Bible Software for You

Bible Software for You.

I’ve just learned some new features on my MAC for Logos Bible Software.  Those updates are later down in the blog.  The time I spend working and learning Bible software is useful because it reminds me to look for it in other platforms.  The result is, there is value in ANY Bible software you use.  This post can’t be exhaustive as there are many good products out there. 

First.  I’m not going to talk about online study systems.  Check for another post on that. If you follow my analysis on facebook, you might think me a bit neurotic about Bible Software.  I’ve used PC Study Bible, Logos version 3, PC Study Bible, Logos version 4, Wordsearch version 9, Logos version 4, and Accordance version 9.  ALL of them are great pieces of software.  Although Accordance is native to the MAC and loaded with features, I’ve landed back with Logos for two reasons.  First.  The resources.  I’ve spent years developing a Logos library, and the world is turning digital.  Second.  The features.  While Accordance is slap out faster than Logos, and it has an intuitive interface that is relatively easy to use, Logos is more systemic.  You can see the big picture in Logos and the wordprocessing interface shortcuts, devotions, resource associations, clippings, notes, and library organization keeps Logos  above the competition. The end game is as many blogs declare, what do you want the software to do for you?   I’m a sucker for new features.  You can be sure I’ll watch the videos and read the reviews as version 10 for Accordance and version 5 for Logos comes out.

How do you choose the right kind of Bible Software? That completely depends on YOU.  If you’re the type of person that likes books and lots of them, you proabably want Logos.  If you are a MAC person and it’s all about cool and functional  AND you haven’t invested any $$ in a software and want to build a digital library….better go with Accordance.

If you are a PC only person.  Logos is your thing.  If budget is an issue and you don’t care about features….Wordsearch is where you get the most for your money.

For those who really want the drill down between Logos and Accordance, check out the previous blog I did when reviewing Accordance.

Here are the latest tips.

First.  In Logos for PC you can drag and drop any selected text from your word-processor. This is a tremendous time saver.  As Logos is fond of saying, the software is a time-machine.

Second, In Logos for MAC, you can simply click right arrow or left arrow to move between resources (great for devotions).  In addition, when you have Copy Bible verses open and your Bible, you can highlight the biblical passage AND IT WILL automatically update the copy Bible verss section.  This looks like a hidden feature to me, maybe they have forgotten that its that convenient to copy Bible verses.  Of course once its in the panel, you just tell it where you want the text to go:  word, pages, powerpoint, keynote, etc.

Back to the MAC, Check out these Keyboard Shortcuts for Mac on the WIKI page.

One I just learned today was Option-Command-L which puts your curser in the Command bar from wherever you are on the page.  If you do this several times in a row, on different layouts, it will become natural for you and speed up your study.