In a structured data base, such as that obtained when information is indexed in a format including explicit relations, retrieval of all relevant items in response to a question may, in some cases, be restricted by technicalities of the structure. Condensations in the form of logical jumps, or the omission of a concept with one relation out of a string of three concepts with two interstitial relations, have been investigated by two different methods, in order to overcome one of these technicalities. Thirty-two rules are proposed which could permit the automatic condensation of either or both the stored information and the question, when the concepts and relations are in the form of linear or string display. Nine rules are proposed for condensation of angular structures. Other types of logical jump and abbreviation are discussed, together with related studies of expansions and inference steps.