E-Sword Guide PDF
E-Sword Guide PDF
E-Sword Guide PDF
Revision: 8/1/2014
e-Sword 10.4
Why Cant I View Topic Notes Files in the Reference Library? ............................................173
Opening the Reference Library ...........................................................................................173
Reference Library: Background, Foreground, Resizing .......................................................174
Viewing Resources in the Reference Library .......................................................................175
Filtering Resources in the Reference Library .......................................................................175
Searching the Active Reference Library Window .................................................................176
Searching the Reference Library - Basic .............................................................................177
Additional Search Options Wheel ........................................................................................179
Searching the Reference Library - Advanced ......................................................................181
Extended Search - Multiple Reference Books .....................................................................182
Search Summary ............................................................................................................182
Paste Into Topic Notes ........................................................................................................183
Highlighting Text .................................................................................................................183
About e-Sword
Rick Meyers, the creator of e-Sword, has given us a wonderful tool to study the Word of God.
Learning the many features available through e-Sword Bible study software will bring new life to
your study of the Living Word.
This documentation is for: e-Sword 10.4. If you are not running the latest version of e-Sword,
please visit the http://www.e-sword.net to download the latest version.
If you have questions about a feature, we hope you can easily find the answers you are seeking
by referring to the hyperlinked Table of Contents. If youre viewing this document in a PDF
browser, the Table of Contents is available in the Bookmarks window. The Table of Contents is
invaluable for using this documentation.
This documentation uses informal, conversational English, keeping with our goal of real-world
use by Christians wanting to learn more about e-Sword. The best way to accomplish this goal is
to use conversational English.
Documentation Author
This guide was written by Josh Bond and distributed through e-Sword.net and
BibleSupport.com.
You may freely copy and distribute this documentation as long as you do not make any
changes or use the documentation commercially, including charging, in any way, for its use,
reading or distribution.
Whats New in e-Sword 10?
e-Sword 10 brings powerful new features to make your Bible study more productive. Rick
Meyers listened to users feedback and delivered on some of the most asked for functionality.
All properly constructed e-Sword 9 modules are compatible with e-Sword 10.
Reference Library
The Reference Library is now the central location to view your downloaded Topic files and a
new file type called Reference Books (filenames ending with .refx). In previous versions of e-
Sword, the Topic Notes window displayed downloaded, third party Topic Notes. Now, this
material is viewed through the Reference Library instead of the Topics Editor.
Hyperlinks
Bookmarks
Images/Pictures
Tables
Borders
Columns
Headers/Footers
Page Layout View
SermonAudio.com Integration
e-Sword is integrated with SermonAudio.com. You can listen to sermons while you study the
Bible. This window automatically organizes sermons by verse according to the active
passage of scripture in the e-Sword Bibles window!
This chapter is intended for readers who have not used e-Sword previously. The pages that
follow explain how scripture appears in e-Sword, the main e-Sword screen, the content
windows, the toolbars, and other helpful hints and tips to get you started.
This is the e-Sword interface. All e-Sword features are available from this screen.
Notice the important screen areas: Bibles, Commentaries, Dictionaries, Editors, and
Reference Library. Also notice the Bible Books window on the left side of screen.
Hotkey Description
F4 Copy ToolTip
ALT-1 Bookmark 1
ALT-2 Bookmark 2
ALT-3 Bookmark 3
ALT-4 Bookmark 4
ALT-5 Bookmark 5
Hotkey Description
ALT-6 Bookmark 6
ALT-7 Bookmark 7
ALT-8 Bookmark 8
ALT-9 Bookmark 9
ALT-0 Bookmark 0
CTRL-C Copy
Hotkey Description
TIP: Hover your mouse over the any icon on any Toolbar to view the
commands hint.
Click the Bible Maximized icon on the Main Toolbar. Notice how the Bible window is
maximized to display the current Bible translation only. You may also click the Commentary
Maximized , Dictionary Maximized , and Editor Maximized icons.
Clicking on the Show All Windows icon restores the original e-Sword layout. Click
Window from the main menu to see the same layout options, along with their shortcuts.
You may use the Navigation Tree or the verse lookup box when
looking up specific references.
Above the Navigation Tree you will see the empty box shown below:
This is the Lookup Scripture Reference box. Enter the text: John
3:16 and click the Lookup Scripture Reference icon (Scripture icon).
The results will display in the Bibles window.
To minimize the Navigation Tree, click the push pin icon in the upper
right corner.
The Bible Books Navigation Tree may be e-Swords most simple, yet
most convenient feature because of its speed and ease of use.
The Bible tabs - you can switch from one translation to the another. Notice how e-
Sword displays the full translation name when you hover your mouse over a tab. The
KJV translation tab is selected in the screenshot above.
The Main Text window - this window displays the Bible text.
Notice the Bibles window contains two tabs that are not Bible translations, the Compare
Verses tab and Parallel tab.
3. Click the Compare tab. e-Sword will list the verse you selected in every Bible
translation, one after the other (see screenshot below).
Notice the pull down menus in Bible translations below. The first menu will show a Bible
translation, such as the KJV. Click the second drop down menu, and select another Bible
translation. You may view up to eight translations at once.
This window contains commentaries on the passage of Scripture displayed in the Bibles
window. The screenshot above shows the BBC commentary for Genesis 1:1. Each commentary
is represented by a single tab. Other commentaries you install appear in additional tabs.
By default, the Commentaries window displays the commentary for the current Bible verse.
You can verify this by clicking a different Bible verse in the Bibles window. The Commentary
window will update to show any comments for the new verse. See Chapter 7 for more
information on using the Commentaries window.
The icons in the Commentaries window are similar to the ones in the Bibles window:
The Editors window lets you view and write Journal Notes, Study Notes, and Topic Notes.
Most people use Journal Notes and Study Notes for personal note taking. The Journal Notes
are date specific because they contain your thoughts written on a specific day. The Study
Notes are verse specific, meaning each comment is related to a verse. Topic Notes are
subject specific, containing your thoughts on various subjects. In previous versions of e-
Sword, you may have considered Topic Notes as Books. e-Sword now handles this
functionality through the Reference Library.
Each Editors window acts as a word processor. You may write and save notes in the Journal
Notes, Study Notes and Topic Notes sections.
TIP: The Bibles, Commentaries, and Dictionaries windows have a Paste Into
icon. This icon will paste your highlighted text into the active tab of the Editors window.
To automatically lookup Dictionary entries, click once on any word or Strong's number in the
Bible, Commentary, or Editor windows. Make sure the Link icon in the Dictionaries
window is pressed so the Dictionaries window will automatically show the term.
If a dictionary contains an entry for a word, a blue Information (i) icon appears on the left side
of the tab (see above where the Chafer dictionary has an entry for the entry Abiding).
You may also navigate through the list of dictionary entries in the Dictionaries window and
choose any entry to display.
Reference
The Reference Library is now the central location to view your Library
downloaded Topic files and a new type of file called Reference Modules (.refx).
Material available from the Reference Library includes books, essays, and papers written by
other authors. Some may be as short as a few pages, and other resources may contain
thousands of pages. For example, BibleSupport.com hosts a number of James Hastings,
William Evans, and F.B. Meyer books in Reference Book format. You can also download
official Reference Modules through the e-Sword Module Downloader.
TIP: In previous versions of e-Sword, the Topic Notes window displayed downloaded,
third party Topic Notes. Now, this material is viewed through the Reference Library
instead of the Topics Editor.
You can customize e-Sword by adjusting the layout, window sizes, text and background
colors, and even font sizes.
You can also choose a different application language, download additional resources (Bible
study content), delete resources, configure your resource tab settings, and much more.
SPACE SAVING TIP: On a laptop or small screen, every pixel counts. You can
minimize the Bible Books window (which shows the Books and Chapters of the Bible
by default). When you need to change Bible verses, press the F2 button and the
Lookup Scripture Reference window appears at the location of your mouse pointer.
Use this window to change Bible verses. The window closes after you select a verse.
To show all windows again, click Window from the main menu, and click Show All Windows.
If you need to switch between Show All Windows and one of the Maximized options
frequently, use the hotkey combinations shown in the Window menu:
Notice the yellow-highlighted divider lines between the windows below. You may adjust the
width and length of the windows:
1. Position your mouse pointer over the divider line. (Note: The divider line will not be
yellow on your screen and is shown below for illustration purposes.)
REMEMBER: If youre unhappy with your new configuration, you can restore e-Sword to
the default settings by clicking Help and then choosing Reset e-Sword Settings.
However, all settings are reset, not just the layout settings.
The first time you experiment with window docking, be prepared to spend a few minutes gaining
a feel for this feature.
1. Left-click the window pane you want to move (hold this click until step 4).
2. While still holding the mouse left-click, move your mouse to another window and a
Docking Image appears. Hover your pointer one of the Arrow Indicators (see red
boxes below ).
3. Notice a blue footprint shows you where this window will dock if you release the mouse
click.
4. After releasing the mouse click, notice how your window pane is repositioned, with the
Commentaries and Editors windows side-by-side instead of above/below each other.
There are hundreds of possibilities.
1. Left click the Commentaries window pane(1) and drag the window to the Editors
window pane(2) until a blue footprint appears:
2. Release the mouse click and the windows now overlap. The Commentaries and
Editors tabs appear at the bottom, as shown in the screenshot on the previous page.
To return the Editor and Commentaries to their original positions, as separate windows,
follow these steps:
1. Left click the Editors tab(1) at the bottom of the screen and drag the tab toward the
Arrow Indicator(2).
2. Release the mouse click and Editors and Commentaries windows will return to
separate windows, as shown in the screenshot on the previous page.
You can access the underlying e-Sword main window without closing a floating window.
For example, if you need to reference the Bible or any other feature on e-Swords main
window, click the e-Sword main window in the background.
You can also move the e-Sword main window and floating windows so they are offset or
in any configuration that suits your monitor (see below).
As you can see from the comparison below, the text isnt just zoomed. The text is reflowed so
you do not have to use a horizontal scroll bar to view the text. The same holds true for images
and tabular charts.
2. Press the Ctrl button while scrolling the mouse wheel forward to zoom in or
backward to zoom out.
Greek, Hebrew, and Latin Font: Specifies the fonts e-Sword uses to display these commonly
found languages in Bibles, Commentaries, and Dictionaries.
If youre unhappy with the colors you selected, click the Cancel button. Otherwise, click the OK
button to save your changes.
Click Options from the main menu, and then select Language. Choose your preferred
language.
NOTE: This setting changes only the e-Sword application language, not the Bible study
content language.
Search Options
e-Sword lets you toggle two search options. The search
options apply to searching throughout e-Sword, including
Bibles, Commentaries, Dictionaries.
Click Options from the main menu to see the toggle items shown to the right
Hiding Resources
You can hide resources without uninstalling them from your computer.
1. Click Options on the main menu, and select Resources. The Resource Options
window appears, as shown above.
3. When you are pleased with your selections, click OK. You may reactivate any installed
resource by adding a checkbox beside the resource.
1. Click Options on the main menu, and select Resources. The Resource Options
window appears, as shown above.
3. Right click any resource and a context menu appears. Select Delete Resource
Permanently and the resource will be deleted. You cannot undo this operation without
re-downloading the resource, so be absolutely sure first!
NOTE: e-Sword will automatically reinstall the modules below even if you delete them. The
modules below are essential to running e-Sword. While you can delete the modules for the
current session, when you restart e-Sword, the modules will be reinstalled. However, you can
hide these modules, as shown on the previous page.
WARNING: You should only delete files from your Windows computer if you have
competent computer skills. If youre not comfortable browsing folders and deleting
files, you should not attempt this. Otherwise, you risk deleting the wrong file. e-Sword,
or other programs on your computer, may not work properly.
1. Click Options on the main menu, and select Resources. The User Files Location
contains the path to your e-Sword user folder, usually My Documents\e-sword.
2. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to folder found in Step 1 above. Select the file you
want to delete by clicking it once.
3. Press the Delete button and a Confirm File Delete window appears.
4. Click Yes if you want to proceed with deleting the selected file. Otherwise, click No.
This second screenshot shows the resource tabs on one row. The Scroll Left/Scroll Right
arrows to show resources that do not fit on the screen:
If youre an advanced user, you can change the e-Swords sort order by renaming the files. For
example, in most configurations, renaming a resource with a letter from the end of the alphabet
is likely to show the resource on the top row.
The e-Sword developer does not provide support for renaming resources to achieve a specific
sort order. Find support for this at BibleSupport.com.
However, you may find an unofficial resource that needs a different tab name. For example, a
resource may have a long tab name and you want to shorten the tab name. Occasionally, you
may find two unofficial downloads with the same tab name and you need to rename the tab.
Advanced users can download a free, third party database tool to edit unofficial resources.
BibleSupport.com hosts the e-Sword Tab Renamer program. This program is shown here only
as a courtesy and no official support will be provided by e-Sword.
Resource tab conflicts arise when two resources have the same tab name. e-Sword resolves
this by showing only the first resource in the resource tabs. To display both resources, the tabs
must be renamed. Another way to resolve the conflict is to delete one of the resource files from
your hard drive.
Resources Location
The Resources Location is where e-Sword loads Bibles, Commentaries, Dictionaries,
Devotions, Graphics, and Reference Books.
c:\program files\e-sword
c:\program files (x86)\e-sword
If you want to store your e-Sword modules in a different folder, on a USB drive, or cloud
services like DropBox, you may change the path and folder in the e-Sword Resources
Location and User Files Location fields (see below).
Unofficial Resources
Unofficial resources may be found on many websites like www.biblesupport.com and
www.doctordavet.com. If you download unofficial resources, please see the next subsection,
Installing Unofficial Resources.
Official Resources
You may add official e-Sword resources by using the e-Sword
Module Downloader.
3. Click the blue hyperlink of the module you want to add in the Title column. The Info
column also shows a blue hyperlink, which provides you more information about most
resources.
4. The selected module appears in the bottom window. You may add additional modules.
5. When you are ready to start downloading, select Download from the Downloader
menu and click Start.
TIP - RESTART: Before you can view the newly installed resource(s), you must re-start
e-Sword.
TIP - UPDATES: Installed resources with a red colored date (see the red text above,
4/19/2013 alerts you to newer versions of resources already installed.
Downloading unofficial resources requires you install the resources. Unofficial resources do not
use the official, built-in Module Downloader.
The Bibles window is the heart of e-Sword, as you might expect in Bible study software. You
can lookup, compare, and analyze translations in a fraction of the time required by traditional
Bible study methods.
You can change the passage of Scripture displayed using several methods.
You may use the scroll bar on the right side of the window to show different verses.
You may navigate from chapter to chapter buy using the Previous Chapter (F5) and
Next Chapter (F8) icons (highlighted in red below).
When you click a ToolTipped verse elsewhere in e-Sword, the Bible windows active
passage changes to match the verse you clicked.
The active passage is always highlighted in red. In the example below, Genesis 1:5 is
the active passage.
You may use the Bible Books window or the Lookup Scripture
Reference box when looking up verse references.
The Lookup Scripture box is on the main e-Sword toolbar, above the
Bible Books window (by default). In the screenshot below, John 3:16
has been entered. After entering the verse, press the Enter key for
the Bibles window to display the passage.
To minimize the Bible Books window, click the push pin icon in the
top, right corner.
Hover your mouse over the drop down menu between the Search
Previous and Search Next icons. This lets you see the search
word(s) of the last search (so you will know what the verses in the drop
down menu have in common).
The drop down menu contains the verse results of your last search.
Click any verse in the list to lookup and display the verse text in the
Bible window. You may also cycle through each verse in the list by
clicking the Search Previous or Search Next icons.
TIP: Save time by using the hotkeys instead of the icons! Search Previous is Shift-F3
and Search Next is F3. Press the Shift key and the letter at the same time.
You an access every verse you viewed since e-Sword last started by
clicking the Next Reference and Previous Reference
icons.
To review the complete list of verses, click the black, down arrows
to show the verse list window (see screenshot on the right).
To lookup and display the text of each verse, one-by-one, click the
blue left/right arrows.
TIP: Save time by using hotkeys instead of the icons! Previous Reference is Ctrl-P and
Next Reference is Ctrl-N. Press the Shift key and the letter at the same time.
1. To search the KJV Bible, click the Search icon in the Bibles window. Or,
select Bible from the main menu and then select Search.
2. A search window appears, as shown below. If you clicked the KJV tab, you will
see "Bible Search - KJV" at the top of the search window.
3. Type your search word(s) in the first field. Not sure how to spell your search
terms? Give it your best guess and then click the spell check icon.
5. To find a verse with all of these words, we selected Search for all of the words
from the drop down menu.
6. Click the Search icon in the top, right corner of this window. As you can see,
there is only one verse in the KJV Bible containing all three of these words.
7. Click any of the verses that match your search (one in this example, Isa. 41:10) to
change your Bibles window to that verse.
If we selected, Search for any of the words, e-Sword would have matched results for 4,211
different verses!
If we selected, Search for the exact phrase, e-Sword would have returned 0 verses.
The Apocrypha search results appear after the results for Revelation because of the
Apocryphas location in the e-Sword database.
3. The first entry in the context menu is: Quick Search on: angels. Move your mouse
pointer over this option. The menu will expand and prompt you to search the Entire
Bible or to limit your search to the Old Testament, New Testament or Matthew
only.
4. Click New Testament and the current translation's search window will open with all
New Testament matches for the word angels.
5. Click Accept to return to the Bibles window. e-Sword will display the first reference
to angels in the New Testament (Matthew 4:6).
6. To view the next verse containing the word angels, right click any text in the
Bibles window and select Search Next. This will display the next verse in the New
Testament containing the word angels (Matthew 4:11).
7. If you want to again display the previous verse where the word angels occurred,
right click any text in the Bibles window, and select Search Previous. This will
display the previous verse containing the word angels.
TIP: Save time by using hotkeys instead of the icons! Search Previous is Shift-
F3 and Search Next is F3. Press the Shift key and the letter at the same time.
You can search the active Bible window, including all text in the Bible window.
1. To search the active Bible window, click the Find on Page icon in the Bibles
window.
5. Find whole words only prevents e-Sword from matching partial words. For example,
ticking this box prevents e-Sword from finding "mankind" when searching for "man".
Note the powerful search features above. You can limit your search to certain books of the
Bible or make your search case sensitive to find god with a lower-case g.
In the following screen, we have performed a Partial Search for the word "child". If we exclude
the word "children," e-Sword will display results for "child," "childless," and "child's".
These options are more for convenience than necessity. You can
perform the same searches by adjusting the Search Range
manually.
Apocrypha
The Apocrypha (Orthodox Anagignoskomena and Catholic Deuterocanon) are supported. Some
Bible modules, such as the Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version
include an additional section with these books.
Click Bible from the main menu and choose Search to show the Bible search screen. Notice
the Bible drop down menu. This menu selects which portions of the Bible to search, including
the Old Testament, New Testament, and Apocrypha.
TIP: The Apocrypha search results appear after the results for Revelation because of
the Apocryphas location in the e-Sword database.
TIP: The more Bibles you search at once, the more time e-Sword will need to complete
the search. Searching large numbers of Bibles may require a long time. The progress
bar shows the current status of the search.
You may press the Escape key to abort a search, while showing the results already
found.
This window is almost identical to the basic Bible Search function, but you can select multiple
translations. Click the Bibles icon to select which Bibles to search.
REMEMBER: If you do not have any Bible translations selected with the Bibles
icon, e-Sword will not display any results!
Search Results
Each keyword match is highlighted in yellow. Also notice that the search results are
grouped alphabetically by the Bible abbreviation.
This section is a very brief introduction to searching with Regular Expressions using e-Sword.
Chapter 22 covers this functionality in much greater detail.
If we select Regular expression from the drop down menu, we can perform a much broader
"wild card" search. For example, in the window below, we searched for words starting in l and
ending in e by typing \b (the symbol for word boundary) followed by l...e and closed with the
word boundary symbol \b.
For more information on searching with Regular Expressions and its exceptional power, see
Chapter 22.
After performing your search, click the Copy/Paste Into icon. You can choose from the
options below to format the search results:
Abbreviate Book Names - When selecting this option, the book names of the Bible are
abbreviated. For example, Genesis is copied as Gen.
Include Translation Name - When selecting this option, the displayed text includes the
name of the Bible translation.
Include Character Formatting - This option is selected by default. Notice how the Bible
references appear in green. If you deselect the Include Character Formatting option,
the character formatting such as bold, italics, etc. is not included.
Reference Delimiters - This option specifies how the references should be enclosed.
The default is by using parenthesis. You may enclose the reference with quotation
marks, or any other symbol by entering the character into the Reference Delimiters
Starting and Ending fields.
Format - e-Sword allows you to copy references in a variety of formats. For example,
you may place the Bible reference at the beginning or ending of a verse. Click the
numbers to the left of the Copy Verses window to see the different possibilities.
Include Commentary Notes - If you have one or more commentaries installed, you can
also include one of the commentary notes in the copy process. Select the commentary
of your choice by clicking on the drop down box next to the Include Commentary Notes
option.
Once youve selected the formatting options, click Copy (to copy to your clipboard for pasting to
any other word processor) or Paste Into (to paste directly to the Editors window in the location
where you last placed your cursor).
Printing
To print your search result, click the Print icon. You will be able to format your results
before printing just as you did before copying.
Quick Copying
When you right-click the mouse button on any text in the Bibles window, a submenu appears.
Copy, Copy Verses, and Paste into Study Notes are available as quick copy options.
1. Click Bible on the main menu and then select Copy Verses.
TIP: You may also click the Copy Verses icon from the Bibles window toolbar.
2. Then select Copy Verses to copy/paste (or select Print Verses to print).
TIP: You may also use your mouse to select the verses you want to print before loading
this window. Your selected verses will automatically appear in the window below.
Abbreviate Book Names - When selecting this option, the book names of the Bible are
abbreviated. For example, Genesis is copied as Gen.
Include Translation Name - When selecting this option, the displayed text includes the
name of the Bible translation.
Include Character Formatting - This option is selected by default. Notice how the Bible
references appear in green. If you deselect the Include Character Formatting option,
the character formatting such as bold, italics, etc. is not included.
Reference Delimiters - This option specifies how the references should be enclosed.
The default is by using parenthesis. You may enclose the reference with quotation
marks, or any other symbol by entering the character into the Reference Delimiters
Starting and Ending fields.
Format - e-Sword lets you copy references in a variety of formats. For example, you
may place the Bible reference at the beginning or ending of a verse. Click the numbers
to the left of the Copy Verses window to see the different possibilities.
Include Commentary Notes - If you have one or more commentaries installed, you can
also include one of the commentary notes in the copy process. Select the commentary
clicking on the drop down box next to the Include Commentary Notes option.
If you want to copy and paste the parallel Bible chapter, click the Select All icon in the
Bibles window. This selects the entire chapter in all chosen Bible translations. Click the Copy
icon to copy the chapter. The formatted text will be copied to your windows clipboard.
You can paste the text into any word processor. If you decide to use the Editors window,
instead of another word processor, the task is even easier. After you click the Select All
icon, click the Paste Into icon. The entire parallel Bible chapter will be pasted into the
Editors window at the location where you last placed the cursor.
Let's view a practical example. When reading the passage starting in John 21:15 (in the KJV+
version), notice the different Greek words that translate to a variation of our word "love". G25
correlates to love as does G5368.
Strong's definitions can be displayed as "ToolTips". Place the mouse pointer over a Strong's
number and the definition will display in a ToolTip popup, as shown above.
e-Sword notifies you that other dictionaries also have a match for this term by displaying an
information (i) icon next to the resource. Click that dictionarys resource tab to view the entry.
Normally, we would compare similar words in the verse by repeating the process. In this case,
Strongs identifies the word G5368 above so we can click the link (see above) to view that
definition:
Click Bible from the main menu and click Search. Choose the KJV+ version.
If you click a Strong's number (while using KJV+), and then click the Search icon, you can
search any portion of the Bible for uses of that Hebrew or Greek word.
TIP: Strongs numbers can be viewed without leaving the Bible window. Strong's
definitions can be displayed as "ToolTips". Place the mouse pointer over a Strong's
number and the definition will display in a ToolTip popup, as shown above.
From the Bible window view, you may quickly search for a Strongs number by right clicking
the Strongs number and selecting which portion of the Bible to search.
3. Click the Compare tab. e-Sword will alphabetically list the verse you selected in every
installed translation, one after the other.
To change which translations e-Sword compares, click Options from the main Menu. Then
click Compare and select or unselect Bibles to compare.
TIP: When using the Compare view, the Chapter Back icon navigates backward
one verse (not chapter). And the Chapter Forward icon navigates forward one
verse (not chapter).
2. Notice the pull down menus with Bible translations (screenshot below). The first box
shows a Bible translation, such as the KJV. Click the second drop down box, and select
another Bible translation. You may view up to eight translations together.
The Split icon is on the Bible window toolbar. The Split feature lets you display two
different passages of scripture independently of each other. The Bibles window splits in two
sections, both showing a different passage. You can navigate to a different passage in one
section of the screen, while the other section remains anchored.
This is very useful when you want to display a passage in one half of the screen for reference
while you study a different passage in the other half. Another example is when the New
Testament references the Old Testament. If you want to study the passages together you can
use the Split Bible feature.
To split the Bibles window into two sections, click the Split icon . The currently active
passage becomes "anchored" in the bottom pane of the view. You may then navigate to any
other place in the Bible and the top pane will change accordingly.
When finished, click the Split icon to a raised position to return the Bible view to a unified
view.
In the example below, we selected the King James Version and we split the Bibles window at
John 3. We then selected the LITV Bible and Matthew 3. Notice how both sections can be
scrolled independently. Even if we navigate to another part of the Bible, the bottom pane will
remain anchored.
1. In our example below, we searched the verse range Genesis 1:1 50:26
(first chapter of Genesis).
TIP: e-Sword will automatically use your current verse shown in the Bibles
window. If you highlight multiple verses in the Bibles window, e-Sword uses
the range of verses you selected without requiring you to enter the range
manually!
2. To find out how many times "Word" is used in the first chapter of John,
select Bibles from the main menu and choose Analyze Verses.
3. Select the book, chapter and verses to analyze and click the Analyze
button. e-Sword will analyze the passage in the active translation. To select
a different Bible translation, click a different Bible tab in the Bibles window.
5. To exclude words from your search, click the Add Word to List icon at
the bottom of the Common Words location box. Be sure the Exclude
Common Words checkbox is ticked before running your search.
6. You may also move words to the Common Words panel by selecting words
from the list and then clicking the blue directional arrow . To remove a
word from the Common Words list, press the Delete Selected Word from
List icon.
TIP: Words such as "the", "of" "and", "in" and "to" are numerous in the
English language and you may want to exclude them from the list. "But" is
also common, although but has important theological implications in the
Epistles. Use caution when excluding but. Personal pronouns such as "I",
"you", "we" and "us" are also common, but they may be important to any
passage in the Epistles because they show emphasis.
Click Bible from the menu and then click Harmony to display the Harmony window.
From this window, select which Harmony to display from the Harmony tabs. You can quickly
view the content of a Harmony module by clicking the Harmony drop down menu (see below).
e-Sword lets you mark, highlight and bookmark text in the Bibles window. You can also highlight
text for most resource types including Commentaries, Dictionaries, Editor Notes (Journal, Study,
Topical), and Reference Books.
Highlighting and marking features can be with Bibles, Commentaries, Dictionaries, Editor Notes
(Journal, Study, Topic), and Reference Books.
Highlighting Text
When we like a verse in our paper Bibles, we often highlight important text for later reference.
Although the examples below use the Bible, you can highlight text for most resource types
including Bibles, Commentaries, Dictionaries, Editor Notes (Journal, Study, Topical), and
Reference Books.
You may highlight text any where you see the Highlight Reference icon.
To highlight text:
2. While holding the left mouse button down, drag the mouse to
the last word you want to select.
TIP: To quickly highlight text, right click your mouse and choose
Highlight from the context menu or press the Ctrl-H key combination.
TIP: Highlighting text in one Bible translation does not highlight the text in any other
Bible translation!
WARNING: If the tab name of a Bible changes, your highlights for that resource will
disappear. You can recover your highlights by editing the markup.ovlx file, which is a
SQLite database. For help with this process, please post on the message boards at
BibleSupport.com.
REMEMBER: The above example uses a Bible. You may use this same process for
Highlighting text in Commentaries, Dictionaries, Editor Notes (Journal, Study,
Topical), and Reference Books. You can highlight text anywhere you see the Highlight
Reference icon.
Marking Text
Marking text is similar to highlighting text, except Marking underlines the text instead of
highlighting. You can mark text in Bibles, Commentaries, and Dictionaries by clicking the
Mark Reference icon.
e-Sword lets you use the highlight and mark functions both separately and together:
1. Select the text and click the Mark Reference icon to underline a reference in a
variety of underline styles.
2. To remove the underlining, repeat the process and select the unmarked option instead.
TIP: You can also select text, right click your mouse, and choose Mark from the
context menu.
TIP: The above example uses a Bible. You may use this same process for
Marking text in a Commentary or Dictionary. Marking does not work in the
Editors Window (Topic Notes, Journal Notes, and Study Notes) or the Reference
Library.
If you do not see the Bookmarks bar in e-Sword, activate the feature by clicking Options on the
main menu and placing a checkmark next to Display Bookmark Navigator.
Setting Bookmarks
1. Place your cursor on the top bookmark ribbon (the numbered ribbons
on the right side of the Bibles window).
2. If you haven't saved a bookmark, the screen tip will display the default
John 3:16 reference. First, select a verse in the Bibles window by
clicking on the verse reference. The reference will turn red (see
Proverbs 10:12 below).
Accessing Bookmarks
To access our example verse, Proverbs 10:2, left click the bookmark where you saved the
reference. You may also quickly access your bookmarks using the hotkey shortcuts shown
on the next page.
Bookmark Hotkeys/Shortcuts
Bookmark Hotkeys are time-saving shortcuts to quickly access your bookmarks. Hotkeys
require you to press both keys at the same time.
Hotkey Bookmark
Alt-1 Bookmark 1
Alt-2 Bookmark 2
Alt-3 Bookmark 3
Alt-4 Bookmark 4
Alt-5 Bookmark 5
Alt-6 Bookmark 6
Alt-7 Bookmark 7
Alt-8 Bookmark 8
Alt-9 Bookmark 9
Alt-0 Bookmark 0
IMPORTANT: e-Sword tracks highlights to Journal, Study, and Topic Notes inside
the module itself. Creating a new markup file, or deleting your existing markup file, does
not erase marks to these files.
By default, markup.ovlx stores your markup information for the four resource types listed
above. The default location for this file is your e-Sword user folder, usually My Documents\e-
sword. (Click Options on the main menu, and select Resources. The User Files Location
contains the path to your e-Sword user folder).
To create a new, blank markup (clean from highlights and underlining) without disturbing your
existing markups:
2. Click New.
TIP: If you and your spouse both use e-Sword, you may want to track your
markings separately. You can accomplish this by creating a new markup file.
TIP: When printing Bible passages in e-Sword, all marks will be printed
(highlights can only be printed from a color printer). To print a clean copy, you will
need to create a new markup file.
The Verse List feature lets you save verses in topical lists. For example, you could compile a list
of verses relating to the Trinity, Salvation, or any number of theological topics.
The Verse List feature also lets you save (some or all) verse references from a search youve
performed. If you searched for all verses containing Jesus and Peter, you could save those
to a Verse List.
The Previous Verse icon and the Next Verse icon shows
the previous and next verses text in the Bibles window.
You can change the active verse list by clicking the Select Verse
List icon.
1. Click Bible from the main menu and then click Verse List.
7. You can add, delete, and re-order verses by clicking the appropriate icon on the vertical
icon bar on the right side of the screen.
To view your list in Canonical order, click the Reorder all Verses by Canonical Order
icon.
Warning: There is not an undo for the Reorder all Verses by Canonical
Order!
2. Click the drop down menu with "Rom 3:10" in our example.
Your list will have different verses.
3. Select any verse from your verse list. Scroll through verses
by clicking the Next Verse and Previous Verse
icons.
1. Click Bible from the main menu and then select Verse List. The Verse List window
opens, showing your Verse Lists:
2. When you select a Verse List, your selected Verse List moves to the Verse List drop
down menu on the main toolbar (see top of this page).
TIP: Note the Copy/Paste Into icon and Print icon in the Verse List window
above. With these icons, you can
print a Verse List and paste a Verse
List into the Editors Window.
1. Right click any part of a verse from the Bibles window, and select Verse List from the
context menu.
2. Perform a search. In the following example, we searched the KJV Bible for the word
"Elijah".
3. Click the Convert Search to Verse List icon (highlighted in red above).
4. Check or uncheck verse boxes as necessary to select the verses you want to save.
5. Specify a name for the list in the Create field or select the Add to option to choose
from an already saved list.
6. Click OK to save and close the Convert Search to Verse List window.
To view your list in Canonical order, click the Reorder all Verses by Canonical Order icon.
Warning: There is not an undo for the Reorder all Verses by Canonical Order!
You can print all content in e-Sword, including Bible chapters, Notes, Commentaries,
Dictionaries, Prayer Requests, Reference Library Books, and even Devotions.
TIP: To print just a portion of a document, select the text to print before clicking the Print
Preview icon. After you click Print Preview, notice only your text selection will print
rather than the full document.
The Print Preview icon is the first icon in each window's toolbar. Click the Print Preview
icon to open the Print Preview window.
When the Print Preview window opens, click the Print icon to print the current document.
After the Print Previous screen opens, click the Page Options icon to adjust your paper
size, margins, and print source.
Use the navigational icons to view any page in your document. The last three buttons display
the document at 100%, page width and whole page, respectively.
Click the Actual Size (100%) icon to change the page on the screen to a 100% display.
Click the Page Width icon to fit the width of your screen.
Click the Whole Page icon to display the entire page on the screen.
To exit the Print Preview window, click the "X" in the top right corner.
Select the Print Verses icon from the Bibles window (or click Bible/Print Verses from the
main menu). The popup window allows you to select the book, chapters and verses for printing.
Notice the Format options, numbered 1 8, each showing a different style of verse formatting.
If you only need to print a few verses from the Bibles window, highlight the text with your mouse
and click the Print Preview icon.
When printing Study Notes, you may want to print several study notes on the same page. In
fact, you might need to print all study notes on a particular chapter, or book of the Bible.
Click the Study Notes tab in the Editors window. Then, click the Print Preview icon and
select your printing range.
Make your selection, and press OK. e-Sword will display the Print Preview window so you can
view your document before printing.
Click the Print Preview icon from the Commentaries window to print the text in the window.
Press the Print icon to print, or close the Print Preview window to exit.
Click the Print Preview icon from the Dictionaries window to print the text in the window.
Press the Print icon to print, or close the Print Preview window to exit.
Select Tools from the main menu and then select Bible Reading. When the Bible Reading
window appears, select the reading plan from the drop down menu at the bottom of the window.
Use the directional arrows in the Bible Reading toolbar to select text for printing. Click the Print
Preview icon to setup and print the document.
Using Commentaries
This chapter explains the Commentaries window features. The Commentaries Window
shows the installed commentaries in commentary resource tabs.
When you select a Bible verse in the Bibles window, the Commentaries window displays the
comments for that verse. By default, the Synchronize icon is selected, which automatically
updates the commentary text for any verse you choose.
TIP: If your Commentary window stops displaying new information when you
change Bible verses, make sure the Link icon is pressed. Also note that
some commentaries may not have a comment for every verse or passage.
More than one commentary may have a comment for a verse. In the screen below, the blue (i)
Information icon shows comments for all commentaries (except for BNTC) for Genesis 1:1:
You may want to quickly read a verse without leaving your current reading position in the
commentary window. You may hover the mouse pointer over a scripture reference to see a
ToolTip popup of that verse.
To see the verse in context using the Bibles window, without losing your current reading
position in the commentary, disable Synchronization. Click the Synchronize icon so the
icon is raised. This configuration allows you to view other Bible verses without changing your
reading position in the commentary window.
To view Book, Chapter, or Verse comments for the current passage of scripture, click the Book
icon, Chapter icon, or Verse icon in the
Commentaries toolbar. Some commentaries may not have Bible
or Chapter comments. Also, some commentaries may not have a
comment on every verse.
You may also right click in the Commentaries window to quickly access the Verse, Chapter,
and Book view options.
To quickly view the next or previous comment in a commentary, use the Next Comment and
Previous Comment icons in Commentaries Window (highlighted in red below):
TIP: If a commentary does not have Chapter comments for the current Bible chapter, the
Commentaries window will show all of the verse comments for that chapter instead.
Press the Chapter icon for this view.
6. Click any verse in the left summary pane, and then click the OK button to accept the
search result. The Bibles and Commentaries windows change to that passage.
7. You may press the Cancel button to leave the screen without changing the Bibles or
Commentaries windows.
WARNING: This is intended for smaller commentaries when youre not sure which
verses have comments. Performing this search on a large commentary may take time to
complete because the search will load every verse into the summary pane above.
You can search the active Commentary window, including all text in the Commentary
window.
1. To search the active Commentaries window, click the Find on Page icon in the
Commentaries window.
5. Find whole words only prevents e-Sword from matching partial words. For example,
ticking this box prevents e-Sword from finding "mankind" when searching for "man".
Searching a Commentary
Searching a commentary is nearly the same as searching Bibles and the Reference Library.
Click the Search Commentaries icon or click Commentaries from the main menu and
choose Search.
When the Search window opens, type the word you want to search and select your search
criteria. Click the Search icon to search the active commentary.
For more information on using the dictionary search features, see the search instructions in
Chapter 3 and Chapter 13. Also, see Chapter 22 for an explanation of Regular Expression
Searching.
For more information on using the commentary search features, see the extended search
instructions in Chapter 3 and Chapter 13. Also, see Chapter 22 for an explanation of Regular
Expression Searching.
The Editors Window is for your personal note taking. e-Sword offers three types of editors,
including Journal Notes, Study Notes, and Topical Notes. Journal Notes store your date-
based comments. Study Notes store your verse-based comments. And Topic Notes store
your topical comments. The next three chapters explain each of the Editors in detail.
TIP: In previous versions of e-Sword, the Topic Notes Editor window displayed third
party Topic Notes (Topic Notes you downloaded). Now, this material is viewed through
the Reference Library instead of the Topic Notes Editor.
This chapter focuses on the Editors shared functionality and word processing features.
Hyperlinks
Bookmarks
Images/Pictures
Tables
Borders
Columns
Headers/Footers
Page Layout View
The next few pages explain how to use the Editors word processing features. Later in this
chapter, advanced users will benefit from instructions on backing up the Editors notes files.
Editor Hotkeys
The Editor supports convenient hotkey shortcuts. When more than one key is shown, press
both keys simultaneously.
Hotkey Description
F4 Copy ToolTip
F7 Spell Check
CTRL-B Bold
CTRL-C Copy
CTRL-D Font
CTRL-E Center
CTRL-F Find
CTRL-G Go to Bookmark
Hotkey Description
CTRL-I Italic
CTRL-R Replace
CTRL-U Underline
CTRL-V Paste
CTRL-X Cut
CTRL-Y Redo
CTRL-Z Undo
SHIFT-F7 Thesaurus
CTRL-SHIFT-
Insert Non-breaking Space
(Spacebar)
Over the next pages, we discuss the toolbar icons and context menu options in the order the
icons are shown on the toolbar.
The find feature is not intended as a replacement for the Search Notes icon , which
searches the entire file.
When the Search window opens, type the word you want to search and select your search
criteria. Click the Search icon to search the active note file.
For more information on using the Editor Note search features, see the search instructions in
Chapter 3 and Chapter 13. Also, see Chapter 22 for an explanation of Regular Expression
Searching.
The custom dictionary includes many commonly used religious terms and authors to
prevent false reports of misspelled words. If Spell Check identifies a properly spelled word as
misspelled, you can add the word (see Add button above) to the custom dictionary to prevent
future false reports.
Spell Check Options: From the main menu, click Options > Editor Options > Spell Check
Options. You can reset the Ignore All list and change which word patterns are ignored.
Thesaurus (Shift-F7)
Cant think of exactly the right word?
Insert Bookmark
A bookmark is an invisible marker,
representing the destination for a
hyperlink.
The name of the bookmark itself is not shown to the reader and serves only as an internal
identifier. The bookmark name must be uniquetwo bookmarks cannot have the same name.
You will use the bookmark name later when you insert a hyperlink to the bookmark.
Insert Hyperlink
A hyperlink connects text to a
destination. As shown on the
right, the destination may be a
Web page, an email address, a
file, or a bookmark.
Email: Links to an email address, but the e-Sword users computer will define if/how this
works. The e-Sword users computer must have an email client installed. The Send to
field of the email will pre-populate with the email address from this link.
File: Links to a local file on the e-Sword users computer. If you send your e-Sword
module to someone else, they must have the file in the same location on their computer.
A bookmark must be used in the same note where its defined. For example, you
cannot define a bookmark in one study note and hyperlink to the bookmark from a
different study note. The same restrictions apply to journal and topic notes.
Insert Table
Tables, like the one shown lower-right, quickly illustrate information in ways sentences
cannot. Tables can be used in a variety of ways to align information, illustrate concepts, and
compare textual relationships.
3. Drag the pointer in the direction necessary to change the table or cell size.
1. Select the whole table or part of the table. Or place the mouse pointer in a table cell.
Your edits to the tables settings only apply to the cells you selected.
Row Options:
Allow row to break across pages When not enough space exists on the page to show
the row, do you want the row to split across two pages or display in its entirety on the
next page? This setting applies to the row you selected when loading the Table
Properties window.
Repeat as header row at the top of each page The row you selected when loading the
Table Properties window will be the header row at the top of each page that the table
spans.
To Insert Rows/Columns
1. Right click the table and select the Table option from the context menu.
2. Choose Insert.
To Delete Rows/Columns
1. Right click the table and select the Table option from the context menu.
2. Choose Delete.
3. Select either Row or Column in order to delete the row or column of the cell(s) you
selected when loading the Table Properties window.
Insert Picture
You may insert a picture in two ways:
2. Copy (Ctrl-C) an image elsewhere and paste (Ctrl-V) the image into the e-Sword editor.
Image Attributes
Double-click an image to adjust the images settings.
Horizontal Alignment: If the Top and Bottom or Square wrapping style is selected, this
option controls the images horizontal position.
Absolute Position: If Other Position is chosen, you can control how many inches (or
fractions of an inch) the image stays to the left of the paragraph.
Vertical Alignment: If the Top and Bottom or Square wrapping style is selected, this option
controls the images vertical position.
Absolute Position: If the Top and Bottom or Square wrapping style is selected, this
option controls how many inches (or fractions of an inch) the image stays below the
paragraph.
Size: Controls the height and width of the picture, in inches. This setting updates based on
values entered for the Scale setting.
Options: Controls whether you can move and resize the image with the mouse to prevent
accidental movement.
1. Click the Header/Footer icon and notice the icon changes to a pressed position.
2. After clicking the icon above, your view of the Journal, Study, or Topic Note changes to
Page Layout. This is a representation of how the document will look when printed.
3. A default header appears in the Header/Footer and varies depending on which Editor
you use (Journal, Study, or Topic Note).
5. After making changes, double click outside the dotted rectangle to save the
Header/Footer.
TIP: The Header and Footer are only visible when the Page Layout icon is pressed.
TIP: If you accidentally delete the page number special character, you must remove and re-
insert the header and footer by toggling the Header/Footer icon.
1. Click the Header/Footer icon and notice the icon changes from a pressed
position to an raised position (assuming you have an existing Header/Footer).
2. If you are not in Page Layout mode, press the Page Layout icon to confirm the
Header and Footer is not visible and has been removed.
TIP: The Header/Footer is only visible when the Page Layout icon is pressed
even when a Header/Footer exists.
Page Layout
The Page Layout icon controls the view of the document. When clicked, the icon changes to a
pressed position, showing a Page View of your document. This representation shows the
edges of the document, margins, header/footer, and a general view of how the document will
appear when printed. To return to the Normal View, click the Page Layout icon again and the
icon returns to a raised position.
Font Color
The Font Color icon has two parts:
Highlight
The Highlight icon has two parts:
Clicking the ab icon will change the color of the selected text to the color shown in
the icon (yellow in the example above).
Clicking the down-arrow icon displays a color selection window. Once chosen, that
color is available from the ab icon for quicker reference.
Clicking the Tooltip icon without a verse reference selected shows a Verse Reference
window. Enter a valid verse reference and e-Sword will insert the properly formatted
verse into your text.
Clicking the Tooltip icon with a verse reference selected will automatically format the
verse in your text.
Notice the examples below of ToolTipped verse references on the top row, followed by the
original text on the bottom row.
Align Left: Aligns the text with the left side of the page.
Align Right: Aligns the text with the right side of the page.
Justify: Adds small spaces between letters and words so the left and right edges of the
text meet perfectly with the left and right sides of the page.
Select one or more lines of text and click the Numbering or Bullet icon to convert
the lines to numbers or bullets.
Do not select any lines of text before clicking the Numbering or Bullet icon. A
numbered or bullet list will begin in your text and each time you press enter, a new
line number or bullet appears.
To stop the insertion of numbers or bullets, press the Backspace key to erase the final line
with the unwanted number or bullet.
Format: Controls the formatting of the list, such as 1., 1), 1, etc.
Restart Numbering: Adds a new line starting over with number 1, the letter A, etc.
Format Paragraph
The settings in this window apply to the whole paragraph, not just to text you have selected.
The Preview window shows a live example of the changes you make.
Spacing Before/After: Controls the amount of space before and after a paragraph to
avoid entering blank lines with the Enter key.
Border
The Border icon inserts a border into the text. The different
border styles are shown to the right.
Click the border layout icon to insert the border style shown in the icon.
Click the border down-arrow icon to display a Border Selection window. Once
chosen, that border is available from the border layout icon for quicker reference.
If you select text before clicking the Border icon, the border will enclose the text you selected.
Columns
You may select how many columns the text will be divided into. This is for display and
printing purposes only. Your column preferences will not be saved after restarting e-Sword. If
you save a Topics Note file as a Reference Library book (refx), the column setting will also not
be saved in that format.
Page Break
Often used in word processing software, Page Break forces all the text after the break to the
next page. The Page Layout icon must be pressed to view the actual Page Break. Otherwise,
a dotted line shows where the page break will occur.
Save Notes
Its always a good idea to click the Save icon before using other features in e-Sword.
By default, e-Sword stores Notes files in your e-sword user folder (typically My
Documents\e-sword). (Click Options on the main menu, and select Resources. The User
Files Location contains the path to your e-Sword user folder).
2. Copy the Journal, Study, and/or Topic Note file(s) to your backup location. By default,
the Editors store notes in: JOURNAL.JNLX (Journal Notes), STUDY.NOTX (Study
Notes), and TOPIC.TOPX (Topic Notes). If you created additional Notes files, copy
them also.
The instructions below work for DropBox.com when using their Application for the PC.
1. Click Options on the main menu, and select Resources. The User Files Location
contains the path to your e-Sword user folder.
2. Change the User Files Location path to your DropBox folder, usually: Users\[your
name]\dropbox folder.
TIP TO FIND PATH: On many versions of Windows, click the Start Button. Choose
Run and enter this text (without quotes) %homepath%/dropbox. This shows the
complete path to your Drop Box location if you don't know your User path.
3. Copy your Study, Journal, and Topic note files to your DropBox folder.
4. Restart e-Sword.
The Journal Notes feature allows you to keep a journal about spiritual growth, issues you
struggle with, events in your life, answers to prayer, or anything you choose. Journal Notes are
organized by date, similar to a diary. Many Christians find journaling key to explosive personal
and spiritual growth.
To view a specific Journal Note, click the date drop-down menu on the toolbar and
click a date, as shown below:
1. Notice the date selected in the date field. By default, todays date appears but you can
change the date, as shown below.
2. Type your Journal Notes. Click the Save icon to save your notes. It's a good idea to
save your notes before navigating elsewhere in e-Sword.
TIP: You can create popup Scripture "ToolTips" in your own Notes! Just select
an existing verse reference, like John 3:16, and click the Format Scripture
ToolTip icon (or press Ctrl-J).
1. Navigate to the date where you made the Journal Note (see calendar above).
3. Edit your Journal Note and click the Save icon to save your notes. It's a good idea to
save your notes before navigating elsewhere in e-Sword.
1. Navigate to the date where you made the Journal Note (see calendar below).
3. Select all the text in the window with the mouse or by pressing the Ctrl-A key
combination.
4. Press the Delete key to delete the Journal Note. You can undelete the text by pressing
Ctrl-Z key combination or clicking the Undo icon.
2. The Locate Journal Notes window shows which dates contain Journal Notes.
3. Click any date in the left summary pane to display your Journal Notes in the right window
pane. The example below shows the Journal Notes for November 5, 2011.
You can search the active Journal Notes window, including all text in the Journal Notes
window.
1. To search the active Journal Notes window, click the Find on Page icon in the
Journal Notes window.
5. Find whole words only prevents e-Sword from matching partial words. For example,
ticking this box prevents e-Sword from finding "mankind" when searching for "man".
2. Searching Journal notes is nearly identical to searching Study Notes, except Study
Notes are verse-based and Journal Notes are date-based. See Chapter 10 for more
information.
Searching Journal notes is nearly identical to searching Study Notes, except Study
Notes are verse-based and Journal Notes are date-based. Please see Chapter 10 for
more information on the Additional Search Options Wheel.
1. Navigate to the date of the Journal Note. Left-click the mouse where you want to paste
the verse.
3. Right click the verse in the Bible window and select Paste Into Journal Notes. (To
paste more than one verse, select the verses you want to paste before right-clicking and
choosing Paste Into Journal Notes.)
1. Place your cursor in the Journal Notes window where you want the copied text
to appear.
3. Click the Select All icon or right click anywhere in the text and choose Select
All from the menu. The complete text appearing in the window will be
highlighted.
4. With the text still selected, right click and select Paste into Journal Notes. The
selected text will be copied into your Journal Notes at the location where you last
placed your cursor.
Copying an Excerpt
1. Place your cursor in the Journal Notes window where you want the
copied text to appear.
3. Select the part of the text you want to copy to Journal Notes by highlighting (left
click the mouse and drag to select) the text.
4. Right click and select Paste into Journal Notes. Only the selected text will
paste.
The import option includes (or imports) text into your Journal Notes from other files. You can
import the following file types: html, doc (Microsoft Word), rtf (Rich Text Format), and txt (plain
text).
To import a file:
1. Select the date of the Journal Note in the Journal Notes Editor. The text you import will
appear in this Journal Note.
2. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse. Click the Import button.
3. Navigate to the folder containing the file to import, select the file, and click Open.
4. The text from your document will appear in the date of he Journal Note you selected in
Step 1 above.
The export option creates an external file (separate from e-Sword) containing your Journal
Note. You can export the following file types: html, doc (Microsoft Word), rtf (Rich Text
Format), txt (plain text), and pdf.
1. Select the Journal Note you want to export by navigating to that date in the Journal
Notes Editor.
2. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse. Click the Export button.
3. Navigate to the folder that will contain your exported file, provide a name for your file,
and click save. You may need to adjust the Save as type setting to specify the file
format e-Sword uses to export your data.
The default name for the Journal Notes file is journal.jnlx and its typically stored in My
Documents\e-sword, or the location of your e-Sword user folder. This configuration meets the
needs of the majority of e-Sword users. If you do not need additional files or do not feel
comfortable with the instructions that follow, you probably do not need this functionality.
1. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse in the Journal Notes Window.
1. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse in the Journal Notes Window.
By default, all the Editors read from the e-Sword user folder, typically My Documents\e-sword.
2. The User Files Location contains the path to your e-Sword user folder.
WARNING: Changing the folder the Journal Notes Editor reads may result in you not
being able to find your other Journal Notes files. For example, if you have multiple
Journal Notes files in one folder, but you change where e-Sword reads Journal Notes
files, you will not be able to view your other Journal Notes files. In that situation, you
must either change the folder where the Journal Notes reads or move your Journal
Notes to the new folder.
The Study Notes feature allows you to write notes about individual verses, similar to making
notes in the margin of a printed Bible. Here, you can record your personal discoveries,
conclusions, and commentary about specific verses. Study Notes are verse-basedthe note
itself is matched with a verse of the Bible.
e-Sword synchronizes your Study Notes with the Bible verse youre currently reading. When you
view a Bible verse containing a study note, the Study Note tab will show the notes you wrote for
the verse.
If the Link icon is pressed in the Editors window, and you select a different Bible verse in
the Bibles window, the Editors window then shows the study note for the verse chosen in the
Bible window.
1. Navigate to Genesis 2:1 in the Bibles window or from the Editors window.
2. Click the Study Notes tab in the Editors window (lower right window, by default in e-
Sword). Notice that the Book, Chapter and Verse (in the Editors window) automatically
changes to the Bible verse you navigate to in the Bibles window.
TIP: The Link icon synchronizes the verse in the Study Notes Editor with the
verse you open in the Bibles window. If you want the Study Note window to
display the Study Note for the Bible verse you've chosen, make sure the Link
icon is pressed.
3. Type your notes for Genesis 2:1. Click the Save icon to save your notes. It's a good
idea to save your notes before navigating elsewhere in e-Sword.
TIP: You can create popup Scripture "ToolTips" in your own Notes! Just select
an existing verse reference, like John 3:16, and click the Format Scripture
ToolTip icon (or press Ctrl-J).
1. Navigate to the verse in the Editors Window (see red box below):
2. Edit your study note and click the Save icon to save your notes. It's a good idea to
save your notes before navigating elsewhere in e-Sword.
1. Navigate to the verse with the Study Note you want to delete.
2. Select all the text in the window with the mouse or by pressing Ctrl-A key combination.
3. Press the Delete key to delete the Study Note. You can undelete the text by pressing
Ctrl-Z key combination or clicking the Undo icon.
2. The Locate Study Notes window shows which verses contain Study Notes.
3. Click any verse in the left summary pane to display your study notes in the right window
pane. The example below shows the study notes for Genesis 2:1.
You can search the active Study Notes window, including all text in the Study Notes window.
1. To search the active Study Notes window, click the Find on Page icon in the Study
Notes window.
5. Find whole words only prevents e-Sword from matching partial words. For example,
ticking this box prevents e-Sword from finding "mankind" when searching for "man".
2. The Locate Study Notes window appears, as shown below. Type the search
word(s) in the first field. Not sure how to spell your search terms? Take your best
guess and then click the spell check icon .
4. We selected Search for all of the words from the drop down menu to find only
Study Notes with all words from our search phrase.
5. Click the Search icon in the upper, right corner of this window. The search
results are categorized by section on the left, as shown above.
6. After reviewing the search results, press the OK button. This closes the search
window and displays the full text of the Study Note you chose.
TIP: If we selected, Search for any of the words, e-Sword would have displayed
search results with both words from our search phrase (all and things). Study Notes
would have been shown if they contained the word all and things as separate words
anywhere in the Study Note. Be careful how you refine your search.
Case Sensitive: When checked, this option will make your search case sensitive to find god
with a lower-case g (see above).
Partial Search: Below, we searched for "child". Notice the results for variations of our search
phrase, including child, children, childless, etc. (see below).
Synonyms: You can search for your search phrase and synonyms of your search phrase. In
the example below, the synonyms found include, redemption and several others off-screen.
The synonym box will be grayed-out (unavailable) unless Search for any of the words is
chosen (see below).
To copy Psalms 33:6 into the Study Notes for Genesis 2:1:
1. Navigate to Genesis 2:1 in the Study Notes Editor window. Left-click the mouse
where you want to paste the verse.
2. Deselect the Link icon in the Study Notes Editor window and navigate to Psalms
33:6 in the Bible window.
3. Right click the verse in the Bible window and select Paste Into Study Notes. (To
paste more than one verse, select the verses you want to paste before right-clicking and
choosing Paste Into Study Notes.)
1. Place your cursor in the Study Notes window where you want the copied text to
appear.
3. Click the Select All icon or right click anywhere in the text and choose Select All
from the menu. The complete text appearing in the window will be highlighted.
4. With the text still selected, right-click and select Paste into Study Notes (be sure
your Study Notes are open to the correct verse). The selected text will be copied into
your Study Notes at the location where you last placed your cursor.
Copying an Excerpt
1. Place your cursor in the Study Note window where you want the copied text
to appear.
3. Select the part of the text you want to copy to Study Notes by highlighting (left click
the mouse and drag to select) the text.
4. Right-click and select Paste into Study Notes. Only the selected text will paste.
The import option includes (or imports) text into your Study Notes from other files. You can
import the following file types: html, doc (Microsoft Word), rtf (Rich Text Format), and txt (plain
text).
To import a file:
1. Select a verse from the Study Notes Editor. The text you import will appear in this
Study Note.
2. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse. Click the Import button.
3. Navigate to the folder containing the file to import, select the file, and click Open.
4. The text from your document will appear in the verse you selected in Step 1 above.
The export option creates an external file (separate from e-Sword) containing your Study Note.
You can export the following file types: html, doc (Microsoft Word), rtf (Rich Text Format), txt
(plain text), and pdf.
1. Select the Study Note you want to export by navigating to that verse in the Study Notes
Editor.
2. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse. Click the Export button.
3. Navigate to the folder that will contain your exported file, provide a name for your file,
and click save. You may need to adjust the Save as type setting to specify the file
format e-Sword uses to export your data.
The default name for the Study Notes file is study.notx and its typically stored in My
Documents\e-sword, or the location of your e-Sword user folder. This configuration meets the
needs of the majority of e-Sword users. If you do not need additional files or do not feel
comfortable with the instructions that follow, you may not need this functionality.
At the bottom of the screen below, notice the popup menu, outlined in red. The default Study
Note file, study.notx, is the currently selected file. To view a different file, select the Study Note
from the menu.
1. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse in the Study Notes Window.
4. The Study Notes file shown at the bottom of the screen above will change to the
filename you chose in step 3. You now have a new, blank Study Notes file.
WARNING: If you open a file from a different folder location, the Study Notes Editor
shows only the Study Note files from that folder in the popup menu at the bottom of the
Editor window. That means the popup menu will show only the filenames in the folder
where you opened the file.
1. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse in the Study Notes Window.
4. The Study Notes file shown at the bottom of the screen above changes to the
filename you selected in step 3.
By default, all the Editors read from the e-Sword user folder, typically My Documents\e-sword.
2. The User Files Location contains the path to your e-Sword user folder.
WARNING: Changing the folder the Study Notes Editor reads may result in you not
being able to find your other Study Notes files. For example, if you have multiple Journal
Notes files in one folder, but you change where e-Sword reads Study Notes files, you will
not be able to view your other Study Notes files. In that situation, you must either change
the folder where the Study Notes reads or move your Study Notes to the new folder.
The Topic Notes feature allows you to write topical notes about subjects that interest you,
similar to notes some people make on blank pages at the end of their printed Bible. Here, you
can record your personal discoveries and conclusions about different subjects in the Bible.
Topic Notes are subject-based.
My default, e-Sword creates the file topic.topx in your e-Sword user folder, usually My
Documents\e-Sword, to store your topic entries.
By comparison, the Topic Notes Editor is now for your personal topical notes (topical notes
you wrote), just like the Journal Notes are for your personal journal notes and the Study Notes
are for your personal study notes.
Topic Notes you need to edit: move these files to your e-Sword user folder, usually My
Documents\e-Sword. If necessary, follow the instructions in Changing Where e-Sword Reads
Topic Notes so e-Sword reads the proper folder to display your Topic Note files.
Topic Notes you only need to view: move these files to your e-Sword install folder, usually
Program Files\e-Sword. Then view them from the Reference Library (see Chapter 13).
If you have multiple Topic files, view a different Topic file by clicking the popup menu
at the bottom of the Editor window.
3. Notice the new entry topic title appears in the Editor toolbar.
4. Enter your notes for this topic. Click the Save icon to save your notes. It's a good
idea to save your notes before navigating elsewhere in e-Sword.
TIP: You can create popup Scripture "ToolTips" in your own Notes! Just select
an existing verse reference, like John 3:16, and click the Format Scripture
ToolTip icon (or press Ctrl-J).
1. Navigate to the topic in the Editors window (see larger red box below):
2. Edit your topic note and click the Save icon to save your notes. It's a good idea to
save your notes before navigating elsewhere in e-Sword.
3. Click the Edit Topic Title icon (smaller red box above).
4. A window will appear allowing you to change the name of the topic title. Click the OK
button to save changes or CANCEL to cancel changes.
When you delete the image from a Topic Note, the database does not automatically contract.
Even though the image is deleted, the database is still the same size! This wastes system
resources and if you distribute the module to others, the module requires more downloading
time and bandwidth.
To make sure your Topic Notes module is the smallest size possible:
3. Click the Delete Topic icon to delete the topic you just created.
You should not worry about this issue if you occasionally use images in your personal Topic
Notes. However, if you make modules for downloading by other people, you might consider
making this a standard practice to produce the smallest files possible.
If you are sure you want to delete the topic, click OK. Otherwise, click No. You cannot undelete
or undo this action!
You can search the active Topic Notes window, including all text in the Topic Notes window.
1. To search the active Topic Notes window, click the Find on Page icon in the Topic
Notes window.
5. Find whole words only prevents e-Sword from matching partial words. For example,
ticking this box prevents e-Sword from finding "mankind" when searching for "man".
2. The Locate Topic Notes window appears. Type the search word(s) in the first field.
Not sure how to spell your search terms? Take your best guess and then click the
spell check icon .
4. We selected Search for all of the words from the drop down menu to find only
Topic Notes with all words from our search phrase.
5. Click the Search icon in the upper, right corner of this window. The search
results are categorized by topic on the left, as shown above.
6. After reviewing the search results, press the OK button. This closes the search
window and displays the full text of the Topic Note you chose.
TIP: If we selected, Search for any of the words, e-Sword would have displayed
search results with all words from our search phrase (body and of and Christ). Topic
Notes would have been shown if they contained all the words as separate words
anywhere in the Topic Note. Be careful how you refine your search.
Case Sensitive: When checked, this option makes your search case sensitive to find Word
with an upper-case W (see above).
Partial Search: Below, we searched for "bapti". Notice the results for variations of our search
phrase, including baptized, baptism, baptizing, etc. (see below).
Synonyms: You can search for your search phrase and synonyms of your search phrase. In
the example below, the synonyms for atonement include, redemption, atone, etc. The
synonym box will be grayed-out (unavailable) unless Search for any of the words is chosen
(see below).
1. Navigate to Psalms 33:6 in the Topic Notes Editor window. Left-click the mouse
where you want to paste the verse.
2. Right-click the verse in the Bible window and select Paste Into Topic Notes. (To paste
more than one verse, select the verses you want to paste before right-clicking and
choosing Paste Into Topic Notes.)
1. Place your cursor in the Topic Notes window where you want the copied text to
appear.
3. Click the Select All icon or right click anywhere in the text and choose Select
All from the menu. The complete text appearing in the window will be
highlighted.
4. With the text still selected, right-click and select Paste into Topic Notes (be
sure your Topic Notes are open to the correct verse). The selected text will be
copied into your Topic Notes at the location where you last placed your cursor.
Copying an Excerpt
1. Place your cursor in the Topic Note window where the copied text should
appear.
3. Select the part of the text you want to copy to Topic Notes by highlighting (left
click the mouse and drag to select) the text.
4. Right click and select Paste into Topic Notes. Only the selected text will paste.
The import option includes (or imports) text into your Topic Notes from other files. You can
import the following file types: html, doc (Microsoft Word), rtf (Rich Text Format), and txt (plain
text).
To import a file:
1. Select a verse from the Topic Notes Editor. The text you import will appear in this
Topic Note.
2. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse. Click the Import button.
3. Navigate to the folder containing the file to import, select the file, and click Open.
4. The text from your document will appear in the verse you selected in Step 1 above.
The export option creates an external file (separate from e-Sword) containing your Topic Note.
You can export the following file types: html, doc (Microsoft Word), rtf (Rich Text Format), txt
(plain text), and pdf.
1. Select the Topic Note you want to export by navigating to that verse in the Topic Notes
Editor.
2. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse. Click the Export button.
3. Navigate to the folder that will contain your exported file, provide a name for your file,
and click save. You may need to adjust the Save as type setting to specify the file
format e-Sword uses to export your data.
The default name for the Topic Notes file is topic.topx and is typically stored in My
Documents\e-sword, or the location of your e-Sword user folder. This configuration meets the
needs of the majority of e-Sword users. If you do not need additional files or do not feel
comfortable with the instructions that follow, you may not need this functionality.
At the bottom of the screen below, the popup menu is outlined in red. The default Topic Note
file, topic.topx, is the currently selected file. To view a different file, select the Topic Note from
the menu.
4. The Topic Notes file shown at the bottom of the screen above changes to the
filename you chose in step 3. You now have a new, blank Topic Notes file.
5. See the Creating a Topic Note section for instructions on adding a Topic Note to the
Topic File.
WARNING: If you open a file from a different folder location, the Topic Notes Editor
shows only the Topic Note files from that folder in the popup menu at the bottom of the
Editor window. That means the popup menu will show only the filenames in the folder
where you opened the file.
1. While pressing the Ctrl key, right-click the mouse in the Topic Notes Window.
4. The Topic Notes file shown at the bottom of the screen above changes to the
filename you selected in step 3.
In previous versions of e-Sword, the Topic Notes Editor displayed third party Topic Notes
(Topic Notes you downloaded). Now, this material is viewed through the Reference Library
instead of the Topic Notes Editor.
By comparison, the Topic Notes Editor is now for your personal topical notes (topical notes
you wrote), just like the Journal Notes are for your personal journal notes and the Study
Notes are for your personal study notes.
Topic Notes you need to edit: move these files to your e-Sword user folder, usually My
Documents\e-Sword. If necessary, follow the instructions in Changing Where e-Sword
Reads Topic Notes so e-Sword reads the proper folder to display your Topic Note files.
Topic Notes you only need to view: move these files to your e-Sword install folder, usually
Program Files\e-Sword. Then view them from the Reference Library (see Chapter 13).
By default, all the Editors read from the e-Sword user folder, typically My Documents\e-sword.
2. The User Files Location contains the path to your e-Sword user folder.
WARNING: Changing the folder the Topic Notes Editor reads may result in you not
being able to find your other Topic Notes files. For example, if you have multiple Topic
Notes files in one folder, but you change where e-Sword reads Topic Notes files, you will
not be able to view your other Topic Notes files. In that situation, you must either change
the folder where the Topic Notes reads or move your Topic Notes to the new folder.
Reference Book files are identical to Topic files except Reference Book files are compressed to
save disk space. If you distribute REFX files to other e-Sword users, Reference Book files
cannot be edited or changed. One of the criticisms about Topic files has been that anyone can
change the content of a Topic file, effectively putting words in the mouth of its author. The
Reference Book format prevents such casual tampering.
You are not required to convert your Topic Notes files to Reference Book format. The
Reference Library will read Topic Notes files and Reference Book files.
If you simply want to view your Topic Notes in the Reference Library, copy the Topic Note files
to your e-Sword resource folder, usually c:\program files\e-sword. You can control where the
Reference Library looks for resources by reading the Changing Your e-Sword Resources and
Files Location section.
1. You do not want your content changed. Or if your content is copyrighted and you
do not wanted the material easily distributed beyond e-Sword.
2. You used e-Swords new image/picture functionality and the resource is large because
of the added pictures. The REFX format compresses the data. In one test, a 4mb file
compressed to 600kb, a reduction of about 7 times! Smaller files require less hard drive
space, less computer memory, and generally help e-Sword run faster.
3. You lack the technical skills to copy your Topic files to the e-Sword resource folder,
usually c:\program files\e-sword. During the conversion to Reference Book format , the
converted REFX files are moved to your e-Sword install folder.
3. Choose where to save the REFX module. You should choose your e-Sword installation
folder, usually c:\program files\e-Sword, unless you changed the location where e-Sword
reads modules. See the Changing Your e-Sword Resources and Files Location section if
necessary.
e-Sword provides a Dictionaries window so you can reference definitions of words and Strongs
numbers while using e-Sword.
e-Sword extends dictionary functionality beyond the traditional term/definition format. For
example, the "Nave's Topical Bible" (Nave) and "Torrey's New Topical Textbook" (Torrey) are
specialty dictionary modules. These excellent resources contain many cross references, perfect
for conducting in-depth studies on specific Biblical topics.
Using Dictionaries
When you click a word in any tab or window in e-Sword, all dictionaries containing information
about the selected word will display the blue (i) Information Icon (see the Chafer tab below
with the blue icon). The word you click does not need to be a hyperlink or tooltip link. The word
can be normal text.
TIP: If the Dictionary window stops displaying new information when you click
words, make sure the Link icon is pressed. Also remember that a dictionary
may not necessarily have a definition for every word.
2. Click Lookup and the definition displays in your current dictionary (if available) and the
blue (i) Information Icon appears for other dictionaries with matching entries.
TIP: You can bypass the context menu shown above. While pressing the Ctrl key, click
a word in the dictionary to view its definition.
If you viewed entries from more than one dictionary, the dictionary tab view will not
automatically change. The blue (i) Information Icon appears in the dictionary tabs with
matching entries to your previous queries.
When you find a Strong's number elsewhere in e-Sword, you can view the definition in the
Dictionary window:
3. The blue (i) information icons appear on the resource tabs of the Dictionaries window
(be sure the link icon is selected).
TIP: Strongs numbers can be viewed without leaving your current window, if you
only need a quick definition. Strong's definitions can be displayed as "ToolTips". Place
the mouse pointer over a Strong's number to display the definition in a ToolTip popup.
MEGA TIP: Press the F4 button to copy the Strongs definition to the Windows
clipboard. You can paste (Ctrl-V) the definition into the Notes Editor or your own word
processor.
You can search the active Dictionaries window, including all text in the Bible window.
1. To search the active Dictionaries window, click the Find on Page icon in the
Dictionaries window.
5. Find whole words only prevents e-Sword from matching partial words. For example,
ticking this box prevents e-Sword from finding "mankind" when searching for "man".
Searching a Dictionary
The Dictionaries search is nearly identical to the Bible and Reference Library search.
Click the Search Dictionaries icon, or click Dictionaries from the main menu and choose
Search.
When the Search window opens, type the word you want to search and select your search
criteria. Click the Search icon and a search will be done in the active dictionary.
For more information on using the dictionary search features, see the search instructions in
Chapter 3 and Chapter 13. Also see Chapter 22 for an explanation of Regular Expression
Searching.
When the Extended Search window opens, you can select which dictionaries to search. Click
the Dictionaries icon highlighted in red below.
For more information on using the dictionary search features, see the extended search
instructions in Chapter 3 and Chapter 13. Also see Chapter 22 for an explanation of Regular
Expression Searching.
The Reference Library is now the central location to view your downloaded Topic files and a
new type of file called Reference Modules (.refx). Material available from the Reference Library
includes books, essays, and papers written by other authors. Some may be as short as a few
pages, and other resources may contain thousands of pages. For example, BibleSupport.com
hosts a number of James Hastings, William Evans and F.B. Meyer books in Reference Book
format. You can also download official Reference Modules through the e-Sword Module
Downloader.
Select resources to read with the drop down menu near the top, right of the window.
Filter your resources by title, which is helpful for narrowing large libraries.
Search all of your Topic Notes and Reference Library Books at once!
By comparison, the Topic Notes tab (of the Editors Window) is now for your personal topical
notes (topical notes you wrote), just like the Journal Notes are for your personal journal notes
and the Study Notes are for your personal study notes.
If your downloaded Topic Notes are in the My Documents\e-sword folder, or another folder,
you must move them to your e-Sword Resources folder for the Reference Library to find
them.
Reference
You can also open the Reference Library by clicking Tools from the Library
main menu and then choosing Reference Library.
You may also move the e-Sword main window and the Reference Library window so they are
offset or in any orientation that suits your monitor.
Lastly, you may resize the Reference Library window larger or smaller (see Chapter 2,
Customizing e-Sword).
In the example below, you can see the other resources available in the Reference Library.
You can search the active Reference Library window, including all text in the Reference
Library window.
1. To search the active Reference Library window, click the Find on Page icon in the
Reference Library window.
5. Find whole words only prevents e-Sword from matching partial words. For example,
ticking this box prevents e-Sword from finding "mankind" when searching for "man".
1. To search the Reference Library, make sure the Reference Library is open and the
active resource is the one you want to search.
2. Click the search icon in the Reference Library window. Or, click Library from
the Reference Library menu and then select Search.
3. A search window appears. At the top of the search window, you will see the name of
the resource you were viewing when you opened the search window. Your search is
limited to this resource. To search a different resource, select a new resource from
the drop down menu.
4. Type your search word(s) in the first field. Not sure how to spell your search terms?
Take your best guess and then click the Spell Check icon .
6. We selected Search for all of the words from the drop down menu to find only
resources with all the words from our search phrase.
7. Click the search icon in the upper, right corner of this window. The search
results are categorized by section on the left.
8. After reviewing the search results, press the OK button. This closes the search
window and displays the full text of the section or chapter you chose.
TIP: If we selected, Search for any of the words, e-Sword would have displayed
search results for any chapter with both words from our search phrase (new and
testament). These results would not necessarily have been discussing the New
Testament. Be careful how you refine your search.
Case Sensitive: When checked, this option will make your search case sensitive to find god
with a lower-case g (see above).
Partial Search: Below, we searched for "scriptur". Notice the results for variations of our search
phrase, including Scripture, Scriptures, and Scriptural (see below).
Synonyms: You can search for your search phrase and synonyms of your search phrase. In
the example below, the synonyms found include, The word, Scripture, New Testament and
Old Testament. The synonym box will be grayed-out (unavailable) unless Search for any of
the words is chosen (see below).
This section is a very brief introduction to searching with Regular Expressions using e-Sword.
Chapter 22 covers this functionality in much greater detail.
If we select Regular expressions from the drop down list, we can perform a much broader
"wild card" search. For example, in the window below, we searched for words starting with s
and ending in e by typing \b (the symbol for word boundary) followed by l...e and closed with
the word boundary symbol \b.
For more information on searching with Regular Expressions and its exceptional power, see
Chapter 22.
TIP: The more resources you search at once and the longer the resources are in
length, the more time e-Sword will need to complete the search. Searching thousands
of resources may require a long time. The progress bar shows the current status of the
search.
You may press the Escape key to abort a search, while showing the results already
found.
This window is almost identical to the basic Reference Library Search function, but it allows
you to select multiple resources.
Reference Books icon: This icon, shown in the red box above, displays the Resource Window
(also shown above). The Resource Window lets you choose which resources to include in
your search.
Search Summary
In left column of the window above, the first box shows the name of the chapter (or section)
with matching text.
The second box shows the name of the resource where the match was found.
2. Select either the Journal Notes, Study Notes, or Topic Notes tab from the Editors
Window.
3. In the Reference Library window, select the text you want to copy.
TIP: After selecting text to copy, you can also right-click the
mouse and choose Paste Into Notes from the context menu.
Highlighting Text
e-Sword supports highlighting text in the Reference Library window.
Select the text you want to highlight and press the Highlight icon . For more information
on Highlighting text, see Chapter 4.
The Bible Reading Plan will organize and structure your Bible reading. Bible Reading plans
help you stay on track, often with a specific goal, such as reading the entire Bible in a year,
reading the Old Testament in six months, or reading the Psalms. Since you can make your own
Bible Reading Plans, you control when and how often you read.
You can configure the Bible Reading Plan window to automatically launch when you start e-
Sword for the first time each day.
2. Click the plus signs to expand the Books of the Bible lists, starting with Bible.
5. Select the days of the week you will use the Bible Reading Plan.
6. Select the time needed to complete the reading. e-Sword compares the number of
books you selected with your chosen timeframe to calculate the time necessary to
complete the plan.
7. Save your reading plan by entering a filename and clicking the Finish button.
Show at Startup
This handy feature reminds you about your Bible Reading Plan when you start e-Sword for
the first time that day. The Bible Reading window will not show for subsequent starts during the
same day.
Tick the box marked, "Show at Startup" at the bottom of the Bible Reading window.
You can configure the Daily Devotions window to automatically launch when you start e-Sword
for the first time each day.
Your installed devotions are shown in the tabs at the top of the window.
Use the forward and back arrows to select the desired month.
Then click the day you want to read.
Tick the box marked, "Show at Startup" at the top of the Daily Devotions window.
You can configure the Prayer Requests window to automatically launch when you start e-Sword
for the first time each day.
A - Adoration
C - Confession
T - Thanksgiving
S Supplication
Prayer Request Start Date: The prayer request will not appear in the Todays Prayer
Requests tab until your selected start date.
Prayer Description: Enter what you need to pray for in the bottom half of the window.
3. Click Edit.
5. After you finish editing the prayer request, click the Update button.
3. Confirm your request by clicking Yes. Cancel the delete by clicking No.
By default, e-Sword stores prayer requests in the prayer.prlx file in your e-Sword user folder,
usually My Documents\e-Sword. (Click Options on the main menu, and select Resources.
The User Files Location contains the path to your e-Sword user folder).
Tick the box marked, "Show at Startup" at the top of the Prayer Requests window.
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you, Psalms 119:11.
The Scripture Memory tool organizes your scripture memorization goals and makes memorizing
verses entertaining. This feature includes several puzzle-style word games that children (and
adults) enjoy playing.
You can configure the Scripture Memory window to automatically launch when you start e-
Sword for the first time each day.
To open the Scripture Memory window, select Tools from the main menu and choose Scripture
Memory.
Hint / General Idea: Displayed as a hint by the Test Memory Verses feature.
Start Date: The verse will not appear in the Todays Memory Verses tab until your
selected start date.
3. Click the Update button to add the verse or Cancel to exit without saving.
3. Click Edit.
Hint / General Idea: Displayed as a hint by the Test Memory Verses feature.
Start Date: The verse will not appear in the Todays Memory Verses tab until your
selected start date.
5. After you finish editing the verse, click the Update button.
3. Confirm your request by clicking Yes. Cancel the delete by clicking No.
Each test also includes a color coded error chart. The window background turns a
progressively darker shade of red with each error. When the answer is correct, the window
background turns a soothing shade of green.
Word Position
Beginning with the first blank
word, you must double click
the correct word from the list
of words (in the right window
pane). Work you way
through the blank words until
complete.
First Letter
Beginning with the first blank
word, enter the first letter of the
word. Work you way through the
blank words until complete.
By default, e-Sword stores memory verses in memory.memx in your e-Sword user folder,
usually My Documents\e-Sword. (Click Options on the main menu, and select Resources.
The User Files Location contains the path to your e-Sword user folder).
Tick the box marked, "Show at Startup" at the top of the Scripture Memory window.
e-Sword is integrated with SermonAudio.com. You can listen to sermons while you study the
Bible. This window automatically organizes sermons by verse according to the active
passage of scripture in the e-Sword Bibles window!
After this window opens, you can change the passage of scripture to listen to sermons on other
Bible verses.
Listening to a Sermon
To listen to a sermon, click the sermon titles blue hyperlink.
Purchase a transcript.
Find podcasts.
Locate affiliated
churches and
broadcasters.
For ease of explanation, weve added a few sticky notes to the Sermon Player. The
numbered notes are explained below:
1. Rewind: If available, the audio will rewind while you hold this icon.
2. Seek: By moving this icon right or left with your mouse, you can skip forward or
backward in the audio playback.
3. Fast Forward: The audio will play at twice the speed while you hold this icon.
9. Volume: Increases or decreases the sound level as you move this icon right or left.
Sermon Illustrations are helpful for preachers preparing a sermon. Sermon illustrations can
bring to life a sermon, illustrating concepts that might otherwise be difficult to explain.
You have the option of buying a Sermon Illustration package through e-Sword or building your
own Sermon Illustrations database.
You can you purchase the fully loaded Sermon Illustrations module from e-Sword.net. The
module comes complete with over 4000 Bible illustrations, anecdotes, and poems compiled by
AMG Publishers and Pulpit Helps Magazine.
You can also download a blank illustrations.illx file from BibleSupport.com to activate the
Sermon Illustrations feature. You must add your own sermon illustrations to this blank file, which
makes the above purchase option a great deal.
3. Paste the text into your Topic Notes, Study Notes, or any word processor.
Sermon Illustration Text: Enter the text into the bottom half of the window.
3. Click the Update button to add the illustration or Cancel to exit without saving.
3. Click Edit.
Sermon Illustration Text: Enter the text into the bottom half of the window.
5. After you finish editing the sermon illustration, click the Update button.
3. Confirm your request by clicking Yes. Cancel the delete by clicking No.
e-Sword contains a built in Graphics Viewer. Your Bible study will come to life as you explore
the maps that coincide with your reading. You can view maps, illustrations and paintings used in
your Bible studies or sermons.
e-Sword resources will sometimes direct you to a graphic in the Graphics Viewer.
Access the Graphics Viewer by clicking the Graphics Viewer icon on the e-Sword main
toolbar. Or click Tools from the main menu and select Graphics Viewer.
TIP: The Graphics Viewer will be inactive if you do not have any installed graphical
resources. To use the Graphics Viewer, make sure at least one graphical resource is
installed. Download graphics resources by clicking Download from the main menu and
choosing Graphics. You may also download graphics files from BibleSupport.com.
Viewing Graphics
Choose from your graphic files by clicking a resource tab above the Map Display window.
Panning Graphics
Notice how your mouse pointer changes to a hand when you move your mouse inside the
Map Display window. Click anywhere in the Map Display window and drag the graphic by
holding down the left mouse button.
Resizing Graphics
The Graphics Viewer toolbar contains several icons for resizing graphics:
Click the Zoom In and Zoom Out icons to resize graphics. These icons can be clicked
repeatedly to adjust the zoom.
The Fit All icon resizes the graphic to fit in your viewable window.
The Fit Height icon resizes the height of the graphic to fit the viewable window, although the
width is allowed to extend beyond the viewable window.
The Fit Width icon resizes the width of the graphic to fit the viewable
window, although the height is allowed to extend beyond the viewable
window.
TIP: You can resize the Graphics Viewer window to create a larger
viewable window. Then you can see more of a large graphic without
panning or resizing the graphic. See Chapter 2, Customizing e-
Sword for more information on resizing floating windows.
Many of these options are also available by clicking View on the Graphics
Viewer menu.
Copying Graphics
You can copy any graphic to your Journal, Study, or Topic Notes in the Editors window or
elsewhere on your computer.
2. Click Edit from the Graphics Viewer menu and choose Copy. You may also use the
Ctrl-C shortcut to copy.
STEP is an abbreviation for Standard Template for Electronic Publishing. This file format was
designed for the storage of electronic Bible reference books. STEP is used by QuickVerse,
Bible Companion, and other Bible software products. If you already own any of these software
titles, the inclusion of the STEP Reader means you can use these resources within e-Sword!
If you do not have any STEP files, you may download a sampler step book pack at e-Sword.net
under "Extras". You may also download free and purchased Step books at:
www.lightbydesign.net
The STEP Reader divides the screen into two panes: The topical (or scriptural) navigation
pane on the left and the text on the right.
You can also right-click the mouse and choose Paste Into Notes from the context menu.
NOTE: Regular Expressions have been selectively implemented in e-Sword. Not all
examples of Regular Expressions found elsewhere will work in e-Sword. If you are
running a version earlier than 9.9.1 the examples may not work properly because of
changes to this feature.
Extra contributors to this section include: The tips shown at eStudySource.com and
LayHands.com (LayHands.com contains errors in syntax and definition that have been
corrected in this manual.).
Regular Expressions
Regular Expressions, also referred to as REGEX or REGEXP, use special codes to match
patterns of text in very powerful (but complicated) ways. In e-Sword, regular expressions allow
you to search the Bible beyond the search methods previously discussed.
Understand that regular expressions see each verse in the Bible as separate characters
(letters, numbers, spaces, punctuation, etc.). Humans assemble characters into words as we
read, but regular expressions (by default) do not understand words, spaces between words, or
punctuation. Regular expressions only see characters.
The quotation marks are not apart of the search expression and will cause the expression to fail.
Do not include the quotation marks around a search pattern.
Special meaning characters are symbolic. They tell e-Sword how to conduct the search. For
example, placing \b before a search term (like this: \btax) tells e-Sword to only find words
beginning with tax.
You cannot use special meaning characters to find literal characters. For example, to find
every question in the bible, you might search for the ?. This will not work because the ? is a
special meaning character. e-Sword will attempt to use its special meaning, not its literal
meaning.
To make a question mark literal, so we can search for it, you must escape the question mark
by placing a backslash in front, like this: \?
Explanation: \b marks the ending of a word boundary. This tells e-Sword to only
find our search letters at the end of a word.
Explanation: \b marks the beginning and ending of a word boundary. This tells
e-Sword to only find our search letters if tax marks the beginning
and ending of a word.
Explanation: The dot represents any one character. So, the search will
return lie, lies, lye, etc. But not like or life because
those words would require more than one character and we
only have one dot, allowing for one character.
Explanation: The dot represents any one character and we have two dots.
So, the search will match like, life, etc. But not lie, lies,
lye, etc.
Lesson 5: Brackets []
Square brackets mean any single character within the square brackets.
Explanation: Searching for "[Ll]ord" will return all verses containing "Lord" or
"lord".
Explanation: Searching for gr[ae]y will return all verses containing gray or grey
Verses found: Verses with gray or grey. This is useful when you are not sure how
a translation spells a word, gray/grey, color/colour, etc.
Lesson 7: Caret ^
If a character class starts with ^, then specified characters will not be selected.
Verses not found: Verses with H3075, H3076, H3077, H3078, H3079.
Explanation: Locate all verses containing the characters man as long as the
characters are not mankind or any other word with man + k.
Verses found: Verses with man and any other variation of man except
mankind and any other word with man + k.
Explanation: Finds all words which contain "sel" followed immediately by a word
character.
Explanation: Finds all words which contain "sel" followed immediately by a word
character and the end of the word.
Explanation: Finds all words which begin with " self". More specifically, this finds
a string of characters containing a non-word character (such as a
space) followed immediately by "self".
Explanation: Finds all occurrences of the word "self" as a stand-alone word. More
specifically, this finds a string of characters containing a non-word
character (such as a space) followed immediately by "self", followed
immediately by a non-word character (such as a space or
punctuation).
Explanation: Finds all verses with Jesus or God. The search will return a verse
with either term.
Verses not found: Verses not having Jesus and not having God
Explanation: Locate all verses containing the a 3 digit Strongs number H100-
H999. The \b boundary prevents the search from finding a 3 digit
number within a 4 digit number.
Verses found: Any 3 digit Strongs number, such as H100-H999 and G100-G999.
Its difficult to find practical Bible examples that only use quantifiers (without using other
commands in conjunction with quantifiers). So lets take two hypothetical examples, just
to gain an understanding of the concepts. Some of the examples that follow will make
practical use of quantifiers.
Words found: rot", "brother", "root", "rooted", "birth", words containing rt, etc.
Words found: rot", "brother", "root", "rooted", etc. If a word had three os, it would
be found.
Words not found: words containing rt, like birth, because the o must be found at
least once.
Explanation: Finds the letter "c" zero or one times only. This differs from the +
and * characters because they could find the character one or more
times. The question mark is limited to a maximum of one.
Explanation: Finds the letter "o" zero or one times only. This differs from the +
and * characters because they could find the character one or more
times. The question mark is limited to a maximum of one.
Words found: rot", "brother", "root", "rooted", "birth", words containing rt, etc.
Words not found: If a word had three os, it would not be found.
Searching for "Saviou?r", Saviou*r, or Saviou+r, will each locate 29 verses in the KJV
containing "Savior" or "Saviour. This illustrates that sometimes there isnt a difference
which quantifier you use. But in our later examples, you will see a quantifier choice can
be critical.
(abc){2,} matches abc a minimum of two times, and {,4} matches abc
maximally four times.
Quantifiers "*", "+", and "?" (Lesson 12) are really special cases of the bracket notation.
"*" is equivalent to {0,} and "+" is equivalent to {1,} and "?" is equivalent to {0,1}.
In Lesson 6, we searched for H\d\d\d\b in the KJV+ Bible to locate all verses containing
a three digit Strongs number, such as H100-H999.
Using what we just learned, we can search for H\d{3}\b to return the same result as
Lesson 6. Since \d stands for any digit and {3} limits our digits to three, only H100-
H999 will match.
Verses not found: Verses with God anywhere else in the verse.
Because each e-Sword verse begins with a space, we have a space in ^ God.
Verses not found: Verses with man anywhere else in the verse. Will NOT find verses
ending in man., man?, man; etc.
Explanation: Locate all verses ending with the characters man, including
between zero and one non-word character. \W specifies the non-
word character. ? quantifies the non-word character to say zero or
one non-word characters. Non word characters are all characters
other than a-z, A-Z, 0-9, and the underscore _ sign.
Verses found: All verses ending with the characters man plus a non-word
character. This search locates man, man., man?, etc.
Verses not found: Verses with man anywhere else in the verse.
Explanation: The caret ^ command anchors our search to the beginning of the
verse. All e-Sword verses begin with a space, resulting in our space
above between ^ and God.
Verses not found: All verses beginning with text other than God.
Lets search for verses where the word God ends the verse.
Explanation: The $ command will anchor our search to the end of a verse. But
since verses can end with non-word characters, like punctuation, we
must account for that or those instances of God will be excluded.
Non-word characters are represented by \W. We must also include
a space between our last character and our $ anchor.
Verses found: All verses ending with God, God,, God;, etc.
Verses not found: All verses not ending with the above.
Verses not found: All verses are excluded unless they contain a word starting with P
and ending with r.
TIP: The above search has word boundaries. So if a verse ends with Peter. or Peter;
our search will not find those verses!
For our search to include punctuation (or non-word characters), we must modify our
search to include zero or more non-word characters. Non-word characters are
represented by \W and we can find zero or more instances of the previous character
with *: \bP(\w)+r\b(\W)*
The search finds Jesus and then skips one or more characters in
search of Peter. The dot . represents any character. The + sign
quantifies the dot wildcard character to unlimited. The pipe | sign
says or. The flip side of this pattern searches for Peter then
Jesus. The first side of our pattern would only find Jesus then
Peter.
Verses found: All verses containing both Jesus and Peter, including Simon
Peter.
Verses not found: All verses not containing the text Jesus and Peter.
Explanation: \w finds any word character, + repeats the search as long as the
search finds more word characters, the . finds any character (like a
space or a _ in a verse reference), \d represents any digit, {1,3}
matches the digit at least once and up to three times, the : is a
literal character to find the : in the verse, and the final {1,3}
behaves the same as the first.
Verses found: When running this search in a commentary, dictionary, or topic, the
search matches all entries containing ANY Bible verse reference,
including Genesis 1:1 and Gen_1:1.
What if you only want to find e-Sword verse references (tool tipped verses)? The
difference between an e-Sword verse reference and a traditional verse reference
is that e-Sword uses a three character book abbreviation and underscore _ sign
between the book abbreviation and the chapter, like Gen_1:1. Our search
expression is: \w{3}_\d{1,3}:\d{1,3}
What if you want to find specific verse references, such as all references to a
specific bible book?
Explanation: Gen_ is literal textthe book of the Bible we want to find. The
remaining search expression is the same as our example above.
Verses found: When running this search in a commentary, dictionary, or topic, the
search matches all entries containing all e-Sword verse references
from Genesis.
We can further refine our search to the first chapter of Genesis with this search:
Gen_1:\d{1,3}
Explanation: \b sets a word boundary, Jesus is our first word to find. \W+
finds one or more non-word characters (like a space for example).
The parenthesis sets the precedence and scope of the look-ahead
assertion. \w+ finds one or more word characters, \W+ finds one
or more non-word characters. {1,6} skips a minimum of one word
and a maximum of six words. Christ is the second word to find.
Verses found: This search only finds verses with Jesus followed by Christ, with at
least one word in between and no more than six words in between.
What if we want to find the oppositeChrist followed by Jesus with at least one word
in between and no more than six words in between? A few translations will show
additional results.
We must insert, a pipe | symbol and reverse the order of our words. Our expression is
now:
\bJesus\W+(?:\w+\W+){1,6}Christ\b|\bChrist\W+(?:\w+\W+){1,6}Jesus\b