My question is I use Logos since Wordsearch got bought up but am interested in thoughts on this program for possible purchase thank you

T

Thomas 63640

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I would like to hear users ideas of why use this program I saw it only yesterday and am interested in it. I do have a large number of books from Wordsearch moved over or being moved over to Logos which I purchased the Platinum addition as replacement but I'm very interested in this one and just want others who use the program to throw their 2 cents in here so I can get a better feel for the program from its users.
Thank you in advance,
Thomas
 
I can get a better feel for the program from its users.
Swordsearcher is the best Bible program in my opinion. It's easy to use and fast. I have used it for many years and have tried a lot of other programs. It has all the features I need for Bible study. Brandon is very responsive to user input but doesn't compromise his design principles.

You will not be able to easily convert resources from Wordsearch or Logos. One the other hand you can create your own Bibles, commentaries, books, etc from text or HTML.

One of my favorite features is synchronized verse level audio while the Bible scrolls. I can read the text, listen, take notes, and highlight verses with our without pausing.

You should watch some of the videos at this link - https://www.swordsearcher.com/video/index.html

Bill
 
The beauty of SS is that you actually own what you buy and there are a lot of free modules. This is unlike other bible software where you basically just pay for the ability to install various books/commentaries and hope they'll be there for you in the future if you need to reinstall. PLUS... you won't find better bible study software ANYWHERE!!
 
Well I appreciate the info from the users and from the software creator as well I will give the trail a run later this week but will end up buying into the program largely based on price at the $60.00 I surely can loose :cool:
 
Swordsearcher is the best Bible program in my opinion. It's easy to use and fast. I have used it for many years and have tried a lot of other programs. It has all the features I need for Bible study. Brandon is very responsive to user input but doesn't compromise his design principles.

You will not be able to easily convert resources from Wordsearch or Logos. One the other hand you can create your own Bibles, commentaries, books, etc from text or HTML.

One of my favorite features is synchronized verse level audio while the Bible scrolls. I can read the text, listen, take notes, and highlight verses with our without pausing.

You should watch some of the videos at this link - https://www.swordsearcher.com/video/index.html

Bill
My favorite thing about SwordSearcher is that a person can search, (using Search, Topic and Verse Guide) for a text such as Genesis 3:16 and if some commentator in any commentary, even user created ones, has commented and listed Ge 2:4-4:26 it will find it. Also, do a topic search for "mercy" and find topics with the words "mercies" and "merciful"
 
I have both SS and Logos and have used both for at least five years. They are both good programs. I agree that Logos includes tons of books that I do not use. It seems to me that Logos is oriented around what others say about the Bible while SS is oriented around the Bible. I prefer the latter. I do have a long standing issue with SS over verse copying which is what I primarily use a bible program for. I need to have greater flexibility in formatting than what SS allows. Logos allows more flexible formatting, so I use it for verse copying.

As I have read through the posts on this issue, it is apparent to me that what I am reading about is various people's preferences. That is good, but it does not necessarily mean one program is superior to another. It merely means that some people prefer one program over another.
 
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I have both SS and Logos and have used both for at least five years. They are both good programs. I agree that Logos includes tons of books that I do not use. It seems to me that Logos is oriented around what others say about the Bible while SS is oriented around the Bible. I prefer the latter. I do have a long standing issue with SS over verse copying which is what I primarily use a bible program for. I need to have greater flexibility in formatting than what SS allows. Logos allows more flexible formatting, so I use it for verse copying.
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As I have read through the posts on this issue, it is apparent to me that what I am reading about is various people's preferences. That is good, but it does not necessarily mean one program is superior to another. It merely means that some people prefer one program over another.
Hi there, john45. I agree-people have different study 'Preferences' and methods. Amen!
I'm sharing 5 screenshots (in order) to maybe help you with the COPY/PASTE issue that you mentioned. Please forgive me if you already know about these functions in SS. Just trying to help. Photos 1-3 go to File; Page Setup; Fonts etc. Photos 4-5 go to Edit; Configure Copy/Export Formatting etc. God bless.
 
I've been using the free version of Logos as a secondary/backup for my Bible notes, just as a hedge because Bible programs don't always continue forever. But I like SwordSearcher's navigation and notes configuration, not to mention value. So here is my limited comparison experience. I have them both set up very similarly -- dark mode, 2 columns with tabs, Bible(s) on the left, notes/commentaries on the right, using the same fonts throughout.

I have paid for the full version of SS, and $20 for the Strong's Concordance to go with the free Logos application.

Positives for SS:

The Bible display and navigation in SS is a little nicer IMO (slightly more readable), and when I scroll, I can scroll each line smoothly/individually at a time. With Logos, the Bible scrolls in chunks, which is fairly annoying for me in actual usage as I will scroll too far up or down. The navigation to other books/chapters in SS is really awesome and quick. Drop-down, pick your book/chapter, done. It's not bad in Logos, but SS has it down to a science, as they say. Pretty much effortless. SS includes the book, chapter and verse inline as you read the Bible, and each chapter is contained in its own window (which I like). Logos is a continuous scroll Bible, with just the verse number most of the time. So you have to look at the search window to know where you're at, and it's easy to scroll beyond where you intend to be. So SS wins the reading/navigation ease-of-use category for me.

Logos uses anchors, tagging and notebooks for notes organization. This allows for more flexibility, but it is more time consuming and complicated. You need to have a plan for how you want to organize your notes, make sure you remember to anchor and tag as you go (documentation, documentation), then you can run filters on those anchor-tags to pull them up. With SwordSearcher, you create a book/commentary for notes and they are automatically attached to the verses as you create them (well, you do "set" the verse, but it's a little quicker than anchoring). That fulfills 2 common anchor-tags right there without thinking about it, and goes with the normal flow of Bible study. :) That probably denigrates the power of Logo's methodology a bit, but just keep in mind effort-vs-reward. If you really need that kind of complexity, it's there with Logos, but it's not really needed with SS. Maybe tagging would still be useful with SS, but I haven't thought of how just yet.

EDIT: I forgot to include the fact that Logos does auto-sync their notes to their servers, so you have an off-line backup. But I do the same with SS by placing my user modules in a Dropbox folder, and I keep local backups of those. But you do have be careful not to access them simultaneously from 2 PC,s or from PC/Surface. However, SS also includes a good export feature for notes, which Logos does not, and this is a huge plus for me.

EDIT2: I also couldn't help but add one other positive for the SS notes feature -- you can group a few verse references together in a note, and they all pop up together (ie. John 3:2-5, Mark 3:7, etc). So you don't have to hover over the references individually. While the references need to be short enough to fit within the pop-up window, this is a great feature to have.

One thing I do like about Logos, which most will not care at all about, is the updated UI design language. I work in IT so I'm infected by this bias. Most modern apps are moving away from the older menu/small button bar combo for a touch-easy UI with larger, cleaner buttons. You can see that even with Windows 11 File Manager. The Logos button bar is simplified and the program settings are mostly toggle-able and simple, for a cleaner presentation. This might be hard to do with SS because it has such a robust user-customizable interface, and the development IDE has to allow for it. However, since SS is, IMO, as professionally designed as Logos, I think it could benefit from this kind of refresh at some point, and make it more usable on a Surface tablet. That's just my thought on it, but certainly not high-pri for overall usability.

Oh, and there's no getting away from it, but Logos is definitely more market-oriented, with many pre-configured packages costing way up there, almost like purchasing a car. SwordSearcher will never be in the same broad market as Logos because it is more concerned with keeping within a narrower perspective on biblical Christianity. This isn't to pass judgment on the FaithLife folks (I am using their free version, after all), but it might impact your decision what you'd prefer to support if you don't require the broader perspective served by Logos. I hope I said that in a way that isn't objectionable. So that relates to the value: Logos will generally cost a good deal of money and provide a lot of resources you don't necessarily want or need in a very broad scope, and it is a professional setup. Whereas the value of SS is that it includes all (and really, better) features and functionality, plus a more valuable and useful selection of resources, all for a reasonable price.

Just my thoughts.
 
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Just my thoughts.
Thank you for the extremely thoughtful post. I have no experience using Logos at all, so I do appreciate such a detailed and reasoned explanation. I often get questions about Logos (wanting comparisons I cannot provide); I will point people to this post.

Your suggestions for research on the UI are well stated. It is something I often revisit.
 
Thank you for the extremely thoughtful post. I have no experience using Logos at all, so I do appreciate such a detailed and reasoned explanation. I often get questions about Logos (wanting comparisons I cannot provide); I will point people to this post.

Your suggestions for research on the UI are well stated. It is something I often revisit.

Thank you. There is more in support that could be written for SS, but I have to stop somewhere or create my own blog post. :) I may do just that.

I should say that the UI of SS does not look outdated, though some of the alternatives out there do, and look pretty cluttered. That doesn't mean they aren't functional, and if people enjoy using them, that's perfectly fine, of course. But since SS is already at the top of the ease-of-use and functionality scale, it could only benefit to refine it with that in mind. The Bible and resource presentation itself is mostly there already.
 
I would hate to think about being tied to just a commercial-world program like Logos. without at least one other option! I've tried to 'dive' into Logos a few times, but I ended returning everything thanks to their 30-day money back guarantee. Pros and Cons... I still can't understand why the greatness of SS usually falls on deaf ears when I try to promote it to someone. Oh well. I'm sure glad I came across SS years ago!
 
I would hate to think about being tied to just a commercial-world program like Logos. without at least one other option! I've tried to 'dive' into Logos a few times, but I ended returning everything thanks to their 30-day money back guarantee. Pros and Cons... I still can't understand why the greatness of SS usually falls on deaf ears when I try to promote it to someone. Oh well. I'm sure glad I came across SS years ago!
Indeed !
I bring it up to some "friends" too, and same type of answers. . .
"deaf ears". they are the worst.... loll
 
I would like to hear users ideas of why use this program I saw it only yesterday and am interested in it. I do have a large number of books from Wordsearch moved over or being moved over to Logos which I purchased the Platinum addition as replacement but I'm very interested in this one and just want others who use the program to throw their 2 cents in here so I can get a better feel for the program from its users.
Thank you in advance,
Thomas
Here are some of the reasons I prefer Sword Searcher to Wordsearch or Logos or e-Sword or any other Bible program I've found online:
1. Sword Searcher was created by Brandon Staggs and is fully owned by Brandon Staggs and therefore is not being bought out repeatedly by one company after another who insists you must purchase and RE-purchase the same material over and over. It's RELIABLE.
2. For one price, the library you get is breathtaking. I used to have all the volumes counted, I can't count them now, that's how much you get. And within this library you will find otherwise hard-to-find resources anywhere else. When minor updates are done, those are free, and when a major update is done, as a Sword Searcher "owner", the upgrade is a fraction of the cost.
3. This program is not reliant on an internet connection once you have downloaded it. This runs while you're offline just as lightning fast as when you're online.
4. Every scripture citation is automatically turned into a link: whether you write it yourself in your own, created book or commentary or it came with one of the modules packaged with the program. The links are instantaneous.
5. Besides the breath-taking vastness of the library you get for the one time price, there are seemingly endless user-made modules available on this site that you can download and use in this program. You get to pick and choose.
6. My perhaps favorite part is that you can copy a text from anywhere with scripture citations in it, run a "Search text" then load ALL citations fully written out with just a couple of clicks! This is fantastic for putting together a study that is easily accessible regardless of how many citations are in it! You can even pick how you want the citations to be written out (Book:chapter:verse:text or Text line for line or paragraph:book:chapter:verse as only two of several possibilities).
7. Forums include caring communication, even prayers for one another as well as access to the user-created modules.
8. Videos on just about everything you can want to know about how to use the program.

I could keep on listing more, but I really highly recommend the 30 day trial that the creator of this software, Brandon Staggs recommended above. That's how I started and I have never had reason to regret it!
 
I'm not seeing a way to close the thread I have what I was looking for thank you and I will give the trail a run
That's okay. Most of us LOVE to go on and on about Sword Searcher. As another person said it seems to, strangely, fall on deaf ears most of the time. I think a lot of us are excited just to hear someone inquire about Sword Searcher!
 


Good thread to get ideas from experienced users of Bible study software options. My preference for the computer is SwordSearcher for the past 15 years with a few missionary packages to distribute to others. The main reason is to reduce the fluff and increase the quality of the end product - understanding the Bible and teaching it to others. Ephesians 5:16 (KJVSL) Redeeming ἐξαγοράζω the time καιρός, because ὅτι the days ἡμέρα are εἰσί evil πονηρός. Soon I will teach these tools at church in a Sunday School or after Sunday church service activity. The Geneva Bible (GB) and Spanish Reina Valera (RVG) are very helpful too, even the Young's Literal Translation (YLT) at times, but more and more - the KJV as the best version, not perfect, but best.

However, I wish a mobile edition would be available. The phone app for Blue Letter Bible is my go-to for phone applications. The only thing to be aware of is the weak Calvary Chapel doctrine of tongues and gifts, which is counterweighed by many sound doctrine factors, and other options. The last tool I use on occasion is Bible Hub, only for comparing versions of the Bible for history, and the differences of the Antioch and Alexandrian families of manuscripts.

The 3rd and last personal study option mentioned above is the longevity of any program. I created the MS-Word hyperlinked Rightly Dividing (RD) Bible where I continually update and print a fresh edition every few years. I see each of the 66 books as a treasure Job 38:22 (KJV) Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
 
Yeah I tell people about Sword Searcher but sometimes it feels like it falls in deaf ears or something. One guy say it was too much money, but I know he had the money to buy it. If you are on a budget get PowerBible CD. That program is good too, but it doesn't have as many features as Sword Searcher. By the way, how much is Logos? Isn't it like $500 dollars or something.
 
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