Choosing a SWORD program

Introduction

This page needs to be maintained to give fair coverage of the SWORD front-end programs.

Do feel free to edit this page to make it more complete and better organized.

The purpose of this page is to help an end user decide which SWORD front-end program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at CrossWire's home page. Once the user has narrowed down which programs are available, the following can be used to focus on the best program.

It is recommended that each user try all the available programs. It is likely that one will resonate with the user and work best for that user.

As this page is oriented to program features, it does not distinguish whether the underlying engine is SWORD or JSword.

Some applications have a different CrossWire development code name than the public name.

Features Common to All SWORD Front-end Applications

Most SWORD Front-end programs have these features:

• Uses Unicode (though some front-ends don't yet support 5.0 or later)
• Released under an open source license
• Powerful search syntax - wildcard, regex and often also clucene indexed searches (fuzzy and proximity searches + searches for Strong's, stemming etc) within preset and customized scopes.
• Strong's, morphological info, cross references and footnotes
• All front-ends listed below are undergoing more or less active development.
• Verse and block layout
• Image support in all types of modules
• Localization - all front-ends are designed to be readily translatable. Many are translated in various languages.

Side-by-Side Comparison of Notable SWORD Front-end Applications

This is a work in progress. It may not be 100% accurate. As front-ends are further developed, some items may become out of date.
Please help to keep this page useful by editing it to the best of your knowledge.

Legends

To keep the tables below compact, the SWORD programs are identified by abbreviations. Here is an explanation of each of them:

• AB — And Bible based on JSword, for Android OS
• ABS — Alkitab Bible Study based on JSword, uses Java 5+
• B — Bishop for Android OS and iOS / iPadOS
• BD — BibleDesktop based on JSword, uses Java 1.4.2+
• BT — BibleTime uses cross-platform Qt toolkit
• BPB — BPBible uses wxPython
• EBA — Ezra Bible App runs on Windows, Linux, macOS and Android devices.
• EQ — Eloquent – formerly named MacSword2
• PS — PocketSword v1.4.8 (20)
• SPW — The SWORD Project for Windows
• SB — SwordBible
• ST — STEP Bible
• Xi — Xiphos
• XS — xulsword (aka Holy Bible / Электронная Библия)

A blank entry means that it is unknown whether a feature is present. Footnotes are automatically numbered.

Operating Systems and Portability

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Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME	no		no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes		yes	no	no
Runs on Windows 2K/XP/Vista/7/8/10	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+	no		no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	yes
Runs on Mac OS X 10.4+	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	yes
Runs on Mac OS X 10.5+	no		no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	yes
Runs on Linux	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes
Runs on other Unix	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes	yes
Runs on iPhone, iPad, & iPod touch	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no	no
Runs on Android	yes	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	yes	no	partial
Can be installed to run from USB drive	no	no	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes

Module related

Module Support

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Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Daily devotions start with today		yes		yes		yes	no	no	yes		yes	no	yes	yes
Daily devotions show friendly dates		yes		yes		yes	no	no	yes		no	no	yes	no
Shows testament introductions		no		no			no	yes	no	yes	no	no	no	yes
Shows book introductions		no		no	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes
Shows chapter introductions		no		no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes
Personal commentary	no	no		no	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes
Journal		no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Right to Left scripts	yes	yes		yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Complex scripts						partial	no		yes	partial			yes	yes
ICU Transliteration						yes	no		no	yes		no	yes	no
Encoded Transliteration						no	no		no	yes		yes	yes	no
Can display Lemmas							no		yes				yes	yes
Can display Glosses							no		yes				yes
Footnote expansion	yes			yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes
Glossary links				no			no		no			no	yes	yes
Morphological segments							no		no			yes	yes	yes
Can display variants							no		no			no	yes
Alternate Versification	yes	yes		yes	yes	no	no	yes	partial	yes		yes	yes	yes
Show deuterocanonical books	yes	no		yes	yes	no	yes		yes	yes		yes	yes	no
Show encoded transliterations	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Supports module abbreviations	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes

Module Management

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Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Integrated module manager	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	partial	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Module unlocking support		yes		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		no	yes	yes
Locked modules are identified							yes		yes				yes
Multiple download repositories	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Local repositories (e.g. CrossWire CD)		no		no	yes	no	no	yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Option to add remote source									yes				yes
Module maintainer mode									yes
Use of proxy configurable				yes	no	n/a	no	no	n/a	no	no	yes	n/a	yes
Downloaded modules are available immediately without restart	yes	no		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes	yes
User is warned of internet access		yes	yes	yes	yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
User is advised about download size		yes		yes	no	n/a	no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	yes
User can continue working while download is in progress				yes	yes	n/a	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Download can be canceled		yes		yes	yes	n/a	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no	partial	yes
User is warned if module already exists		yes		yes		no	yes	yes	yes			yes	yes	yes
User is notified of module updates				no	yes	no	no	no	yes	yes		no	yes	yes
User is notified of new modules				no		no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no
User is notified of obsolete modules							no		no				yes	yes
Hiding/showing installed modules		no		no	yes	no	yes	yes	n/a	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
Modules sorted or selected by type		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Modules are further sorted by language	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	yes
Module manager displays localized language names	yes			yes		n/a	yes	n/a	no	n/a	n/a	yes	yes	yes
Modules can be archived/exported		no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Companion module support	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Utility module support			yes
Can install specified font	yes						no		n/a			no	n/a	yes
Respects MinimumVersion	no	no		no			no					no	yes	yes

Image Module Support

SWORD proper does not really "support" any particular image formats. The engine delivers text on demand to the applications, some of which incidentally contains references to image content. The engine itself isn't really aware that images are part of the deal, other than that some of the filters happen to scribble the right target markup, which is agnostic to what image format is referenced.

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Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Image resizing		no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
JPEG format		yes		yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes		no	yes	yes
PNG format		yes		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		no	yes	yes
SVG format		no		no		no	no	yes	yes	no		no	yes	yes
HEIF format

Module Information

Some front-ends can display the complete information from the module's conf file. Others can display hardly anything at all of this information. Please use this section to record what each program can display for module information, and how this is accessed.

Please state whether the front-end can display the ShortPromo link, if present in the module conf file. Except for locked modules, this is the only configuration item that allows HTML.

Please add content to the empty cells.

Configuration Item	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Module name							yes		yes				yes	yes
Abbreviation							yes		no				yes	yes
Description							yes		yes				yes	yes
Type							no		yes				yes	yes
Version							yes		yes				yes	yes
Language							yes		yes				yes	yes
Distribution license							yes		yes				yes	yes
About									yes				yes
Filter features							yes		yes				yes	yes
Installed size							yes		partial				yes	yes
Short Promotional							no		no				yes	yes

Windowing and Text Display

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Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Window layout flexible		yes		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	n/a	yes		yes	yes	yes
Un/Linkable		yes		yes		yes	no	yes	n/a	n/a		yes	yes	yes
Parallel display		yes		yes	yes	no	no	yes	no	yes		yes	yes	yes
Text comparisons in parallel displays				yes			yes		no	no		yes	no	yes
Multiple texts		yes		yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no	no		yes	yes	yes
Module default font		yes		yes		no	no	yes	yes	yes		no	yes	yes
Font size adjustable	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes			yes	yes
Font settable per module	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes		no	yes	yes
Font settable per language	yes			yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	no		partial	yes	no
Transliteration		no		no	no	no	no		no	yes	no	yes	yes	no
Doublespace lines option							no		no	no		no	yes	yes
CSS display control for authors	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes
Overall application CSS display control	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
BibleSync shared navigation	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Honors coded note tags							no		no	yes			yes	no
Can display small-caps							no	no					yes

Search and Dictionary

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Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Able to create a search index	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
Able to download a search index	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	n/a	no
Able to delete a search index	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes
Index in background	no			yes		no	n/a	yes	n/a	no		yes	yes	no
Indexed Search	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
Cross Verse Proximity Search		yes		yes		yes	no	no	no	yes	no	yes	yes	no
Indexed Strong, Morphology and Body search		yes		yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
Indexed CrossRef search	no	yes		yes		yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
Indexed Note and Heading search	no	yes		yes		no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
Advanced search options	partial						partial		no	yes		yes	yes	yes
Fuzzy search	no	yes		yes	yes		no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes
Normalize the search string							no	yes					no
Strong's search lexicon results							no		no	no			no	yes
Strong's search reverse lexicon							no		no	no			no	yes
GenBook and Commentary search				partial	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Combined module search	no			no	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	yes	no
Return to last search results	yes						yes		yes	no		yes	no	yes
Search within search results	no						yes		no	no		yes	yes	no
Search scopes	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	partial	yes	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes
Result highlighting							yes	yes	no	no		yes	yes	yes
Automatic/On-Mouse Strongs/Morphology lookup	n/a	yes		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Automatic/On-Mouse Glossary lookup	n/a			no			no	yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Share search results	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no

Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes

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Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Bookmarks, verselists, or tags	yes			yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Manual adding				yes	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Bulk adding of search result				yes		yes	yes	yes	no			no	yes	no
Permanent				yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Hierarchical				no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes
Drag and drop management	n/a			n/a	yes	yes		yes	no	yes	n/a	no	yes	yes
Exportable				yes	yes		yes	no	no			no	yes	yes
Importable							no		no			no	yes	yes
User comments				no	yes	yes	no	yes	no			no	yes	yes
Delete all							no		no			no	yes	yes
Study notes	yes			no	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes

Session and State Management

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Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Layout stored		yes		partial	yes	yes	yes	yes	n/a	yes		yes	yes	yes
Interface language				yes		yes	yes	yes	yes			yes	yes	yes
Open modules		yes		no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes
Search results				partial			yes	partial	no			yes	yes	partial
Storing of multiple sessions	n/a			no	yes		no	yes	no			yes	yes	no

Help System

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Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Manual, English		yes		yes	yes	no	no	no	no	yes		yes	yes	no
Manual, Other					yes	no	no	no	no			no	yes	no
Active links to online help						yes	no	no	no			yes	yes	yes
Tooltips		yes		yes	yes	yes	partial	partial	no			yes	yes	yes

Localization

Only languages with at least 70% of the user interface translated are listed.

The following languages are present in these front-end applications.

Please add content to the empty cells, and make changes when locales are added to each front end..

Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
GUI RtoL support	yes	yes		yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no		no	yes	yes
Localized numerals		yes		yes			yes	no	no			no	yes	yes
English	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
中文 (Chinese, Traditional and Simplified)	yes	no		yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no
Deutsch (German)	yes	no		yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	no
Português (Portuguese)	yes	no		no	yes	no	yes	no	yes	yes	no	no	yes	no
Suomi (Finnish)	yes	no		no	yes	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no
فارسی (Persian)	no	no		yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes
Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)	yes	no		yes	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)	yes	yes		no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no
Français (French)	yes	no		no	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no
Česky (Czech)	yes	no		no	yes	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no
Magyar (Hungarian)	yes	no		no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no
Español (Spanish)	yes	no		no	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no
Polski (Polish)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no
Svenska (Swedish)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no
Dansk (Danish)	no	no		no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Slovenščina (Slovenian)	yes	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no
Afrikaans	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no
日本語 (Japanese)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no	no	yes	no
Latviešu (Latvian)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Lietuvių (Lithuanian)	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Slovenčina (Slovak)	no	no		no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
עברית (Hebrew)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Norsk (Norwegian Bokmål)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Nederlands (Dutch)	yes	no		no	no	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no
Cymraeg (Welsh)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Român (Romanian)	no	no		no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Русский (Russian)	yes	no		no	no	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	yes
Italiano (Italian)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no
Українська (Ukrainian)	no	no		no	no	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no
ภาษาไทย (Thai)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no
한국어 (Korean)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	yes
Türkçe (Turkish)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
Ελληνικά (Greek)	yes	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
Swahili (Kiswahili)	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
Қазақша (Kazakh)	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
Къумукъ (Kumyk)	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
Кыргызча (Kyrgyz Cyrillic)	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
عىزچا (Kyrgyz Arabic)	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
Татар теле (Tatar)	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
ئۇيغۇرچە (Uyghur)	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
O‘zbekcha (Uzbek Latin)	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
Ўзбекча (Uzbek Cyrillic)	no	no		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes

Print menu

Use this section to document whether the front-end has any menu options for printing a selection from a module. If so, what restrictions exist as to how much text can be printed in one operation.

Please add content to the empty cells.

Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Menu has a print option	no	no		no		no	no	yes	no	yes		no	yes	yes

Other

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Feature	AB	ABS	B	BD	BT	BPB	EBA	EQ	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi	XS
Extramodular Bible reading plan	yes	yes		yes		no	no	no	no	no	yes		no	no
Other extramodular content	no	no		no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes		no	yes
Read aloud	yes	no		partial		no	no	yes	yes	no	no		yes	yes
Skins/Themes	no				yes		partial		n/a	yes	yes		yes	yes
Export passage to clipboard					yes		yes		no				yes	yes
Other features not listed otherwise	yes				yes		no	yes	yes				yes	yes