OtrA Terminology Services
Glossary Management Guide
November 2011
Purpose of this Guidance Document
How Glossaries are Managed in Svnaptica
Roles and Permissions
Related Resources
Logging into and out of Svnaptica
Viewing All the Terms in a Glossary
Adding Terms and Definitions to an
Existing Glossary
Editing an Existing Term
Deleting a Term
Adding and Deleting AB/AF Relationships
Setting up a New Glossary
Purpose of this Guidance Document
Terminology Services is a web-based system and suite of services for creating, maintaining,
searching and publishing glossaries and taxonomies. Terminology Services is backed by an
enterprise terminology management tool called Synaptica. The purpose of this guidance is to
give glossary owners the information needed to access and use Terminology Services'
Synaptica to update glossaries as required by the EPA Web Glossary Standard to support the
display of their glossary through Terminology Service: an efficient way to create, maintain, and
house your program glossary in one location, then link to it from wherever you would like.
How Glossaries are Managed in Synaptica
All glossaries currently being displayed from Terminology Services are maintained in the Active
Vocabularies Taskview within Synaptica. Each glossary, called an object class in Synaptica, is
described in the Vocabulary of Vocabularies (VoV), maintained by the Terminology Services
Coordinators. The VoV contains metadata for each vocabulary such as publishing organization,
the editor's contact information, and more.
Roles and Permissions
Your profile within the system dictates which object classes (i.e., glossaries) you can edit. Your
profile is created by one of the Terminology Services Coordinators. In the Editor role, you can
add and delete terms, and change associated content such as definitions and relationships
between terms and acronyms. The vocabularies, roles, and permissions are controlled by your
Taskview, a pre-filtered selection of vocabularies related to a specific task.
Related Resources
For further details about using Synaptica, see the Editors' Training Manual; for guidance on
glossary development, see Best Practices in Terminology Development and Management. Both
are available at:
https://iaspub.epa.gov/sor internet/reaistrv/termrea/outreachandeducation/educationalresources/manuals/
Select "Outreach and Education", "Educational Resources", then "Manuals".
For more information, contact the Terminology Services Coordinators:
Angelina Hurst	Michael Pendleton
hurst.anqelina@epa.gov	pendleton.michael@epa.qov
(202)566-0701	(202)566-1658
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1. Logging Into and Out of Synaptica
Enter Terminology Services - Synaptica KMS by going to Terminology Services extranet
.
Click "Launch Terminology Services Tool". Note that the system works best if you use Internet
Explorer,
Your User ID and Password are the same as your EPA LAN Login/Password. If you do not
have EPA Portal access, go to http://portal.epa.gov and request access using one of the
Terminology Services Coordinators as the EPA contact. If you have EPA Portal access and do
not have access to Synaptica KMS, contact the Terminology Services Coordinators.
If the User ID and Password are accepted, the Taskview selection page is displayed. This page
presents all the Taskviews available under your account.
To log out of Synaptica, click LOG OUT in the upper right corner of the page.
2. Viewing All the Terms in a Glossary
Synaptica®
Taskview: Please Login? User: Daniel McCarthy Versto
Taskviews Search Tree Browse A-Z Browse Add Reports Tools
Taskviews
Taskview Please Login; User. Daniel McCarthy
Login to a Taskview from the selection below:
•	Active Vocabularies
Contains all active vocabularies. It excludes those in the archive, the training, testing and loading vocabularies. Includes the facets of the Web Taxonomy.
•	Training Taskview
This Taskview contains all training vocabularies. Some are general and most are named for the trainee.
Log Out of Synaptica
Figure 1: Synaptica Homepage with Taskview List
Select a Taskview. Your glossary can be found in the Active Vocabularies Taskview.
Click SEARCH
Select your glossary from the Object Class scroll menu If you do not find your glossary,
contact a Terminology Services Coordinator.
Taskviews Search Tree Browse A-Z Browse Add Reports Tools Admin
Search
Search Type	Search Results
Search Phrase:
Smart Begins . Contains , Exact
|P] use wildcards
Range-Begin: a -w End: z »
0 Specific U ID:
a Use advanced filters only
Figure 2: Search page
Accessibility Glossary
ACE Glossary of Terms
Acid Rain Glossary
Formatting Options
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Click START SEARCH.
All the terms in your glossary are displayed.
Synaptica®
Taskviews Search Tree Browse A-Z B
Search
Search Type
Search Phrase:
0 Smart 0 Begins , Contains 0 Exact
[H use wildcards
or
( Range-Begin: a ~ End: z ~
or
0 Specific UD:
q Use advanced filters only
Object Class:	
Superfund Reforms (2010)
| Superfund S & T Glossary
Terminology Services Glossary
B Sub-Element Filters
El Date Filters
EI Status Filters
E Formatting Options
Reports
Search Results
Abbreviation (Terminology Services Glossary)
Acronym (Terminology Services Glossary)
American National Standards Institute (Terminology Services Glossary)
ANSI (Terminology Services Glossary)
API (Terminology Services Glossary)
Application Program Interface (Terminology Services Glossary)
Broader Term (Terminology Services Glossary)
BT (Terminology Services Glossary)
Category (Terminology Services Glossary)
Classification (Terminology Services Glossary)
Collaboration Software (Terminology Services Glossary)
Concept (Terminology Services Glossary)
Data (Terminology Services Glossary)
Designation (Terminology Services Glossary)
Dictionary (Terminology Services Glossary)	Figure 3: Search Results Display
Download (Terminology Services Glossary)
Editor (Terminology Services Glossary)
Equivalent Term (Terminology Services Glossary)
Extensible Markup Language (Terminology Services Glossary)
Facet (Terminology Services Glossary)
Glossary (Terminology Services Glossary)
Hierarchy (Terminology Services Glossary)
HTML (Terminology Services Glossary)
HyperText Markup Language (Terminology Services Glossary)
Indexing Language (Terminology Services Glossary)
Initialism (Terminology Services Glossary)
Interface (Terminology Services Glossary)
International Organization for Standardization (Terminology Services Glossary)
3. Adding Terms and Definitions to an Existing Glossary
Click ADD from the top menu bar. Select your Glossary from the pick list.
Synaptics®
Taskviews Search Tree Browse A-Z Browse Add Reports Tools Admin
Add Items
Add Item Form
Object Class
Synaptica ® Software Copy
- - Select Object Class - -
Regulations.gov Glossary
Reusable Vocabulary
ReVA Program Glossary
Risk Assessment Glossary
Runoff Control Econ Ben (1995)
Safe Drinking Water Glossary
Sediment TMDLs (Oct 1999)
SNAP Glossary
State & Local Climate & Energy
State & Regional Definitions
State Authorization Terms
STORET Legacy Glossary
SunWise Program Glossary
Superfund Reforms (2010)
Superfund S & T Glossary	
Terminology Services Glossary
Terms of Env (2009)
TMDLs (303d) Glossary
Top Green Home Terms
~nxir:~RPt Risk- Aispssmpnt
its Reserved.
Figure 4: Add Item - Selection of Object Class
The page will refresh with an Add Items display.
Enter the term in the Descriptor field. For this example, we entered Terminology.
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Synaptica®
Taskviews Search Tree Browse A-Z Browse Add Reports Tools Admin
Add Items
Add Item Form
Object Class Terminology Services Glossary ~
Recently Added Items
Sub-Elements
Descriptor:
Terminology
Defl:
Set of designations belonging to one special language. [ISO
1087-1:2000] NOTE: A term may contain symbols and can have .
variants, (e.g. different forms of spelling).
Def2:
Def3:
Def4:

Def5:

Source Note:

Editorial Note:

Scope Note:
Enter term here
Enter definition here
Figure 5: Adding Terms, Definitions, and
Setting Approval Status
El Administrative Attributes;
Approval;
Workflow:
Language:
Locked:
BLAT:
BTN:
Machine Load
Pending
Approved
Unapproved
Change status to Approved
0 Yes ,0i No
Enter the definition in the Def1 field (see Figure 5 above). Multiple definitions should be
entered in subsequent Def fields.
To make the term visible in the Terminology Services interface, set the approval status to
Approved.
4. Editing an Existing Term
To Edit an Existing Term, you can use the Search tab.
Enter an existing term in the search box. Select the Exact Search mode.
Select the glossary (object class) where the term is recorded. If you don't select the
glossary, the system will search in all object classes. In this example, we entered Terminology
and selected the Terminology Services Glossary.
Synaptics®
Taskviews Search Tree Browse A-Z I
Search
Search Type
rowse Add Reports Tools Admir
Search Results
Search Phrase: Terminology
i Smart ( Begins Contains ,g, Exact
in use wildcards
0 Range - Begin: a ~ End: z
or
0 Specific UD:
or
, Use advanced fitters only
Object Class:	
Figure 6: Searching for Existing Term
State Authorization Terms
STORET Legacy Glossary
SunWise Program Glossary
Superfund Reforms (2010)
Superfund S & T Glossary
Terminology Services Glossary
~
Start Search Reset Search
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Click START SEARCH
All records containing the search term appear on the right side of the page, with the glossary
(object class) in parentheses after each term.
Synaptica®
Taskviews Search Tree Browse A-Z Browse
Search
Search Type
Add
Reports Tools
Adn
Search Phrase: Terminology
Smart Begins , Contains © Exact
[F I use wildcards
	 or
Range-Begin: a -*¦ End: z ~
or
Specific UID:
or
Use advanced filters only
Object Class: 		
Search Results
Terminology (Terminology Services Glossary)
1 Items Found
Figure 7: Search Result for Existing Term
Superfund Reforms (2010)
Superfund S & T Glossary
Terminology Services Glossary
| Start Search | | Reset Search |
Click on the desired term.
An Item Summary window appears.




J
Item Summary


Relationships

Descriptor
Terminology




Object
Terminology Services Glossary


j Add/Edit Relationships j [ Tree View | [ Visualize ]

Categories



q Limit to Taskview 0i Show All

Status
Active; Approved; Preferred; Unlocked




UID
1746190


Terminology

Created
kathleen ellis 9/1/2009 2:29:22 PM




Modified
nikkia_anderson 9/24/2009 12:58:07 PM


Top Level Parents
Save
| Add New ] [ Subsume ]


Parents
| Refresh
| Categories ] [,. History )


Children
[ Deactivate
Delete [ Restore ]


Associations

L Copy I


Variants






Sub-Elements




Descriptor:
Terminology




Deft:
Set of designations belonging to one
£

Figure 8: Item Summary for an Existing Term


special language. [ISO 1087-1:2000]





NO It: A term may contain symbols





and can have variants, (e.g. different





forms of spelling).



In the Item Summary of a term you can:
•	edit the term (in the descriptor field)
•	add/delete a definition(s)
•	delete a term
•	restore a deleted term
•	add/delete AB/AF or Use/UF relationships (see below)
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After making changes to the Item Summary, click SAVE. Synaptica will timeout after a period of
time so it is best to SAVE once changes are made.
The change is saved when the Modified field reflects the change.
5. Deleting a Term
Relationships
Item Summary
Descriptor
Terminology
Object
Terminology Services Glossary
Categories

Status
Active; Approved; Preferred; Unlocked
UID
1746190
Created
kathleen ellis 9/1/2009 2:29:22 PM
Modified
nikkia_anderson 9/24/2009 12:58:07 PM
Save
Deactivate
Sub-Elements
Descriptor;
Terminology

Defl:
Set of designations belonging to one
special language. [ISO 1087-1:2000]
NOTE: A term may contain symbols
and can have variants, (e.g. different
forms of spelling).
[ Add/Edit Relationships )	| Tree View |
i0i Limit to Taskview Show All
Terminology
Top Level Parents
Parents
Children
Associations
Variants
Figure 9: Changing Term to Deleted
From the Item Summary of a Term -
Click DELETE. Delete is highlighted in red on the Item Summary page. A confirmation
message appears.
Click YES to confirm.
NOTE: The term and all its information will be retained in a deleted status. To find deleted terms
within an object class, use the status filters under the SEARCH tab, and change the STATUS
field to DELETED. Click START SEARCH. The deleted terms will appear in the results list.
To restore a deleted term to active status, click on the term and then click the RESTORE button.
This button only appears in records of terms that have deleted or deactivated (temporarily
unavailable) status. If you have trouble locating a term that you think should be in the glossary,
contact a Terminology Services Coordinator.
6. Adding and Deleting AB/AF Relationships
If you are adding a term such as "Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)", the term and
acronym should be added separately. Terminology Services has a special relationship (AB/AF)
that connects full terms to their acronym/abbreviation. This feature supports the ability to search
terms and acronyms separately within the Terminology Services Terms & Acronyms tab.
AB = Abbreviated By (applies to the acronym/abbreviation); AF = Abbreviated For (applies to
the term)
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Use the steps below to create an AB/AF relationship if both terms "Environmental Protection
Agency" and "EPA" already exist in the glossary. If either term does not exist, follow the steps
above for adding a term.
Click SEARCH tab to start your search.
Enter the full term in the search box (in this example, "Environmental Protection Agency'").
Select your glossary from the object class scroll menu.
Click START SEARCH.
The results of the search appear on the right panel of the screen. Select the appropriate term.
An Item Summary popup window appears.
Item Summary
Descriptor
Environmental Protection Agency
Object
Test Glossary
Categories

Status
Active; Candidate; Preferred; Unlocked
UID
1795531
Created
nikkia_anderson 1/31/2011 10:56:13 PM
P.lodified
nikkia_anderson 9/28/2011 12:26:14 PM
Categories
Delete
Copy
History
Sub-Elements
Descriptor:
Environmental Protection Agency
Relationships
Add/Edit Relationships Tree View
Visualize
(0) Limit to Taskview 0 Show All
Environmental Prc^Ktion Agency
Top Level Parent^-

Parents

Children

Associations

Variants

Figure 10: Adding a Relationship
Select the ADD/EDIT RELATIONSHIPS button in the right frame.
Enter the acronym/abbreviated term (for this example, "EPA") into the search box and click
the SEARCH button. The system will check to see if the term already exists. All records where
the term appears are displayed, with the respective glossary (object class) in parentheses after
each term. If the system finds that the term does not exist, the system will ask if you want to add
the term.
Click on the term you need.
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Item Summary
Descriptor
Environmental Protection Agency
Object
Test Glossary
Categories

Status
Active; Candidate; Preferred; Unlocked
UID
1795531
Created
nikkia_anderson 1/31/2011 10:56:13 PM
Modified
nikkia_anderson 9/28/2011 12:26:14 PM
[ Refresh ]	| Categories |
Copy
History
Sub-Elements
Descriptor:
Environmental Protection Agency

Search for related terms
Search phrase:
EPA|
Smart ,.9, Begins , Contains
Searching all permissible object classes
i Exact Object Class filter]
EPA (Test Glossary)
Assign
AB
Add Relationship
relationship:
Current Relationships ° Limit to Taskview
Figure 11: Adding a Relationship to Existing Term
The right frame presents your options to assign and then add a relationship type.
Item Summary
Descriptor
Environmental Protection Agency
Object
Test Glossary
Categories

Status
Active; Candidate; Preferred; Unlocked
UID
1795531
Created
nikkia_anderson 1/31/2011 10:56:13 PM
Modified
nikkia_anderson 9/28/2011 12:26:14 PM
Deactivate
| Add New |
[ Categories ]
| Subsume |
| History |
Sub-Elements
Descriptor;
Environmental Protection Agency
Search for related terms
Search phrase:
EFA
, Smart 0I Begins
Searching all permissible object
Object Class filter!
Add Relationship
Assign relationship:
Def1:
Figure 12: Adding an AB relationship
Select the AB relationship type and click ADD RELATIONSHIP.
You have now created the term/acronym (AB/AF) relationship: ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY AB EPA
Item Summary
Descriptor
Object
Categories
Statu s
HID
Created
Modified
Environmental Protection Agency
Test Glossary
Active; Candidate; Preferred; Unlocked
1795531
nikkia_anderson 1/31/2011 10:56:13 PM
nikkia_anderson 9/28/2011 12:26:14 PM
Deactivate
Add New
Sub-Elements
Environmental Protection Agency
	Search phrase:
EPA
Smart Begins Contains ,
Object Class filter!
| Add Relationship |
Assign relationship: AB t
| Cancel ,|
Current Relationships ® Limit to Taskview Show All
|rE-| [ab| ERA (Test Glossary)
Figure 13: AB/AF Relationship
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The relationship you created is listed under Current Relationships.
The system automatically builds the reciprocal relationship EPA AF ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY.
The interface also supports Use/UF relationships. This relationship type distinguishes between
preferred/non-preferred terms. If you have terms with this type of relationship in your glossary,
follow the same steps listed above to create the Use/UF.
Use = preferred term; UF = non-preferred term
If you have other relationships in your glossary, contact the Terminology Services Coordinators.
7. Setting Up a New Glossary
The previous functions have been performed on existing glossaries. If you need to create or
import a new glossary, contact one of the Terminology Services Coordinators. They can provide
you with guidance on creating new glossaries, such as best practices and how to leverage the
repository of hundreds of EPA glossaries containing thousands of terms and definitions, as
there may be opportunities for standardization of EPA terminology.
In addition, the Coordinators will need to know who should have access to the glossary and with
which permissions. If there are new users who do not currently have access to Terminology
Services, the Coordinator will need their contact information and a statement about the reason
they will be accessing the system.
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