between two interfaces which are created using subtly different configuration options. In this case, it's often handy to have the two tables written into the same database container, so that they can be easily compared. However, this problem can be worked-around by simply importing the two tables into a common MDB file where comparisons may be performed.

Checking this box does not in any way change the interface which is created during the analysis process. But it makes it possible to modify the interface, using the Analysis Editor. Once changes have been made to the individual items in the analysis table, the analysis must be rerun. During this second pass through the analysis process, the contents of the edited analysis table are substituted for the decisions that would otherwise be made by the interface generator. In this way, any particular feature of the natural language interface constructed by the software can be overridden manually.

This is why an additional message box appears during the analysis, once an analysis has been run with the Save Analysis box checked. As long as the elfAnalysis table is present, you'll be given the choice of using the stored (and possibly edited) values in the table, or ignoring the table and creating the interface in the usual way. This message will look something like:
Use information in the elfAnalysis: Northwind table for this grammar?  Yes; No; Cancel

If the table has not been modified using the Analysis Editor, it makes no difference whether you answer Yes or No to this question, since applying the contents of the table will have the same effect as the default. Only if individual items in the analysis have been changed by hand will there be a difference in the generated interface.

Of course, if an elfAnalysis table already exists at the time you run an analysis with the Save Analysis box checked, you'll be asked to confirm that you intend to overwrite the old elfAnalysis table. That message appears as:
Overwrite the stored Analysis table?  Yes; No; Cancel

If you answer yes, a new table will be created. If no. you'll be given the choice as to whether to apply the previous table to the current analysis or not.

There are two ways to remove the elfAnalysis table, returning the system to the default state in which these messages don't appear (and the Analysis Editor can no longer be used). One is to click the "Delete Analysis Table" button on the Advanced tab of the Settings window. The second way is to interrupt an analysis, once you have already answered Yes to the Overwrite? message. Any partially-completed tables are deleted when an analysis is interrupted, either because of an internal error or because a user has clicked the Cancel (break connection) button on the analysis progress bar. Naturally, opening the Custom.mdb file and deleting the elfAnalysis table is yet a third way.