Bible+ User's Guide

Version 2.2

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Bible+ is © 2001-03 by contributing programmers and can be downloaded from http://palmbibleplus.sourceforge.net/ . Bible versions available for use with Bible+ are public domain or are licensed from their copyright holders. The names of the versions themselves may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This documentation copyright © 2003 Yih-Chun Hu.


Table of Contents

Installing Bible+ and Bible Versions
Main Form
    Edit SubMenu
    Navigate SubMenu
    Options SubMenu
Bookmarks Form
    Edit SubMenu
Jump Form
Preferences Form
Search Form
Search Results Form
Notes Form
    Edit SubMenu
Advanced Features
Troubleshooting
More Questions?

Installing Bible+ and Bible Versions

Install one of the .prc files, such as PalmBible+_eng.prc . If you are running Palm OS 5 or later, or if you are unsure, install PalmBible+_eng.prc ; otherwise, install PalmBible+_eng_lite.prc . To install a file using Windows, use the Install Tool from the Palm Desktop installation. (Run Palm Desktop and click the "Install" icon). Click "Add," and select the appropriate .prc file.

Install one or more Bible versions. They are available from http://palmbibleplus.sourceforge.net/bibles.html . They can be installed on the memory card in \Palm\Programs\PPBL (recommended) or \Palm\Launcher . If \Palm\Programs\PPBL includes any bibles, \Palm\Launcher is not searched. You can move the files around on the card using FileZ, available from http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?prodID=9992 .


Main Form

Title Bar: Shows current location. Tap to bring up menu.
Back/Forward: History back and forward
Bible Version Selector: Select version for top viewer
Swap Versions: Swap top/bottom versions. Works even in single view
2/1: Toggle dual view
Jump: Pops up a list of books
Snapshot: Load, set, or delete snapshots
Search: Search current version
Bookmarks: Set, go to, comment and delete bookmarks
Viewers: These show the current bible versions, and highlights bookmarks. Tap and drag to scroll viewers. Double-tap on a word to copy it to the clipboard.

Hard Buttons:

DateBook button: Forward in History
AddressBook button: Back in History
MemoPad button: toggle memo form
Up button: Go to previous page
Down button: Go to next page
Left button (5-Way Navigator): Go to previous chapter
Right button (5-Way): Go to next chapter
Middle button (5-Way): Pop up a list of books (like Jump button)

Graffiti:

Write a space character: next chapter
Write a backspace (delete) character: previous chapter
Write "a": add bookmark
Write "d": toggle dual view
Write "f": open search dialog
Write "j": open jump screen
Write "k": Set, go to, comment and delete bookmarks
Write "m": open notes page
Write "n": toggle footnote display
Write "v": select version
Write "w": swap top and bottom versions
Write "th": set top version to be Hebrew
Write "tg": set top version to be Greek
Write "ts": set top version to be Standard
Write "bh": set bottom version to be Hebrew
Write "bg": set bottom version to be Greek
Write "bs": set bottom version to be Standard
Write chapter number, a colon, and the verse number to go there. Ex: write "3:16" for chapter 3, verse 16. Some characters other than : are also acceptable, such as a comma, a dot, or a slash.

Other Taps:

Double-tap a word to copy it.
Double-tap a verse number to bring up a cross-reference list (requires a cross-reference database).

Edit SubMenu

Search: open the search form
Copy Screen: copy screen to Palm clipboard (can paste in MemoPad, for example)
Copy Verse: copy current verse to Palm clipboard. Copies the earliest verse shown (any amount, even just one pixel) in the top viewer.
Toggle Footnotes: Toggle footnote display (same as "n")
Delete Versions: delete a version. Only works for versions loaded in RAM.

Navigate SubMenu

Forward: History forward
Back: History Back
Notes: a notes page internal to Bible+
Goto: the old BibleReader Goto menu
Jump: the new, table-based Jump menu
Bookmark: Set, go to, comment and delete bookmarks

Options SubMenu

Preferences: set preferences
Version Info: information about available bible versions
About Bible+: information about this program

Bookmark Form

Category Selector: when no bookmark is selected, this selects which bookmarks are shown. When a bookmark is selected, this selects a category for the bookmark.
+: Add current as a bookmark
: Delete selected bookmark
X: close bookmark form
Graffiti: edit comment associated with the selected bookmark
Up or Move Up: select previous, or page up if none selected
Down or Move Down: select next, or parge down if none selected
Left (5-Way) or Move Left: deselect, or close if none selected
Right (5-Way), Move Right or Middle (5-Way): go to bookmark, or select top item if none selected
Double tap bookmark: go to bookmark

Edit SubMenu

Copy Annotation: Copy the annotation of the currently selected bookmark to the clipboard
Paste Annotation: Append the contents of the clipboard to the annotation of the currently selected bookmark
Export Bookmarks: Export bookmarks to new MemoPad memo


Jump Form

Graffiti: write a unique prefix of the book name to select. If there isn't one (eg John is Jn and Jonah is Jnh, and you want to go to John), then write "jn" . On color devices, the form will highlight all matching books.
Version selectors: Left selector chooses version for the top viewer, and right selector chooses version for bottom viewer
Book Table: Table of books available. Tap to automatically go to that book.
Dual Version Display: check to show two versions at the same time.
OK: Make changes
Cancel: Return to viewer without changes.
Tungsten 5 Way: Middle button: go to book, four directions: change selection

Preferences Form

Click on any of the colors next to Book, Chap. No, Text, Title, and Verse No. to choose the color those are shown in. The bold check box selects which of these types of text should be bold.
Virtual bold provides a bold font using standard font. Creates bold fonts when the existing system doesn't provide one.
Use Hard Keys enables the use of the four hard keys (otherwise bound to applictions)
Smooth Scroll toggles whether or not scrolling is "smooth". Turn this off to scroll faster.
Space selectors allow you to choose the amount of space between lines and between words.
No blank lines selectors let you select when you want to see completely blank lines in the viewer.
Faster Search enables faster searching for European languages. Disable to save 64k of memory.
A number of new preferences were introduced in 2.2. These do not appear in the screenshot.
Scroll Entire Screen means the up and down keys scroll an entire screenful (rather than leaving one line for continuity).
Switch Title To/From Verse causes the title to revert to "Bible+" after displaying the current location for a set period of time.
Chapter/Verse After Jump causes the Goto form to appear after the Jump form is closed. This allows non-Graffiti selection of a chapter and verse. If you use this, you should first consider why you're not using Graffiti; it's often much faster.
Sort Books Alphabetically Sorts books in alphabetical order, as opposed to traditional order.
Hidden Footnotes as * makes hidden footnotes appear as * instead of the little circle, since the little circle conflicts with some two-character systems (such as Chinese).

Search Form

Snapshot saves, recalls, or deletes a snapshot. It also allows the selection of the current book.
The verse chooser on the left selects the beginning point of the search (book, chapter, and verse), and the verse chooser on the right selects the ending point of the search. Note that to search, say, Matthew through John, you must set the "To" verse chooser to Acts 1:1 or to John 21:25.
Search text should be written into the Search Text text field.
Case sensitivity is selected by the dropdown on the lower right. Greek and Hebrew transliteration are also available.


Search Results Form

Search: Restart search. If all 10 search results slots are filled, this clears them and starts from the next verse.
New: Start a new search
Close: Close the search results form and go back to the viewers

Notes Form

Export the current note as a memo in MemoPad.


Edit SubMenu

Undo the last activity in the text field.
Copy the current selection to the clipboard.
Cut the current collection to the clipboard.
Paste the current clipboard text at the insertion point (in place of the active selection).
Export the current note as a memo in MemoPad.


Advanced Features

Greek and Hebrew:


If you want automatic font setting, name your Greek files starting with a "z" and your Hebrew files starting with a "q".
Clie HiRes+ support in OS5:

If you're a OS5 Clie user with a HiRes+ capable PDA, HiRes+ is now supported on your device using CodeDiver (http://www.jade.dti.ne.jp/~imazeki/palm/cDiv/index-e.html)
To use CodeDiver to get HiRes+ on an OS5 device:
  • Install CodeDiverEng.prc
  • Launch CodeDiver
  • Turn CodeDiver On
  • Press "Add" on the main screen, and select Bible+ from the pulldown
  • Tap the Virtual Silk popup trigger
  • Set SizeChg to "Force" and StartedSize to "Long."
  • Press the AppLaunch button
Caveat: Things get a bit messy when you change resolution. If you use the VG area for Graffiti in the Search, Bookmark, Notes, or Snapshot Naming forms, be sure to set it back BEFORE returning to the main form, or you will need to open and close a form (such as search) to restore sanity.
Also note that CodeDiver is shareware. If you use CodeDiver for longer than 30 days, please register.

Clie HiRes support:


If you're a pre-OS5 Clie user, HiRes Greek and Hebrew is now supported on your device. Here's how it works:

  1. Here is what you need in addition to the contents of the Bible+ zip file:
      1. Make sure you have a Sony Clie that supports HiRes that is pre-OS5. If you have a TG50, NX60, NX70, or NZ90, you don't need to go through these steps--just install the Bible+ file (the normal one, not the "lite" file).
      2. The fonts cilicia.pdb and sirach.pdb. These fonts are included with Bible+ in the file cliefont.zip, or downloadable separately form the Files page (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=76801)
      3. X-Master (http://linkesoft.com/xmaster/)
      4. FontHack123 4.0c (http://www.sergem.net/fonthack123/); make sure it is version 4.0c.
      5. Optional, but recommended: Sanserif18 font, which will also make your English (and other latin alphabet) texts the same hi-res, smaller fonts (http://www.pilot.sk/lubak/cliefonts.htm).
  2. Install X-Master and FontHack123 4.0c first (if not already installed).
  3. Install a _lite version of the .prc (you won't use any of the fonts in it, so I may eventually release an _ultralite version), as well as the fonts cilicia and sirach (included), and sanserif18.
  4. Make sure Clie Hi-Res assist is ON (or if you use SwitchDash, *don't* put Bible+ on the exceptions list).
  5. Enable Fonthack123 and, choosing PalmBible+, associate as follows:
  6. Standard

    Sanserif18 (0)

    Bold

    Sanserif18 (0)

    Large

    Sirach (0)

    LargeBold

    Cilicia (0)

    HrStandard

    Sanserif18 (1)

    HrBold

    Sanserif18 (1)

    HrLarge

    Sirach (1)

    HrLargeBold

    Cilicia (1)

    Note: The sirach (0) and cilicia (0) choices are not visible in Fonthack123; tap on the blank space above sirach (1) and cilicia (1), and they will show up as chosen.

  7. Make sure that your Greek texts begin with "z" and Hebrew, with "q," and open Bible+. You should have hi-res Greek and Hebrew.
  8. Because Fonthack123 is sensitive to applications being deleted, make sure to disable Fontack123 before updating Bible+ to newer versions. This will save one from having to reenter the font substitutions above.

Technical Note:

Please note that for now, the LR fonts (i.e. cilicia (0) and sirach (0)) are *completely blank*, and are there to give programs a guidance on size *only*. This could change eventually, but I think the font code needs to be unified and a "convert-to-lowres" feature could then be used by both readlrfont and mklrfont.

Skins:


Skins can be used to enhance the Bible+ interface. See readme.skins for more details on writing skins. To load skins, just install the corresponding .prc file. There is not yet a tool within Bible+ to remove or disable skins. FileZ, available from http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?prodID=9992 , is a good file management tool.

Palm Vx Users:


Bible+ requires OS3.5. Palm offers an upgrade for Palm Vx users at http://www.palm.com/support/35upgrade/palmvx_upgrade.html .

Troubleshooting

I can't read copyrighted bible versions from BibleReader

Bible+ will not support copyrighted versions. You could fix it by converting your own copy-protected version into a non-copy-protected version (with BibleConverter), or finding it somewhere on the web. You could also modify the source code, which is available. The TODO document has details on how the encryption works, and I firmly believe that any moderately skilled cryptanalyst could trivially break the encryption. I would do it myself, but I don't live in a free country, so there are laws that restrict my ability to write and publish this particular feature, under 17 USC 1201. (At least political speech, such as the above, is still protected by the First Amendment).

I'm running out of memory

Disable fast search to save around 64k. Bibles in memory don't take additional memory to use, but (obviously) take up storage; bibles on memory cards are transferred in on-demand, which takes memory.

More Questions?

This is a once-in-a-while hacking project for me (recently a bit more than that, but as of 2.0, I'll be scaling back my effort considerably). Please don't expect any direct support; however, you can post any questions or comments in the forums.