VietNam Bible

User's Manual

 

2 Tim. 3:15-17

 

 

About the Bible Program in Brief

 

The Program originated as a simple program for quoting the Bible verses and using them in various documents. Later on the program was extended by its capability to add practically any texts to the general database – these additions we call modules. Thanks to our users now it is available a large amount of modules with various Bible translations, theological books, classical works and many other materials (not only on the Christian subjects).

 

You can make copies and distribute it by any means freely. In case if you intend to distribute it commercially you have to obtain  our official permission first. We also draw your attention to the fact that the free distribution of the program does not mean the free distribution of the modules created for it. The authors of the modules can copyright their work and limit the right to distribute them at their discretion.

 

 

Navigation and Quoting

 

The program has a simple interface for various operations with the text: view, search, bookmarks, editing notes, comparing translations, etc. We believe that for an experienced computer user the interface of our program should be simple enough to master.

The program widow is divided into two parts: the control panel on the left and the window for displaying texts on the right. The control panel consists of two so called bookmarks with the following functions: 1) navigation; 2) search; 3) viewing dictionaries; 4) viewing Strong lexicons; 5) viewing commentaries; 6)  viewing cross-references; 7) editing texts.

 

The window for displaying texts has a number of control buttons. Each button has its own prompting which pops up when the cursor is over it. Besides, the right part of the window contains various bookmarks, arranged in the lower part of the window. These are the bookmarks for a quick transition to favorite modules – we will discuss this function later.

 

Let us consider navigation. The Bible and other books (further – modules) in our understanding divided into parts, and in every part – into chapters. Each chapter is divided into verses (in case of the Bible) or paragraphs. In the Navigation bookmark you can select the module you need and then – the book of the module and the chapter. In the upper margin of the navigation bookmark one can also move to the required book and chapter, using the abbreviated addresses. For example, you can select the NIV Version of the Bible and then enter on top John 3:16 and the program will display the required passage. To understand what abbreviation are used for each module, after opening it click the question mark next to the area for entering a short address.

 

When you enter complicated references, e.g. Rom. 2; 5:1-8, the program will open the list of passages in the upper part of the display window.

 

Attention: you can use "hot" keys Ctrl-G or Ctrl-F2 to open the window for entering a short address in the module.

 

Below is the journal that records all the passages (from various modules) you opened. Clicking any entry of the journal you can quickly get access to it.

 

While reading the material one can also make bookmarks. Clicking the right button of the mouse you will see that one can select creating a bookmark for the given passage. For the bookmark you can use either the text of the verse, or make a short description.

 

Using the same context menu you can have the program compare available translations.

 

Now about quoting. This is actually the major functional part of our program. Opening the verse you need you can select a few words of the text or have the program to quote one or a few verses. If you want to quote one verse, just click it using the right button of the mouse and select the menu item. If you want to quote several verses, you need to select the text starting from the first verse (not necessary from the very beginning) and ending somewhere in the area of the last verse. Then, clicking on the right button of the mouse, you can select copying of the passage.

 

The quotations can be formatted in different ways, indicating the title of the book and the chapter number or without any indication. You can also indicate the code of the Bible translation, e.g. KJV, RSV. These options can be selected opening the parameters setting window through Shift-F5.

 

The "hot" keys for quoting are Ctrl-C, Ctrl-F5 (copying of the selected text or the whole passage if nothing is selected) and Shift-F5 (setting parameters).

 

The search in the Text

 

The second major function in the program is the search in the Bible text or additional search of the modules.

 

In the Search bookmark on the control panel you can see different variants of what you are looking for. If you are sure you remember the exact phrase you can set the parameters "The Words Are in the Order", "The Phrases Cannot Be Parts of the Words" or even "Look for the Exact Phrase". In other case leave all the options unmarked and simply limit the range of your search.

 

The program can display either all the results or page by page (50, 100, 200 or 300). You can interrupt the process by pressing ESC button.

 

The "hot" keys for the search are F3 (opening the Search bookmark), ESC (interrupting the process) and Ctrl-F, Ctrl-F3 (opening the window for a quick search).

 

Reference Materials: Dictionaries, Lexicons, Commentaries

 

The Version 4.5 of the program has reference materials, namely Bible dictionaries, Strong lexicons and commentaries.

 

Bible dictionaries explain the meaning of the Bible words.

 

Strong's lexicons helps even a layman to understand the meaning of the original words. Strong introduced the system of numbers that lead us from the translated text back to the word of the original. All the words of the original were numbered and there was created a dictionary for them.

 

The program also allows to use commentaries along with the Bible text.

 

Now we will tell you how to use all these reference materials. To view the explanation of the word one can double-click it. If the word is in one of the dictionaries, the entry will open on the left, in the Dictionaries bookmark. If it is in several dictionaries, the message "Found in Several Dictionaries" will pop up and you will be able to glance over different explanations. The Dictionaries bookmark shows the general list of all the words of all the available dictionaries. If you want to filter this list and use just one dictionary, select it from the list.

 

To view the Strong's numbers and their interpretations one should either click the corresponding button on the button panel or select the menu item. The Strong's numbers appear as small font hyperlinks. When you click any of them, on the left the interpretation of the numbered word will open. Thus, using the Strong's numbers, you will be able to understand better the given Scripture passage even if you do not have a special education in Hebrew and Greek.

 

Commentaries bookmark constitutes the list of commentaries and modules of the Bible that you can use for the commented text opened in the main window. Using the other translations of the Bible as commentaries we have a unique opportunity to compare translations. Sometimes another translation can explain the passage better than any other commentary. If you have a command of other languages we suggest that you download from our server in the Internet additional modules – the Bible translations into English, French, German and other languages. Every added module, if it is a Bible translation and not just a book, automatically becomes available in the list of the commentaries.

 

"Hot" key for this section is F5

 

Cross-references

 

In printed editions of the Bible there is often a column (in modern editions it may be a lower margin of the page) with cross-references. Taking into account that the Bible is penetrated by the same spirit, these cross-references are often an excellent commentary to the text.

 

In our program starting from Version 4.5 we started to use a large database of cross-references Treasure of Scripture knowledge in conformity with the generally accepted standard for Bible programs.

 

To view cross-references to the given verse one needs to open the Cross-references bookmark on the control panel and click the verse in the right part of the window. After that in the left part the references will appear as well as the texts themselves. Clicking on the hyperlink in the left part you will see the full text of the Bible and can follow the context.

 

"Favorite Modules"

 

We have already mentioned that in the lower part of the window for viewing texts there are bookmarks which allow to switch over to the favorite modules. This tool works just as the system of the bookmarks to the different parts in the texts, but there is one difference: here it is the books that are switched over and, if now you are in a certain Bible translation then, switching over to another module which is also a Bible translation, you get to the place you need in the new translation. Thus, "favorite modules" are not simply bookmarks, but a very handy tool for a quick comparison of the Bible translations.

 

To set the favorite modules (you can indicate up to 10 modules as "favorite") you need to select the item "Select Favorite Modules" (F9 key) from the menu "Favorite Modules" and arrange the 10 modules in order.

 

To switch between the modules one can use the key combinations Ctrl-1, Ctrl-2,… Ctrl-10.

 

The "hot" keys of this section are F9 (setting favorite modules) and Ctrl-1, Ctrl-2,…, Ctrl-10 (switching over).

 

Creating Personal Notes; Built-In Text Editor

 

In the process of studying the texts you can make your own notes and commentaries to the text. You can either create them as separate files in the built-in editor or make them in the text, under the verses.

 

The built-in text editor in the Quotation from the Bible program is similar to the standard WordPad editor in the Windows. The files can be saved in RTF and DOC formats. The internal format of the files is Rich Text Format, that is compatible with WordPad, MS Word and other popular text processors.

 

To make a footnote commentary under the verse you can select the corresponding item in the context menu which opens when you click the right button of the mouse in the verse area. After entering the text and pressing OK the text will be displayed in the main window. To change the text you need to open the context menu again and edit the commentary.

 

The "hot" key Ctrl-M allows to turn on/off the footnote commentaries.

 

Print, Export of the Files, Supporting HTML Format

 

Any text opened in the main window can be printed out. The program also allows you to preview the document before printing. You can access this function using either the menu and "hot" keys or the button panel under the window for viewing texts.

 

The program supports HTML format and you can save the file in the window in the HTML format or you can open any HTML document from your hard disk.

 

The "hot" keys are Ctrl-P (printing); Ctrl-F11 (print preview); Ctrl-S, F12 (export to the HTML file); Ctrl-O, Ctrl-F12 (open HTML file).

 

Small Conveniences for Private Users

 

Our program does not have any hidden resources that are not indicated in the menu system or on the button panel. So, studying the system of menu and prompts to the buttons you can do without this User's Manual.

 

There is only one "entertainment" function that is not in the menu – opening a random passage in the Bible (or in the open module). You can open the random menu by pressing Ctrl-R.

 

While viewing the text you can change the font or the background color; you can also select the color for hyperlinks or for personal notes, etc. All this you can do with the help of menu items in the File section.

 

You can increase or decrease the font size by pressing "+" or "–" in the right side of your keyboard.

 

Various modules may have a copyright and limitations for distribution. If the module does not have a copyright then in the right upper part you will see the text: "This file has no copyright". But if it does, then the module may be distributed with the file copyright.htm that can view by pressing on the copyright line or the button of the copyright view on the button panel. Be sure you keep to the terms of distribution. Illegal distribution of the modules can harm not only you but the authors of the program as well.

 

Data Organization of the Quotation from the Bible program

 

The Quotation from the Bible  program package consists of the fail vietbible.exe, the files *.lng for menu and system messages translations, the folder TSK (the cross-references database), the folder Strongs (with the Strong's lexicons), the folder Dictionaries, and the folder Commentaries plus the folder Help.

 

The modules are in the subfolders of the folder where vietbible.exe is located. Some modules can be located at the additional path that you can indicate using the dialog window Settings – it can be either another folder or a CD.

 

For a user's convenience the program keeps the information about the last opened verse in the Bible (or in another module), the window size, colors and other user's settings in the file bibleqt.ini in the user's folder. The other information, namely bookmarks, personal notes, and the journal are contained in the files bible_bookmarks.ini, bible_memos.ini, and bible_history.ini. The user's folder is created in the subfolder users\yourname (where "yourname" is the name under which you registered in the Windows). If the operating system is registered just for one user, there will be "default" instead of "yourname".

 

If, for some reasons, the subfolder "users" is not available for writing (for example, if you run the program from the CD or in the local network) the settings will be kept in the folder Vietbible of the folder where the Widows is set up.

 

When moving the user's data from one computer to another it is enough to copy your user's folder and overwrite the files on the existing files in another system.

 

Creating Modules for the Quotation from the Bible

 

The advantage of the Quotation from the Bible program, as the time since 1998 has demonstrated, is in its capacity of extending the database with various texts. Among the modules available are even large encyclopedic dictionaries, sets of geographical maps, and photo-galleries. Here we will briefly direct you in creating your own module.

 

As we have already mentioned, each module is located in its own folder. The files of the module may be in the text form, but the extension can any, e.g. TXT or HTM. The module can be one large book (as in case of the Bible) or a selection of books by the same author. In any case, every part of the module is kept in a separate file, which is divided into chapters and verses (or paragraphs).

 

For the "Quotation" to recognize the module, in the module's folder there must be the file bibleqt.ini. Experience users can open any of such files and make out what is what. Using the example of the file for the Russian Bible we will analyze all the parameters of it.

 

BibleName = King James Version

 

BibleShortName = KJV

 

BibleName defines the full name of the module, and BibleShortName – its abbreviation.

 

Bible = Y

 

OldTestament = Y

 

NewTestament = Y

 

Apocrytha = Y

 

These parameters tell us if the module a Bible translation or not, and, if so, if it contains the NT, OT and Apocrytha. In case of the negative answer, the parameter is N.

 

ChapterZero = N

 

Some modules, for example, the Bible commentaries, have chapter "zero", which is a commentary to the whole book, and then, after chapter "zero" follow the commentaries to the chapters.

 

HTMLFilter = <img

 

One can indicate additional tags that will be active in this module. Owing to this parameter one can have the "Quotation" display the images in the module text. The Quotation from the Bible displays HTML tags of the headers, bold or italic font. Attention: if it is not a closed tag like, for example, <a href… then it must look like this:

 

HTMLFilter = <a </a>

 

A Small secret: thus you can make a reference from one module to another:

 

The author says: God created the heaven and the earth.

 

(<a href="go rststrong 1 1 1">Gen.1:1</a>)

 

The next parameter is the set of letters of the national alphabet:

 

Alphabet = ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

 

These letters will be used in the search, the others will be ignored.

 

DesiredFontName=Comic Sans MS

 

DesiredFontCharset=204

 

The first parameter indicates the required font, the second – the code page of the text. In some modules, for example, the Bible in Korean, it is vitally essential, because the changing of the font is not enough. To be more exact, only the change of the code page is required for the Windows to set the right font. For books and the Bible translations in Russian or English you can use code page 204 (RUSSIAN_CHARSET), for Western European Languages (with umlauts) use 238, for Greek and Hebrew fonts set Charset=1.

 

ChapterSign = A NAME

 

Verse Sign = <SUP>

 

Here is the salt of the Quotation from the Bible program, namely, of its tool of connecting modules. The program does not care how the modules were created and in which format the data are kept. What is important is to indicate these criteria. Each module can have its own set of criteria for division into chapters and verses. But every file within the same module must have the same division. Be careful, or else the verse feature can become the chapter feature, or vise versa, for example:

 

ChapterSign = <p><h1>

 

VerseSign = <p>

 

In this case the program will mix up chapters and verses which will make the module unreadable.

 

Then goes the description of the books of the module:

 

BookQty = 77

 

PathName = ru01.htm

 

FullName = Genesis

 

ShortName = Gen. Gen Ge. Ge Genesis

 

ChapterQty = 50

 

First BookQty, that is, the number of books (parts) in the module is described, then one by one the books (parts) are described. PathName is the name of the file in which the book is contained. FullName is the full name of the book, ShortName is the list of ALL possible abbreviations. ChapterQty is the number of chapters in the book.

 

We hope that tthis description will help you to create your own module. Watch the updates on the site, because in the near future we want to publish a program for more automated process of creating modules. And, if you created a module, get in touch  with us and send these modules by e-mail.

 

We wish you every success!

 

Appreciation

 

First of all we thank God and our Lord Jesus Christ for everything! Only owing to Him we can use all our abilities for imperishable purposes. We also thank all the authors of the Christian programs whose creativity encouraged us to make this program.

 

We also thank all the users for valuable pieces of advice.

 

We ask you to pray for the further success of our program, especially for the project of the cross-platform tool for studying the Bible that could be used not only in the Windows system but also in the Linux, Macintosh and on the Internet. The project will be developed on the principle of Open Source and distributed freely under license of the GPL.