[bd-users] bibledesktop-users Digest, Vol 24, Issue 3

Thu Jul 5 17:10:23 MST 2007

<blockquote>
On Thu, 2007-07-05 at 12:00 -0700,
bibledesktop-users-request at crosswire.org wrote: 

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> Today's Topics:
> 
>    1. Is there something screwy on the Windows version? (Carl Peterson)
>    2. Re: Is there something screwy on the Windows version? (DM Smith)
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2007 00:30:50 -0400
> From: "Carl Peterson" <carlopeterson at gmail.com>
> Subject: [bd-users] Is there something screwy on the Windows version?
> To: bibledesktop-users at crosswire.org
> Message-ID:
> 	<6ac0ff0e0707042130rae1c298ob0b614be13832d3d at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> I just downloaded and installed BD to my Windows machine. Two things that
> immediately strike me upon entering:
> 
> 1) What's up with the drop-down box for the Bible translations? The width of
> the box is almost nothing. When I click the drop-down arrow, all I can see
> is the first letter of the version name. Am I the only one seeing that. I
> run Vista, if that makes any difference.
> 
> 2) I know you said you really don't want the commentaries in with the
> Bibles, but it would be nice if I could set the commentary pane to sync with
> the Bible. Also, a "prev note"/"next note" button set next to the Scripture
> pickers would help. I'm not very familiar with how commentary modules are
> set up, but is introductory material (book introductions, chapter
> introductions) contained in a separate record or is it lumped in with the
> commentary for the first verse of whatever region its introducing? If the
> former is the case, it would be nice to have an option to select using the
> pick boxes those introductions.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Carl Peterson
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> ------------------------------
> >  
> > 2) I know you said you really don't want the commentaries in with the 
> > Bibles, but it would be nice if I could set the commentary pane to 
> > sync with the Bible.

> Would it be sufficient to make the selected commentary jump to the first 
> verse on the page? (This would be easy)
> 
> If you click in a verse in a page, would it be good to jump? (This may 
> be hard and may conflict with how we might do linking to a dictionary) 
> Maybe clicking on the verse number would make it jump?

</blockquote>
Just a user-driven POV here:  

If you are going to link Commentary to Text, there are two things to
keep in mind.  One is the difference between Inactive, Hover, and
Select.  You should be able to change the Bible view without losing your
place in the commentary, but you should also see both views change when
you move on.  There should be a clear-cut method for doing both, as you
mention.

The other is that, yes, the link-unlink button (as in e-Sword) is a good
idea.

<blockquote> 

> Commentaries are laid out just like Bibles. Both have the notion of 
> introductory material at verse "0". So Genesis 0:0, would give 
> introductory material for Genesis. Gen 1:0 would give introductory 
> material for Genesis 1.
> 
> That said, Bible Desktop does not yet do this but it is in our queue.
> 

</blockquote>

I have been lobbying for quite a while--though I have let it rest
lately--for a more CHTML-like view of things.  e-text is supposed to be
superior to printed text.  It is usually not.  One reason is that
viewing a full page, and being able to rapidly scan it with your eye, is
difficult and awkward on a landscape-oriented screen (wider than long,
yet not quite big enough to display two pages).  Even the Big Boys like
Adobe haven't figured out how to fix this, IMHO.

I read fast.  Very fast.  So the presentation of the page is to me a
significant limiting factor.  I think it should always be uppermost in
our minds.  The most convenient apps for me to use, to date, are Firefox
(has tabs) and TiddlyWiki (opens a new view as a following paragraph).

Tabs are way cool.  It has been suggested, by a user who shall remain
nameless, that Bible and Commentary could be openable in tabs.  But this
user-that-Jesus-loves is waiting to see what the whole Mozilla UI is
about.

So, if we have a decent page view, the other thing is to enable search
indexing __without disturbing the page view__.  Like CHTML (MS Help
view).

The example I have used before is being able to visually scan adjacent
entries in a dictionary.  To a learner--Gk. "disciple", so all of us are
learners--it is very important to be able to instantly compare
semantically related entries.  CHTML again.

I sure like what the NET Bible has done with their online version.  It
is almost on a par with BD -- some better, some less -- for information
and ease of use.  And they've done it all with HTML, PHP, and that web
database thingy whose name I forget.  If only I could put it on a stick.

The two things that are lacking in BD, IMHO, are things that e-Sword has
had since way back in the '90's.  A good user-editable and linkable
Personal Commentary, and word processing support.  Tools are evolving to
the point that wiki seems like the direction to go with these.  But I
digress.

I mainly meant to say, "Amen."  Be careful what and how you link, and
beware of getting tunnel vision about linking, so that commentaries
__only__ open in verse-by-verse view (so that introductions are in
Chapter 0).  If it is not at least as good as print--and just as easy to
use--why bother?

(On that note, I'd like to see the page //scroll// to the previous/next
chapter, kind of like PDF, rather than just have buttons <- ->.  For
example when that guy riding in a carriage across France put in all the
NT verse numbers in one trip, and sometimes he put chapter divisions in
the middle of a thought,)

Thanks,

Coby

PS it is really good to see some traffic on this list. 

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