CrossWire Bible Society - User contributions [en]

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-10-24T13:16:43Z

Brian.fernandes:

==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 [http://www.crosswire.org 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==
For the most part all the SWORD Front-end programs have the same features.
* Uses Unicode
* 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
* Localisation - 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''.

=== Legends ===
To keep the lists below compact, the SWORD programs are identified by abbreviations. Here is an explanation of each of them:
*'''ABS''' — [http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study] based on JSword, uses Java 5+
*'''BD''' — [[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop]] based on JSword, uses Java 1.4.2+
*'''BT''' — [http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] uses cross-platform Qt toolkit
*'''BPB''' — [http://bpbible.com BPBible] uses wxPython
*'''FB''' — [http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible] based on JSword, runs in FireFox as an extension
*'''MS''' — [[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]] ''series 1''
*'''MS2''' — [[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword 2.0]] ''released 2009-10-12''
*'''SPW''' — [[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
*'''SB''' — [http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
*'''Xi''' — [[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])

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

=== Operating Systems and Portability===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>Not Win9x</ref>!!{{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"{{
| '''Runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"> Pre-alpha</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Version 1.3.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.4+'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104">Version 1.4.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.5+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Linux'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on other Unix'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>BSD. Solaris cannot be supported at this time because its library support is crippled with respect to the required build tools.</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Can be installed to run from USB drive'''

! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable] both in the sense that it can be carried in ones pocket and in the sense that it runs on Windows, Mac or Linux, requiring nothing from the host computer and leaving no trace on it.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition] for Windows only. Leaves no trace on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref>Using [http://PortableApps.com/FirefoxPortable Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition] from PortableApps.com, for Windows only, but depends on a local installation of Java. Leaves no trace on host computer. Other platforms are possible.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces">Leaves traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces"/>
! {{yes}}<ref>Temporarily install to a computer and then copy the "C:\Program Files\CrossWire\The SWORD Project" folder to the USB drive. Finally, uninstall it and delete install directory. Leaves no traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{no}}
|}

<references/>

=== Module related ===

==== Module Support ====
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword 2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Start with Today'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Show Friendly Dates'''<ref>Dates use locale appropriate date representation. Month names if used are localized, too.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Testament Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Book Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Chapter Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Personal Commentary'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable">Exportable as a SWORD module</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Journal'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable"/>
|-valign="top"
| '''Right to Left Texts'''<ref>Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left and correctly shaped.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Complex Scripts'''<ref>The application can display correctly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmic_family_of_scripts Brahmic, Indic, and related scripts] (or other scripts of similar layout) - subject to availability of adequate fonts and standardized Unicode</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe">To the extent that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe] supports a given script</ref>
!  {{yes}}<ref>To the extent that Firefox supports a given script</ref>
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe"/>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>With [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pango pango]-[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_(SIL) graphite] installed</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Footnote expansion'''
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
!  {{part}}<ref name="Limited">Notes appear in popup. Extremely long notes may appear truncated in the popup.</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

==== Module Management ====
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Integrated module manager'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins">via plugins</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Zip installer for locally available modules only</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Module unlocking support'''<ref>The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple download repositories'''<ref>Integrated installer allows download from more than one SWORD module repository.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Xiphos supports automatic repository discovery, using the standard set maintained at CrossWire</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Local Repositories (e.g. CrossWire CD)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Use of Proxy configurable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !!{{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Downloaded modules are available immediately without restart'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned of internet access'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is advised about download size'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Xiphos will extract info from repository if provided</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue working while download is in progress'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Download can be canceled'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned if module already exists.'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! !! !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted">Installed modules are highlighted</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of module updates'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of new modules'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hiding/Showing installed modules'''<ref>This refers to the ability to select which of the installed modules are listed for selection, without having to uninstall any modules.</ref>

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Modules can be sorted for installed/uninstalled</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules sorted by type'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules are further sorted by language'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules can be archived/exported'''<ref>Packages a module into SWORD's shareable "Raw Zip" format.</ref>

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Companion Module support'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

==== Image Module Support ====
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| ''' Image Resizing'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''JPEG format'''<ref>All full-featured SWORD applications should already have support for this types.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' PNG format'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}<ref> PNG support will be available in 1.5.12 upwards</ref> !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' SVG format'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

==== 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.

=== Windowing and Text Display ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Window Layout flexible'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Un/Linkable'''<ref>Open text panes can by user choice be linked or unlinked and will then move together to the next reference or stay at different references</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Only linked at the moment</ref> !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Parallel Display'''<ref>Several bible +/-commentary texts can be displayed in a set of parallel columns</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple texts'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Poetry Layout'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref> 2 level indentation</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Not indented</ref>!! !! {{yes}} <ref> 1 level indentation</ref>
|-valign="top"

|-valign="top"
| '''Module default font'''<ref>Used if the font is installed</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per module'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Transliteration'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>This is available if compiled with ICU.</ref> !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Search and Dictionary ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to create a search index'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Automatically created searching a module first time</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Index can also be created automatically for all installed modules if enabled.</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to delete a search index'''

! {{yes}}<ref>Through plugins</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}!! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue to use application while index is being created'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Cross Verse Proximity Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Allowing phrases across verse boundaries</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Strong, Morphology and Body search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed CrossRef search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Note and Heading search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Fuzzy search'''<ref>Finds words based upon approximation.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''GenBook and Commentary search'''

! !! {{part}}<ref name = "commAsBibles"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name = "commAsBibles">Commentaries when treated as Bibles</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Combined module search'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Creation of lists of modules to be searched together</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Search scopes'''<ref>Limit search to one or more passages or books</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Result highlighting'''<ref>Search term(s) highlighted in results</ref>

! !! !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>With results in view, use Highlight all in Firefox Find (for the same search term)</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Strongs/Morphology lookup'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Glossary lookup'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}} <ref>Via context menu</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Bookmarks, Verselists or Tags'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Utilizes FF bookmarking system</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual adding'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bulk adding of Search result'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Permanent'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hierarchical'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Drag and drop management'''

! !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Exportable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User comments'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Study Notes'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Session and State Management ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Layout stored'''

! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Size and location of windows only</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Interface language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale">Selected from locale setting</ref>!!{{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale"/> !! !! !! {{n/a}}<ref name="variablelocale">Selected from locale setting, but changing environment variables LANG and LC_ALL will select another, e.g., shell command to select Hebrew interface: LANG=he LC_ALL=he_IL xiphos</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Open Modules'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}} <ref>Open tabs can be saved as a bookmark group and/or Firefox can automatically save session on exit. Limited to content viewed in primary browser area, not in the sidebar.</ref> !!{{yes}}!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Search Results'''

! !! {{part}}<ref>User can store the results of a search as a verse list</ref>!! !! !! {{yes}} <ref>Resulting URL can be bookmarked</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{part}} <ref>Not result but search query is stored</ref>!! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Storing of multiple Sessions'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !!{{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Help System ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, Other'''

! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref> French</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Active links to online help'''

! !! !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !!{{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>IRC, Mailing lists, bug tracker</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Tooltips'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{part}} !! {{part}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

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

The following languages are present in more than one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''GUI RtoL Support'''<ref>Layout flips from Left-to-Right layout to Right-to-Left based on user's locale.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Localized verse/chapter numbers'''<ref>Numbering will use localized script for numbers</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''中文 (Chinese, Traditional and Simplified)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Deutsch (German)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Português (Portuguese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Suomi (Finnish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''فارسی (Persian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Français (French)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Česky (Czech)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Magyar (Hungarian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Español (Spanish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Polski (Polish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Svenska (Swedish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

The following languages are present in only one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Dansk (Danish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Afrikaans'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''日本語 (Japanese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovenščina (Slovenian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''עברית (Hebrew)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Norsk (Norwegian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Nederlands (Dutch)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Cymraeg (Welsh)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Русский (Russian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovenčina (Slovak)'''

! {{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.

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Menu has a print option'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}}<ref>Use Firefox to print displayed passage</ref> !! !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Current chapter</ref>
|}

<references />

=== Other ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Extramodular Bible Reading Plan'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other extramodular content'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Bible Study HOWTO</ref>!! {{yes}} <ref>Gospel Harmonies, Guess the Verse game</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Topical verse lists</ref> !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Read aloud'''

! {{no}} !! {{part}}<ref name="maconly">On MacOS 10.3+ only</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other features not listed otherwise'''
!
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Display Strong's headwords, configurable export passage to clipboard</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Integrates with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubiquity_(Firefox) Ubiquity]</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Full screen view; floating, transparent preview window; tabbed panes detachable to seperate window; automatic software download and update</ref>
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology; tabbed interface for multiple Bible/commentary/dictionary study; detached windows for any module; commentary by chapter; lexdict mouse-hover content-to-previewer; tab-able or detached full-chapter parallel window; passage exporter; selectable previewer position; image content display selectivity; double-space text; per-tab subwindow visibility; high-contrast highlight of current verse; external image viewer on click; geography interface through BibleMap.org; yellow-highlighter (metaphor) per-verse personal annotations.</ref>
|}
<references/>

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-10-24T13:15:19Z

Brian.fernandes: Updated for FireBible 1.1

==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 [http://www.crosswire.org 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==
For the most part all the SWORD Front-end programs have the same features.
* Uses Unicode
* 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
* Localisation - 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''.

=== Legends ===
To keep the lists below compact, the SWORD programs are identified by abbreviations. Here is an explanation of each of them:
*'''ABS''' — [http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study] based on JSword, uses Java 5+
*'''BD''' — [[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop]] based on JSword, uses Java 1.4.2+
*'''BT''' — [http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] uses cross-platform Qt toolkit
*'''BPB''' — [http://bpbible.com BPBible] uses wxPython
*'''FB''' — [http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible] based on JSword, runs in FireFox as an extension
*'''MS''' — [[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]] ''series 1''
*'''MS2''' — [[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword 2.0]] ''released 2009-10-12''
*'''SPW''' — [[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
*'''SB''' — [http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
*'''Xi''' — [[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])

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

=== Operating Systems and Portability===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>Not Win9x</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"{{
| '''Runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"> Pre-alpha</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Version 1.3.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.4+'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104">Version 1.4.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.5+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Linux'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on other Unix'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>BSD. Solaris cannot be supported at this time because its library support is crippled with respect to the required build tools.</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Can be installed to run from USB drive'''

! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable] both in the sense that it can be carried in ones pocket and in the sense that it runs on Windows, Mac or Linux, requiring nothing from the host computer and leaving no trace on it.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition] for Windows only. Leaves no trace on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref>Using [http://PortableApps.com/FirefoxPortable Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition] from PortableApps.com, for Windows only, but depends on a local installation of Java. Leaves no trace on host computer. Other platforms are possible.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces">Leaves traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces"/>
! {{yes}}<ref>Temporarily install to a computer and then copy the "C:\Program Files\CrossWire\The SWORD Project" folder to the USB drive. Finally, uninstall it and delete install directory. Leaves no traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{no}}
|}

<references/>

=== Module related ===

==== Module Support ====
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword 2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Start with Today'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Show Friendly Dates'''<ref>Dates use locale appropriate date representation. Month names if used are localized, too.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Testament Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Book Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Chapter Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Personal Commentary'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable">Exportable as a SWORD module</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Journal'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable"/>
|-valign="top"
| '''Right to Left Texts'''<ref>Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left and correctly shaped.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Complex Scripts'''<ref>The application can display correctly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmic_family_of_scripts Brahmic, Indic, and related scripts] (or other scripts of similar layout) - subject to availability of adequate fonts and standardized Unicode</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe">To the extent that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe] supports a given script</ref>
!  {{yes}}<ref>To the extent that Firefox supports a given script</ref>
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe"/>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>With [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pango pango]-[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_(SIL) graphite] installed</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Footnote expansion'''
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
!  {{part}}<ref name="Limited">Notes appear in popup. Extremely long notes may appear truncated in the popup.</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

==== Module Management ====
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Integrated module manager'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins">via plugins</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Zip installer for locally available modules only</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Module unlocking support'''<ref>The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple download repositories'''<ref>Integrated installer allows download from more than one SWORD module repository.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Xiphos supports automatic repository discovery, using the standard set maintained at CrossWire</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Local Repositories (e.g. CrossWire CD)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Use of Proxy configurable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !!{{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Downloaded modules are available immediately without restart'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned of internet access'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is advised about download size'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Xiphos will extract info from repository if provided</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue working while download is in progress'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Download can be canceled'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned if module already exists.'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! !! !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted">Installed modules are highlighted</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of module updates'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of new modules'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hiding/Showing installed modules'''<ref>This refers to the ability to select which of the installed modules are listed for selection, without having to uninstall any modules.</ref>

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Modules can be sorted for installed/uninstalled</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules sorted by type'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules are further sorted by language'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules can be archived/exported'''<ref>Packages a module into SWORD's shareable "Raw Zip" format.</ref>

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Companion Module support'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

==== Image Module Support ====
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| ''' Image Resizing'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''JPEG format'''<ref>All full-featured SWORD applications should already have support for this types.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' PNG format'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}<ref> PNG support will be available in 1.5.12 upwards</ref> !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' SVG format'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

==== 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.

=== Windowing and Text Display ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Window Layout flexible'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Un/Linkable'''<ref>Open text panes can by user choice be linked or unlinked and will then move together to the next reference or stay at different references</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Only linked at the moment</ref> !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Parallel Display'''<ref>Several bible +/-commentary texts can be displayed in a set of parallel columns</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple texts'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Poetry Layout'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref> 2 level indentation</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Not indented</ref>!! !! {{yes}} <ref> 1 level indentation</ref>
|-valign="top"

|-valign="top"
| '''Module default font'''<ref>Used if the font is installed</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per module'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Transliteration'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>This is available if compiled with ICU.</ref> !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Search and Dictionary ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to create a search index'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Automatically created searching a module first time</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Index can also be created automatically for all installed modules if enabled.</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to delete a search index'''

! {{yes}}<ref>Through plugins</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}!! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue to use application while index is being created'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Cross Verse Proximity Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Allowing phrases across verse boundaries</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Strong, Morphology and Body search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed CrossRef search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Note and Heading search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Fuzzy search'''<ref>Finds words based upon approximation.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''GenBook and Commentary search'''

! !! {{part}}<ref name = "commAsBibles"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name = "commAsBibles">Commentaries when treated as Bibles</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Combined module search'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Creation of lists of modules to be searched together</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Search scopes'''<ref>Limit search to one or more passages or books</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Result highlighting'''<ref>Search term(s) highlighted in results</ref>

! !! !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>With results in view, use Highlight all in Firefox Find (for the same search term)</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Strongs/Morphology lookup'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Glossary lookup'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}} <ref>Via context menu</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Bookmarks, Verselists or Tags'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Utilizes FF bookmarking system</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual adding'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bulk adding of Search result'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Permanent'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hierarchical'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Drag and drop management'''

! !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Exportable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User comments'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Study Notes'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Session and State Management ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Layout stored'''

! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Size and location of windows only</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Interface language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale">Selected from locale setting</ref>!!{{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale"/> !! !! !! {{n/a}}<ref name="variablelocale">Selected from locale setting, but changing environment variables LANG and LC_ALL will select another, e.g., shell command to select Hebrew interface: LANG=he LC_ALL=he_IL xiphos</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Open Modules'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}} <ref>Open tabs can be saved as a bookmark group and/or Firefox can automatically save session on exit. Limited to content viewed in primary browser area, not in the sidebar.</ref> !!{{yes}}!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Search Results'''

! !! {{part}}<ref>User can store the results of a search as a verse list</ref>!! !! !! {{yes}} <ref>Resulting URL can be bookmarked</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{part}} <ref>Not result but search query is stored</ref>!! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Storing of multiple Sessions'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !!{{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Help System ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, Other'''

! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref> French</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Active links to online help'''

! !! !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !!{{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>IRC, Mailing lists, bug tracker</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Tooltips'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{part}} !! {{part}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

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

The following languages are present in more than one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''GUI RtoL Support'''<ref>Layout flips from Left-to-Right layout to Right-to-Left based on user's locale.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Localized verse/chapter numbers'''<ref>Numbering will use localized script for numbers</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''中文 (Chinese, Traditional and Simplified)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Deutsch (German)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Português (Portuguese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Suomi (Finnish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''فارسی (Persian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Français (French)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Česky (Czech)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Magyar (Hungarian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Español (Spanish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Polski (Polish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Svenska (Swedish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

The following languages are present in only one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Dansk (Danish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Afrikaans'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''日本語 (Japanese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovenščina (Slovenian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''עברית (Hebrew)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Norsk (Norwegian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Nederlands (Dutch)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Cymraeg (Welsh)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Русский (Russian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovenčina (Slovak)'''

! {{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.

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Menu has a print option'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}}<ref>Use Firefox to print displayed passage</ref> !! !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Current chapter</ref>
|}

<references />

=== Other ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Extramodular Bible Reading Plan'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other extramodular content'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Bible Study HOWTO</ref>!! {{yes}} <ref>Gospel Harmonies, Guess the Verse game</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Topical verse lists</ref> !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Read aloud'''

! {{no}} !! {{part}}<ref name="maconly">On MacOS 10.3+ only</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other features not listed otherwise'''
!
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Display Strong's headwords, configurable export passage to clipboard</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Integrates with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubiquity_(Firefox) Ubiquity]</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Full screen view; floating, transparent preview window; tabbed panes detachable to seperate window; automatic software download and update</ref>
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology; tabbed interface for multiple Bible/commentary/dictionary study; detached windows for any module; commentary by chapter; lexdict mouse-hover content-to-previewer; tab-able or detached full-chapter parallel window; passage exporter; selectable previewer position; image content display selectivity; double-space text; per-tab subwindow visibility; high-contrast highlight of current verse; external image viewer on click; geography interface through BibleMap.org; yellow-highlighter (metaphor) per-verse personal annotations.</ref>
|}
<references/>

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-10-24T13:13:26Z

Brian.fernandes: Updated for FireBible 1.1

==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 [http://www.crosswire.org 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==
For the most part all the SWORD Front-end programs have the same features.
* Uses Unicode
* 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
* Localisation - 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''.

=== Legends ===
To keep the lists below compact, the SWORD programs are identified by abbreviations. Here is an explanation of each of them:
*'''ABS''' — [http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study] based on JSword, uses Java 5+
*'''BD''' — [[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop]] based on JSword, uses Java 1.4.2+
*'''BT''' — [http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] uses cross-platform Qt toolkit
*'''BPB''' — [http://bpbible.com BPBible] uses wxPython
*'''FB''' — [http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible] based on JSword, runs in FireFox as an extension
*'''MS''' — [[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]] ''series 1''
*'''MS2''' — [[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword 2.0]] ''released 2009-10-12''
*'''SPW''' — [[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
*'''SB''' — [http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
*'''Xi''' — [[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])

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

=== Operating Systems and Portability===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>Not Win9x</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"{{
| '''Runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"> Pre-alpha</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Version 1.3.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.4+'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104">Version 1.4.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.5+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Linux'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on other Unix'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>BSD. Solaris cannot be supported at this time because its library support is crippled with respect to the required build tools.</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Can be installed to run from USB drive'''

! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable] both in the sense that it can be carried in ones pocket and in the sense that it runs on Windows, Mac or Linux, requiring nothing from the host computer and leaving no trace on it.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition] for Windows only. Leaves no trace on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref>Using [http://PortableApps.com/FirefoxPortable Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition] from PortableApps.com, for Windows only, but depends on a local installation of Java. Leaves no trace on host computer. Other platforms are possible.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces">Leaves traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces"/>
! {{yes}}<ref>Temporarily install to a computer and then copy the "C:\Program Files\CrossWire\The SWORD Project" folder to the USB drive. Finally, uninstall it and delete install directory. Leaves no traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{no}}
|}

<references/>

=== Module related ===

==== Module Support ====
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword 2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Start with Today'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Show Friendly Dates'''<ref>Dates use locale appropriate date representation. Month names if used are localized, too.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Testament Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Book Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Chapter Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Personal Commentary'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable">Exportable as a SWORD module</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Journal'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable"/>
|-valign="top"
| '''Right to Left Texts'''<ref>Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left and correctly shaped.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Complex Scripts'''<ref>The application can display correctly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmic_family_of_scripts Brahmic, Indic, and related scripts] (or other scripts of similar layout) - subject to availability of adequate fonts and standardized Unicode</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe">To the extent that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe] supports a given script</ref>
!  {{yes}}<ref>To the extent that Firefox supports a given script</ref>
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe"/>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>With [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pango pango]-[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_(SIL) graphite] installed</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Footnote expansion'''
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
!  {{part}}<ref name="Limited">Notes appear in popup. Extremely long notes may appear truncated in the popup.</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

==== Module Management ====
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Integrated module manager'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins">via plugins</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Zip installer for locally available modules only</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Module unlocking support'''<ref>The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple download repositories'''<ref>Integrated installer allows download from more than one SWORD module repository.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Xiphos supports automatic repository discovery, using the standard set maintained at CrossWire</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Local Repositories (e.g. CrossWire CD)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Use of Proxy configurable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !!{{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Downloaded modules are available immediately without restart'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned of internet access'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is advised about download size'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Xiphos will extract info from repository if provided</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue working while download is in progress'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Download can be canceled'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned if module already exists.'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! !! !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted">Installed modules are highlighted</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of module updates'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of new modules'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hiding/Showing installed modules'''<ref>This refers to the ability to select which of the installed modules are listed for selection, without having to uninstall any modules.</ref>

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Modules can be sorted for installed/uninstalled</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules sorted by type'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules are further sorted by language'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules can be archived/exported'''<ref>Packages a module into SWORD's shareable "Raw Zip" format.</ref>

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Companion Module support'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

==== Image Module Support ====
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| ''' Image Resizing'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''JPEG format'''<ref>All full-featured SWORD applications should already have support for this types.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' PNG format'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}<ref> PNG support will be available in 1.5.12 upwards</ref> !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' SVG format'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

==== 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.

=== Windowing and Text Display ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Window Layout flexible'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Un/Linkable'''<ref>Open text panes can by user choice be linked or unlinked and will then move together to the next reference or stay at different references</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Only linked at the moment</ref> !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Parallel Display'''<ref>Several bible +/-commentary texts can be displayed in a set of parallel columns</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple texts'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Poetry Layout'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref> 2 level indentation</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Not indented</ref>!! !! {{yes}} <ref> 1 level indentation</ref>
|-valign="top"

|-valign="top"
| '''Module default font'''<ref>Used if the font is installed</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per module'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Transliteration'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>This is available if compiled with ICU.</ref> !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Search and Dictionary ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to create a search index'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Automatically created searching a module first time</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Index can also be created automatically for all installed modules if enabled.</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to delete a search index'''

! {{yes}}<ref>Through plugins</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}!! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue to use application while index is being created'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Cross Verse Proximity Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Allowing phrases across verse boundaries</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Strong, Morphology and Body search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed CrossRef search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Note and Heading search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Fuzzy search'''<ref>Finds words based upon approximation.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''GenBook and Commentary search'''

! !! {{part}}<ref name = "commAsBibles"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name = "commAsBibles">Commentaries when treated as Bibles</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Combined module search'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Creation of lists of modules to be searched together</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Search scopes'''<ref>Limit search to one or more passages or books</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Result highlighting'''<ref>Search term(s) highlighted in results</ref>

! !! !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>With results in view, use Highlight all in Firefox Find (for the same search term)</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Strongs/Morphology lookup'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Glossary lookup'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}} <ref>Via context menu</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Bookmarks, Verselists or Tags'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Utilizes FF bookmarking system</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual adding'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bulk adding of Search result'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Permanent'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hierarchical'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Drag and drop management'''

! !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Exportable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User comments'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Study Notes'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Session and State Management ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Layout stored'''

! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Size and location of windows only</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Interface language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale">Selected from locale setting</ref>!!{{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale"/> !! !! !! {{n/a}}<ref name="variablelocale">Selected from locale setting, but changing environment variables LANG and LC_ALL will select another, e.g., shell command to select Hebrew interface: LANG=he LC_ALL=he_IL xiphos</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Open Modules'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}} <ref>Open tabs can be saved as a bookmark group and/or Firefox can automatically save session on exit. Limited to content viewed in primary browser area, not in the sidebar.</ref> !!{{yes}}!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Search Results'''

! !! {{part}}<ref>User can store the results of a search as a verse list</ref>!! !! !! {{yes}} <ref>Resulting URL can be bookmarked</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{part}} <ref>Not result but search query is stored</ref>!! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Storing of multiple Sessions'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !!{{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Help System ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, Other'''

! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref> French</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Active links to online help'''

! !! !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !!{{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>IRC, Mailing lists, bug tracker</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Tooltips'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{part}} !! {{part}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

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

The following languages are present in more than one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''GUI RtoL Support'''<ref>Layout flips from Left-to-Right layout to Right-to-Left based on user's locale.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Localized verse/chapter numbers'''<ref>Numbering will use localized script for numbers</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''中文 (Chinese, Traditional and Simplified)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Deutsch (German)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Português (Portuguese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Suomi (Finnish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''فارسی (Persian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Français (French)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Česky (Czech)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Magyar (Hungarian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Español (Spanish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Polski (Polish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Svenska (Swedish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

The following languages are present in only one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Dansk (Danish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Afrikaans'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''日本語 (Japanese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovenščina (Slovenian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''עברית (Hebrew)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Norsk (Norwegian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Nederlands (Dutch)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Cymraeg (Welsh)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Русский (Russian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovenčina (Slovak)'''

! {{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.

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Menu has a print option'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}}<ref>Use Firefox to print displayed passage</ref> !! !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Current chapter</ref>
|}

<references />

=== Other ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Extramodular Bible Reading Plan'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other extramodular content'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Bible Study HOWTO</ref>!! {{yes}} <ref>Gospel Harmonies, Guess the Verse game</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Topical verse lists</ref> !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Read aloud'''

! {{no}} !! {{part}}<ref name="maconly">On MacOS 10.3+ only</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other features not listed otherwise'''
!
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Display Strong's headwords, configurable export passage to clipboard</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Integrates with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubiquity_(Firefox) Ubiquity]</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Full screen view; floating, transparent preview window; tabbed panes detachable to seperate window; automatic software download and update</ref>
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology; tabbed interface for multiple Bible/commentary/dictionary study; detached windows for any module; commentary by chapter; lexdict mouse-hover content-to-previewer; tab-able or detached full-chapter parallel window; passage exporter; selectable previewer position; image content display selectivity; double-space text; per-tab subwindow visibility; high-contrast highlight of current verse; external image viewer on click; geography interface through BibleMap.org; yellow-highlighter (metaphor) per-verse personal annotations.</ref>
|}
<references/>

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-07-25T19:42:03Z

Brian.fernandes: Updated for FireBible 1.0.1

==Introduction==
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD Frontend 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 Frontend program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

==Features Common to All SWORD Frontend Applications==
For the most part all the SWORD Frontend programs have the same features.
* Uses Unicode
* 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 frontends listed below are undergoing more or less active development.
* Verse and block layout
* Image support in all types of modules
* Localisation - all frontends are designed to be readily translatable. Many are translated in various languages.

==Side-by-Side Comparison of Notable SWORD Frontend Applications==
:''This is a work in progress''.
=== Legends ===
To keep the lists below compact, the SWORD programs are identified by abbreviations. Here is an explanation of each of them:
*'''ABS''' — [http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study] based on JSword, uses Java 5+
*'''BD''' — [[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop]] based on JSword, uses Java 1.4.2+
*'''BT''' — [http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] uses cross-platform Qt toolkit
*'''BPB''' — [http://bpbible.com BPBible] uses wxPython
*'''FB''' — [http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible] based on JSword, runs in FireFox as an extension
*'''MS''' — [[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
*'''MS2''' — [[Frontends:MacSword2|MacSword2 (currently in beta)]]
*'''SPW''' — [[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
*'''SB''' — [http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
*'''Xi''' — [[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])

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

=== Operating Systems and Portability===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>Not Win9x</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"{{
| '''Runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"> Pre-alpha</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Version 1.3.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.4+'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104">Version 1.4.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.5+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Linux'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on other Unix'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>BSD, Solaris</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Can be installed to run from USB drive'''

! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable] both in the sense that it can be carried in ones pocket and in the sense that it runs on Windows, Mac or Linux, requiring nothing from the host computer and leaving no trace on it.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition] for Windows only. Leaves no trace on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref>Using [http://PortableApps.com/FirefoxPortable Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition] from PortableApps.com, for Windows only, but depends on a local installation of Java. Leaves no trace on host computer. Other platforms are possible.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces">Leaves traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces"/>
! {{yes}}<ref>Temporarily install to a computer and then copy the "C:\Program Files\CrossWire\The SWORD Project" folder to the USB drive. Finally, uninstall it and delete install directory. Leaves no traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{no}}
|}

<references/>

=== Module Support ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword 2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Start with Today'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Show Friendly Dates'''<ref>Dates use locale appropriate date representation. Month names if used are localized, too.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Testament Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Book Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Chapter Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Personal Commentary'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable">Exportable as a SWORD module</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Journal'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable"/>
|-valign="top"
| '''Right to Left Texts'''<ref>Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left and correctly shaped.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Complex Scripts'''<ref>The application can display correctly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmic_family_of_scripts Brahmic, Indic, and related scripts] (or other scripts of similar layout) - subject to availability of adequate fonts and standardized Unicode</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe">To the extent that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe] supports a given script</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe"/>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>With [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pango pango]-[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_(SIL) graphite] installed</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Footnote expansion'''
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
!  {{part}}<ref name="Limited">Notes appear in popup. Extremely long notes may appear truncated in the popup.</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Module Management ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Integrated module manager'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins">via plugins</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Zip installer for locally available modules only</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Module unlocking support'''<ref>The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple download repositories'''<ref>Integrated installer allows download from more than one SWORD module repository.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>A set of well-known additional repositories is provided automaticlaly</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Local Repositories (e.g. CrossWire CD)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Use of Proxy configurable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !!{{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Downloaded modules are available immediately without restart'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned of internet access'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is advised about download size'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Xiphos will extract info from repository if provided</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue working while download is in progress'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Download can be canceled'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned if module already exists.'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! !! !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted">Installed modules are highlighted</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of module updates'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of new modules'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hiding/Showing installed modules'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="sortmodules">Modules can be sorted for installed/uninstalled</ref>!! {{yes}}<ref name="sortmodules"/> !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules sorted by type'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules are further sorted by language'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules can be archived/exported'''<ref>Packages a module into SWORD's shareable "Raw Zip" format.</ref>

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Companion Module support'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Image Module Support ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| ''' Image Resizing'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''JPEG format'''<ref>All full-featured SWORD applications should already have support for this types.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' PNG format'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}<ref> PNG support will be available in 1.5.12 upwards</ref> !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' SVG format'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Windowing and Text Display ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Window Layout flexible'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Un/Linkable'''<ref>Open text panes can by user choice be linked or unlinked and will then move together to the next reference or stay at different references</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Only linked at the moment</ref> !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Parallel Display'''<ref>Several bible +/-commentary texts can be displayed in a set of parallel columns</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple texts'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Poetry Layout'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref> 2 level indentation</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Not indented</ref>!! !! {{yes}} <ref> 1 level indentation</ref>
|-valign="top"

|-valign="top"
| '''Module default font'''<ref>Used if the font is installed</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per module'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Transliteration'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>This is available if compiled with ICU.</ref> !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Search and Dictionary ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to create a search index'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Automatically created searching a module first time</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Index can also be created automatically for all installed modules if enabled.</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to delete a search index'''

! {{yes}}<ref>Through plugins</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}!! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue to use application while index is being created'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Cross Verse Proximity Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Allowing phrases across verse boundaries</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Strong, Morphology and Body search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed CrossRef search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Note and Heading search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Fuzzy search'''<ref>Finds words based upon approximation.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''GenBook and Commentary search'''

! !! {{part}}<ref name = "commAsBibles"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name = "commAsBibles">Commentaries when treated as Bibles</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Combined module search'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Creation of lists of modules to be searched together</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Search scopes'''<ref>Limit search to one or more passages or books</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''result highlighting'''<ref>Search term(s) highlighted in results</ref>

! !! !! !! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Strongs/Morphology lookup'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Glossary lookup'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! !! !! {{no}} !!{{yes}} <ref>Via context menu</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Bookmarks, Verselists or Tags'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Utilizes FF bookmarking system</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual adding'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bulk adding of Search result'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Permanent'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hierarchical'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Drag and drop management'''

! !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Exportable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User comments'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Study Notes'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Session and State Management ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Layout stored'''

! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Size and location of windows only</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Interface language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale">Selected from locale setting</ref>!!{{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale"/> !! !! !! {{n/a}}<ref name="variablelocale">Selected from locale setting, but changing environment variables LANG and LC_ALL will select another, e.g., shell command to select Hebrew interface: LANG=he LC_ALL=he_IL xiphos</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Open Modules'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}} <ref>Open tabs can be saved as a bookmark group and/or Firefox can automatically save session on exit. Limited to content viewed in primary browser area, not in the sidebar.</ref> !!{{yes}}!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Search Results'''

! !! {{part}}<ref>User can store the results of a search as a verse list</ref>!! !! !! {{yes}} <ref>Resulting URL can be bookmarked</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{part}} <ref>Not result but search query is stored</ref>!! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Storing of multiple Sessions'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !!{{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Help System ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, Other'''

! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref> French</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Active links to online help'''

! !! !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !!{{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>IRC, Mailing lists, bug tracker</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Tooltips'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{part}} !! {{part}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

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

The following languages are present in more than one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''GUI RtoL Support'''<ref>Layout flips from Left-to-Right layout to Right-to-Left based on user's locale.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Localized verse/chapter numbers'''<ref>Numbering will use localized script for numbers</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''中文 (Chinese, Traditional and Simplified)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Deutsch (German)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Português (Portuguese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Suomi (Finnish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''فارسی (Persian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Français (French)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Česky (Czech)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Magyar (Hungarian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Español (Spanish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Polski (Polish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Svenska (Swedish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

The following languages are present in only one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Dansk (Danish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Afrikaans'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''日本語 (Japanese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovenščina (Slovenian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''עברית (Hebrew)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Norsk (Norwegian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Nederlands (Dutch)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Welsh'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovak'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}

=== 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.

=== Other ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Extramodular Bible Reading Plan'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other extramodular content'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Bible Study HOWTO</ref>!! {{yes}} <ref>Gospel Harmonies, Guess the Verse game</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Topical verse lists</ref> !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Read aloud'''

! {{no}} !! {{part}}<ref name="maconly">On MacOS 10.3+ only</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other features not listed otherwise'''
!
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Display Strong's headwords, configurable export passage to clipboard</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Full screen view; floating, transparent preview window; tabbed panes detachable to seperate window; automatic software download and update</ref>
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology; tabbed interface for multiple Bible/commentary/dictionary study; detached windows for any module; commentary by chapter; lexdict mouse-hover content-to-previewer; tab-able or detached full-chapter parallel window; passage exporter; selectable previewer position; image content display selectivity; double-space text; per-tab subwindow visibility; high-contrast highlight of current verse; external image viewer on click; geography interface through BibleMap.org; yellow-highlighter (metaphor) per-verse personal annotations.</ref>
|}
<references/>

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-07-25T19:02:57Z

Brian.fernandes: Updated for FireBible 1.0.1

==Introduction==
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD Frontend 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 Frontend program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

==Features Common to All SWORD Frontend Applications==
For the most part all the SWORD Frontend programs have the same features.
* Uses Unicode
* 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 frontends listed below are undergoing more or less active development.
* Verse and block layout
* Image support in all types of modules
* Localisation - all frontends are designed to be readily translatable. Many are translated in various languages.

==Side-by-Side Comparison of Notable SWORD Frontend Applications==
:''This is a work in progress''.
=== Legends ===
To keep the lists below compact, the SWORD programs are identified by abbreviations. Here is an explanation of each of them:
*'''ABS''' — [http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study] based on JSword, uses Java 5+
*'''BD''' — [[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop]] based on JSword, uses Java 1.4.2+
*'''BT''' — [http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] uses cross-platform Qt toolkit
*'''BPB''' — [http://bpbible.com BPBible] uses wxPython
*'''FB''' — [http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible] based on JSword, runs in FireFox as an extension
*'''MS''' — [[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
*'''MS2''' — [[Frontends:MacSword2|MacSword2 (currently in beta)]]
*'''SPW''' — [[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
*'''SB''' — [http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
*'''Xi''' — [[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])

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

=== Operating Systems and Portability===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>Not Win9x</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"{{
| '''Runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"> Pre-alpha</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Version 1.3.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.4+'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104">Version 1.4.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.5+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Linux'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on other Unix'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>BSD, Solaris</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Can be installed to run from USB drive'''

! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable] both in the sense that it can be carried in ones pocket and in the sense that it runs on Windows, Mac or Linux, requiring nothing from the host computer and leaving no trace on it.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition] for Windows only. Leaves no trace on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref>Using [http://PortableApps.com/FirefoxPortable Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition] from PortableApps.com, for Windows only, but depends on a local installation of Java. Leaves no trace on host computer. Other platforms are possible.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces">Leaves traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces"/>
! {{yes}}<ref>Temporarily install to a computer and then copy the "C:\Program Files\CrossWire\The SWORD Project" folder to the USB drive. Finally, uninstall it and delete install directory. Leaves no traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{no}}
|}

<references/>

=== Module Support ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword 2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Start with Today'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Show Friendly Dates'''<ref>Dates use locale appropriate date representation. Month names if used are localized, too.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Testament Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Book Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Chapter Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Personal Commentary'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable">Exportable as a SWORD module</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Journal'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable"/>
|-valign="top"
| '''Right to Left Texts'''<ref>Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left and correctly shaped.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Complex Scripts'''<ref>The application can display correctly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmic_family_of_scripts Brahmic, Indic, and related scripts] (or other scripts of similar layout) - subject to availability of adequate fonts and standardized Unicode</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe">To the extent that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe] supports a given script</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe"/>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>With [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pango pango]-[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_(SIL) graphite] installed</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Footnote expansion'''
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
!  {{part}}<ref name="Limited">Notes appear in popup. Extremely long notes may appear truncated in the popup.</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Module Management ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Integrated module manager'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins">via plugins</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Zip installer for locally available modules only</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Module unlocking support'''<ref>The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple download repositories'''<ref>Integrated installer allows download from more than one SWORD module repository.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>A set of well-known additional repositories is provided automaticlaly</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Local Repositories (e.g. CrossWire CD)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Use of Proxy configurable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !!{{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Downloaded modules are available immediately without restart'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned of internet access'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is advised about download size'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Xiphos will extract info from repository if provided</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue working while download is in progress'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Download can be canceled'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned if module already exists.'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! !! !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted">Installed modules are highlighted</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of module updates'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of new modules'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hiding/Showing installed modules'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="sortmodules">Modules can be sorted for installed/uninstalled</ref>!! {{yes}}<ref name="sortmodules"/> !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules sorted by type'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules are further sorted by language'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules can be archived/exported'''<ref>Packages a module into SWORD's shareable "Raw Zip" format.</ref>

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Companion Module support'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Image Module Support ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| ''' Image Resizing'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''JPEG format'''<ref>All full-featured SWORD applications should already have support for this types.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' PNG format'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}<ref> PNG support will be available in 1.5.12 upwards</ref> !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' SVG format'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Windowing and Text Display ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Window Layout flexible'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Un/Linkable'''<ref>Open text panes can by user choice be linked or unlinked and will then move together to the next reference or stay at different references</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Only linked at the moment</ref> !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Parallel Display'''<ref>Several bible +/-commentary texts can be displayed in a set of parallel columns</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple texts'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Poetry Layout'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref> 2 level indentation</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Not indented</ref>!! !! {{yes}} <ref> 1 level indentation</ref>
|-valign="top"

|-valign="top"
| '''Module default font'''<ref>Used if the font is installed</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per module'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Transliteration'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>This is available if compiled with ICU.</ref> !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Search and Dictionary ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to create a search index'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Automatically created searching a module first time</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Index can also be created automatically for all installed modules if enabled.</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to delete a search index'''

! {{yes}}<ref>Through plugins</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}!! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue to use application while index is being created'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Cross Verse Proximity Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Allowing phrases across verse boundaries</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Strong, Morphology and Body search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed CrossRef search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Note and Heading search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Fuzzy search'''<ref>Finds words based upon approximation.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''GenBook and Commentary search'''

! !! {{part}}<ref name = "commAsBibles"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name = "commAsBibles">Commentaries when treated as Bibles</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Combined module search'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Creation of lists of modules to be searched together</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Search scopes'''<ref>Limit search to one or more passages or books</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''result highlighting'''<ref>Search term(s) highlighted in results</ref>

! !! !! !! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Strongs/Morphology lookup'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Glossary lookup'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! !! !! {{no}} !!{{yes}} <ref>Via context menu</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Bookmarks, Verselists or Tags'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Utilizes FF bookmarking system</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual adding'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bulk adding of Search result'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Permanent'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hierarchical'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Drag and drop management'''

! !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Exportable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User comments'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Study Notes'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Session and State Management ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Layout stored'''

! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Size and location of windows only</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Interface language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale">Selected from locale setting</ref>!!{{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale"/> !! !! !! {{n/a}}<ref name="variablelocale">Selected from locale setting, but changing environment variables LANG and LC_ALL will select another, e.g., shell command to select Hebrew interface: LANG=he LC_ALL=he_IL xiphos</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Open Modules'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}}!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Search Results'''

! !! {{part}}<ref>User can store the results of a search as a verse list</ref>!! !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{part}} <ref>Not result but search query is stored</ref>!! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Storing of multiple Sessions'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !!{{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Help System ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, Other'''

! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref> French</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Active links to online help'''

! !! !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !!{{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>IRC, Mailing lists, bug tracker</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Tooltips'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{part}} !! {{part}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

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

The following languages are present in more than one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''GUI RtoL Support'''<ref>Layout flips from Left-to-Right layout to Right-to-Left based on user's locale.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Localized verse/chapter numbers'''<ref>Numbering will use localized script for numbers</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''中文 (Chinese, Traditional and Simplified)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Deutsch (German)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Português (Portuguese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Suomi (Finnish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''فارسی (Persian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Français (French)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Česky (Czech)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Magyar (Hungarian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Español (Spanish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Polski (Polish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Svenska (Swedish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

The following languages are present in only one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Dansk (Danish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Afrikaans'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''日本語 (Japanese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovenščina (Slovenian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''עברית (Hebrew)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Norsk (Norwegian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Nederlands (Dutch)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Welsh'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovak'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}

=== 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.

=== Other ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Extramodular Bible Reading Plan'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other extramodular content'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Bible Study HOWTO</ref>!! {{yes}} <ref>Gospel Harmonies, Guess the Verse game</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Topical verse lists</ref> !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Read aloud'''

! {{no}} !! {{part}}<ref name="maconly">On MacOS 10.3+ only</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other features not listed otherwise'''
!
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Display Strong's headwords, configurable export passage to clipboard</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Full screen view; floating, transparent preview window; tabbed panes detachable to seperate window; automatic software download and update</ref>
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology; tabbed interface for multiple Bible/commentary/dictionary study; detached windows for any module; commentary by chapter; lexdict mouse-hover content-to-previewer; tab-able or detached full-chapter parallel window; passage exporter; selectable previewer position; image content display selectivity; double-space text; per-tab subwindow visibility; high-contrast highlight of current verse; external image viewer on click; geography interface through BibleMap.org; yellow-highlighter (metaphor) per-verse personal annotations.</ref>
|}
<references/>

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-07-25T18:53:47Z

Brian.fernandes: Updated for FireBible 1.0.1

==Introduction==
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD Frontend 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 Frontend program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

==Features Common to All SWORD Frontend Applications==
For the most part all the SWORD Frontend programs have the same features.
* Uses Unicode
* 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 frontends listed below are undergoing more or less active development.
* Verse and block layout
* Image support in all types of modules
* Localisation - all frontends are designed to be readily translatable. Many are translated in various languages.

==Side-by-Side Comparison of Notable SWORD Frontend Applications==
:''This is a work in progress''.
=== Legends ===
To keep the lists below compact, the SWORD programs are identified by abbreviations. Here is an explanation of each of them:
*'''ABS''' — [http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study] based on JSword, uses Java 5+
*'''BD''' — [[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop]] based on JSword, uses Java 1.4.2+
*'''BT''' — [http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] uses cross-platform Qt toolkit
*'''BPB''' — [http://bpbible.com BPBible] uses wxPython
*'''FB''' — [http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible] based on JSword, runs in FireFox as an extension
*'''MS''' — [[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
*'''MS2''' — [[Frontends:MacSword2|MacSword2 (currently in beta)]]
*'''SPW''' — [[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
*'''SB''' — [http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
*'''Xi''' — [[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])

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

=== Operating Systems and Portability===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>Not Win9x</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"{{
| '''Runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"> Pre-alpha</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Version 1.3.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.4+'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104">Version 1.4.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.5+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref name="prealpha"/>!! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Linux'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on other Unix'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>BSD, Solaris</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Can be installed to run from USB drive'''

! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable] both in the sense that it can be carried in ones pocket and in the sense that it runs on Windows, Mac or Linux, requiring nothing from the host computer and leaving no trace on it.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{yes}}<ref>[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition] for Windows only. Leaves no trace on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref>Using [http://PortableApps.com/FirefoxPortable Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition] from PortableApps.com, for Windows only, but depends on a local installation of Java. Leaves no trace on host computer. Other platforms are possible.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces">Leaves traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{yes}}<ref name="leavestraces"/>
! {{yes}}<ref>Temporarily install to a computer and then copy the "C:\Program Files\CrossWire\The SWORD Project" folder to the USB drive. Finally, uninstall it and delete install directory. Leaves no traces on host computer.</ref>
! {{no}}
! {{no}}
|}

<references/>

=== Module Support ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword 2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Start with Today'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Show Friendly Dates'''<ref>Dates use locale appropriate date representation. Month names if used are localized, too.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Testament Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Book Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Chapter Introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Personal Commentary'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable">Exportable as a SWORD module</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Journal'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="exportable"/>
|-valign="top"
| '''Right to Left Texts'''<ref>Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left and correctly shaped.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Complex Scripts'''<ref>The application can display correctly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmic_family_of_scripts Brahmic, Indic, and related scripts] (or other scripts of similar layout) - subject to availability of adequate fonts and standardized Unicode</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe">To the extent that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe] supports a given script</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{part}}<ref name="uniscribe"/>
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>With [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pango pango]-[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite_(SIL) graphite] installed</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Footnote expansion'''
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
!  {{part}}<ref name="Limited">Notes appear in popup. Extremely long notes may appear truncated in the popup.</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Module Management ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Integrated module manager'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins">via plugins</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Zip installer for locally available modules only</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Module unlocking support'''<ref>The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple download repositories'''<ref>Integrated installer allows download from more than one SWORD module repository.</ref>

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>A set of well-known additional repositories is provided automaticlaly</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Local Repositories (e.g. CrossWire CD)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Use of Proxy configurable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !!{{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Downloaded modules are available immediately without restart'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned of internet access'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is advised about download size'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Xiphos will extract info from repository if provided</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue working while download is in progress'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Download can be canceled'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{part}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is warned if module already exists.'''

! {{yes}}<ref name="plugins"/> !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted"/>!! !! !! {{yes}} <ref name="installedhighlighted">Installed modules are highlighted</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of module updates'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is notified of new modules'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hiding/Showing installed modules'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="sortmodules">Modules can be sorted for installed/uninstalled</ref>!! {{yes}}<ref name="sortmodules"/> !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules sorted by type'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules are further sorted by language'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Modules can be archived/exported'''<ref>Packages a module into SWORD's shareable "Raw Zip" format.</ref>

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Companion Module support'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Image Module Support ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| ''' Image Resizing'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''JPEG format'''<ref>All full-featured SWORD applications should already have support for this types.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' PNG format'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}<ref> PNG support will be available in 1.5.12 upwards</ref> !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| ''' SVG format'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Windowing and Text Display ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Window Layout flexible'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Un/Linkable'''<ref>Open text panes can by user choice be linked or unlinked and will then move together to the next reference or stay at different references</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Only linked at the moment</ref> !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Parallel Display'''<ref>Several bible +/-commentary texts can be displayed in a set of parallel columns</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Multiple texts'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Poetry Layout'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref> 2 level indentation</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Not indented</ref>!! !! {{yes}} <ref> 1 level indentation</ref>
|-valign="top"

|-valign="top"
| '''Module default font'''<ref>Used if the font is installed</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per module'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Transliteration'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}}<ref>This is available if compiled with ICU.</ref> !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Search and Dictionary ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to create a search index'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Automatically created searching a module first time</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Index can also be created automatically for all installed modules if enabled.</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Able to delete a search index'''

! {{yes}}<ref>Through plugins</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}!! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User can continue to use application while index is being created'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Cross Verse Proximity Search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Allowing phrases across verse boundaries</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Strong, Morphology and Body search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed CrossRef search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Indexed Note and Heading search'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Fuzzy search'''<ref>Finds words based upon approximation.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''GenBook and Commentary search'''

! !! {{part}}<ref>Commentaries when treated as Bibles</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Combined module search'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Creation of lists of modules to be searched together</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Search scopes'''<ref>Limit search to one or more passages or books</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''result highlighting'''<ref>Search term(s) highlighted in results</ref>

! !! !! !! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Strongs/Morphology lookup'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Automatic/On-Mouse Glossary lookup'''

! !! {{no}} !! !! !! !! {{no}} !!{{yes}} <ref>Via context menu</ref> !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Bookmarks, Verselists or Tags'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Utilizes FF bookmarking system</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual adding'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bulk adding of Search result'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Permanent'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Hierarchical'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Drag and drop management'''

! !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Exportable'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User comments'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Study Notes'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|}

<references/>

=== Session and State Management ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Layout stored'''

! {{yes}} !! {{part}}<ref>Size and location of windows only</ref>!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Interface language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale">Selected from locale setting</ref>!!{{yes}} <ref name="systemlocale"/> !! !! !! {{n/a}}<ref name="variablelocale">Selected from locale setting, but changing environment variables LANG and LC_ALL will select another, e.g., shell command to select Hebrew interface: LANG=he LC_ALL=he_IL xiphos</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Open Modules'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}}!! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Search Results'''

! !! {{part}}<ref>User can store the results of a search as a verse list</ref>!! !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{part}} <ref>Not result but search query is stored</ref>!! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Storing of multiple Sessions'''

! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !!{{yes}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

=== Help System ===

{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Manual, Other'''

! !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref> French</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Active links to online help'''

! !! !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !!{{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>IRC, Mailing lists, bug tracker</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Tooltips'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{part}} !! {{part}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

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

The following languages are present in more than one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''GUI RtoL Support'''<ref>Layout flips from Left-to-Right layout to Right-to-Left based on user's locale.</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Localized verse/chapter numbers'''<ref>Numbering will use localized script for numbers</ref>

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''English'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''中文 (Chinese, Traditional and Simplified)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Deutsch (German)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Português (Portuguese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Suomi (Finnish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''فارسی (Persian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)'''

! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Français (French)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Česky (Czech)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!{{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Magyar (Hungarian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Español (Spanish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Polski (Polish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Svenska (Swedish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}
<references/>

The following languages are present in only one SWORD application.
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Dansk (Danish)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Afrikaans'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''日本語 (Japanese)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovenščina (Slovenian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''עברית (Hebrew)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Norsk (Norwegian)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Nederlands (Dutch)'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Welsh'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Slovak'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|}

=== 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.

=== Other ===
{|border="1" class="sortable"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Extramodular Bible Reading Plan'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other extramodular content'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Bible Study HOWTO</ref>!! {{yes}} <ref>Gospel Harmonies, Guess the Verse game</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} <ref>Topical verse lists</ref> !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Read aloud'''

! {{no}} !! {{part}}<ref name="maconly">On MacOS 10.3+ only</ref>!! !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Other features not listed otherwise'''
!
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Display Strong's headwords, configurable export passage to clipboard</ref>
! 
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Full screen view; floating, transparent preview window; tabbed panes detachable to seperate window; automatic software download and update</ref>
! 
! 
!  {{yes}}<ref>Pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology; tabbed interface for multiple Bible/commentary/dictionary study; detached windows for any module; commentary by chapter; lexdict mouse-hover content-to-previewer; tab-able or detached full-chapter parallel window; passage exporter; selectable previewer position; image content display selectivity; double-space text; per-tab subwindow visibility; high-contrast highlight of current verse; external image viewer on click; geography interface through BibleMap.org; yellow-highlighter (metaphor) per-verse personal annotations.</ref>
|}
<references/>

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-03-02T20:24:26Z

Brian.fernandes: /* Legend */

=Introduction=
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD 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 program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

=Features Common to All SWORD Applications=
For the most part all the SWORD programs have the same features.
* Use Unicode
* 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 customised scopes.
* Strong's, morphological info, cross references and footnotes
* All frontends listed beleow are undergoing more or less active development.
* verse and block layout
* image support in GenBook type modules

=Side-by-Side Comparison of Leading SWORD Applications=
== Legend ==
To keep the lists below compact, the SWORD programs are identified by abbreviations. Here is an explanation of each of them:
*'''ABS''' - [http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ AlKitab Bible Study] based on JSword, uses Java 5+
*'''BD''' - [[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop]] based on JSword, uses Java 1.4.2+
*'''BT''' - [http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
*'''BPB''' - [http://bpbible.com BPBible] uses wxPython
*'''FB''' - [http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible] based on JSword, runs in FireFox as an extension
*'''MS''' - [[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
*'''SPW''' - [[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
*'''SB''' - [http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
*'''Xiph''' - [[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])

Additionally, symbols are used to indicate whether a feature is implemented, paritally implemented, or missing.
*'''√''' - Implemented.
*'''½''' - Partially implemented. Usually followed by a footnote explaining the short coming.
*'''×''' - Missing, expected functionality. Probably planned.
A blank entry means that the feature is not present or it is unknown whether it is present.

This is a work in progress. The footnotes will be changed to be automatically numbered.

== Module Support ==
A possible new way:

{|border="1"
! width="250px" | Feature
! title="AlKitab Bible Study" | ABS
! title="Bible Desktop" | BD
! title="BibleTime" | BT
! title="BPBible" | BPB
! title="FireBible" | FB
! title="MacSword" | MS
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xiph
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME'''

! !! √ !! !! !! !! !! √ !! !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7'''

! √ !! √ !! !! √ !! √ !! !! √ !! √ !! √
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+'''

! !! √ !! !! !! √ !! √(1)!! !! !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.4+'''

! √ !! √ !! !! !! √ !! √(2)!! !! !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Linux'''

! √ !! √ !! √ !! √ !! √ !! !! !! !! √
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Other Unix'''

! √ !! √ !! !! √ !! √ !! !! !! √ !! √(3)
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Start with Today'''

! !! √ !! !! √ !! !! !! !! √ !! √
|-valign="top"
| '''Daily Devotions Show Friendly Dates'''

! !! √ !! !! !! !! !! !! !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Testament Introductions'''

! × !! × !! !! !! × !! !! !! × !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Book Introductions'''

! × !! × !! !! × !! × !! √ !! √ !! × !! √
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows Chapter Introductions'''

! × !! × !! !! √ !! × !! √ !! √ !! × !! √
|-valign="top"
| '''Personal Commentary'''

! × !! × !! √ !! × !! × !! √ !! √ !! × !! √
|-valign="top"
| '''Journal'''

! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! √
|-valign="top"
| '''Right to Left Texts'''

! √ !! √ !! √ !! × !! √ !! √ !! √ !! √ !! √
|}
'''(1)''' version 1.3.x 
'''(2)''' version 1.4.x 
'''(3)''' BSDs 

{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|RtoL Modules
!width="9%"|Daily Devotions
!width="9%"|Book/Chapter Introductions
!width="9%"|User Editable Module Content
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java 1.4.2+ 
Windows 98SE or later 
Mac 10.3 or later 
Linux, BSD, etc.
|yes
|yes (automatic) Displays date in user's language.
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|yes
|yes
|
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|no
|yes (automatic)
|partial, not books
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
|Windows
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|yes
|Personal Commentary, Journal, all exportable
|}
'''RtoL Modules''' - Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left. 
'''Daily Devotions''' - While all SWORD applications support Daily Devotions modules, some open a Daily Devotion to the current day. 
'''Book/Chapter Introductions''' - Some modules contain Book and Chapter introductions. Some SWORD applications do not handle them. 
'''User Editable Module Content''' - The application supports the Personal Commentary and may allow other types of module creation.

== Module Manager Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="1%"|Locked Modules (via GUI)
!width="1%"|Multiple Download Repositories
!width="1%"|Archiving/ Hiding
!width="1%"|Indexing
!width="1%"|New Modules are Immediately Available?
!width="1%"|Continue work while installing?
!Other Features
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes (plugins)
|yes (plugins)
|no
|yes
|no
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|yes
|yes
|
*Modules are displayed as a tree, first by type and then by language names.
*User is warned of the size of the download.
*User is warned if module already exists.
*User can download more than one module at a time.
*User can cancel a download.
*User can specify multiple, local module locations.
*Application discovers other SWORD applications' install locations.
*Search index can be deleted.
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|yes
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|yes
|
|zip installer, download from CrossWire only
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|no
|no
|no
|yes
|no
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|no
|yes
|no
|yes
|after repo refresh
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
|
|yes
|
|no
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|
|Show available updates, Show uninstalled modules.
|}
'''Locked Modules (via GUI)''' - The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file. 
'''Multiple Repositories''' - The application has an integrated module installer that allows installation from more than one SWORD module repository. 
'''Archiving/Hiding''' - The application can remove and safely store currently non required modules or otherwise remove them from sight, keeping them available for future use. 
'''Indexing''' - The application is able to index the module for fast search. This may be automatic and not require any user interaction (e.g. clicking a "Create Search Index" button). 
'''New Content Available Immediately''' - Modules that are downloaded with the application's module installer are immediately available for use.

== Image Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|non GenBook Image Module Support
!width="9%"|Image Formats
!width="9%"|Image Resizing
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|no
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|All image formats allowed to be in a SWORD module. With support for all images supported by Java.
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|yes
|all supported by Firefox (png, apng, jpeg, bmp, svg, xbm)
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|all supported by WebKit (png, jpeg, tiff, bmp, ...)
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|png (in version 1.5.12+), jpg, bmp
|
|-valign="top"
|[http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|png, jpg, tiff, gif, bmp
|yes
|}

*'''Non Genbook Image support''' - The application can use images in commentaries, dictionaries or Bible texts
*'''image formats''' - which graphic formats can be displayed. Some non CrossWire modules will use graphic formats which are not supported by all programmes.
*'''image resizing''' -

== Windowing and Display ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="15%"|Application
!width="15%"|Window Layout
!width="15%"|Several texts open at same time?
!width="15%"|Poetry Layout
!width="15%"|RtoL & Complex Scripts
!width="1%"|Ruby layout
!width="95"| Font per module
!Other
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|RtoL - yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Two-pane, one for Bible and one for other modules. The Bible pane allows direct lookup, quick book/chapter pick, search, parallel texts and passage side bar. The other pane allows the picking of a module, a selection of an entry and it's display.
|yes (unlimited, including commentaries)
|yes
|
*RtoL - yes
*Arabic/Farsi number shaping
*Arabic/Farsi show verse references incorrectly.
*Myanmar - fails to render properly.
Rendering is best with the most recent versions of Java.
|no
|yes (and per language)
|
*User can show Bible text in tabs or in windows.
*Show user specified verses or search result. (User is not limited to chapter at a time viewing.)
*Passage side bar allows pruning/growing of all or selected viewed passages.
*Passage side bar allows focus on a selected passages.
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Multiple windows with flexible arrangement and library navigation on left
|
|
|RtoL - yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
| 1-7 tiled subwindows, repositioning/hiding of panes.
| no
| yes (two-level poetry, indented, verse numbers at side)
|RtoL - no
|
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|1 or 2 panes (library navigation in Firefox sidebar)
|yes, through multiple Firefox windows or tabs
|yes
|RtoL - yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|Multi-window, each module gets it's window
| yes
| no
|RtoL - yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Three-pane with tabbed library navigation
| only using Parallel display for Bibles
| yes, but not indented
| RtoL - yes complex scripts depends on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe], and rendering will be best in Windows 2K/XP+; Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
|
|
|
|RtoL - yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Four-pane with library navigation, verse lists, etc. on left, multiple tabs, separate dialogs, saved sessions
| yes
| yes
|
*RtoL - yes
*Arabic - yes
*Myanmar - yes (with pango-graphite)
|
|yes
|
|}
*'''RtoL & Complex Scripts''' - Indicates problems in an application's rendering of complex scripts, provided an adequate font is installed. Complex scripts may include Indic and other Brahmic scripts such as Myanmar, Tamil, & Devanagri, as well as scripts that require contextual shaping such as Arabic, and scripts that require rendering in non-left-to-right order such as Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, & Mongolian.
*'''Ruby Layout''' - A not-yet-released SWORD 1.5.12 feature. Used for Japanese texts.
*'''Other''' - Distinctives regarding how the application presents the modules.

== Search and Dictionary ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="18%"|Indexed Search Features
!width="9%"|Cross Verse Proximity Search
!width="9%"|GenBook and Commentary search
!width="9%"|several module search
!Dictionary Look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|
*Lucene search syntax
*Indexed, searchable fields: text, Strong's Numbers, Cross References, Notes and Headings.
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|
*Lucene search syntax
*Indexed, searchable fields: text, Strong's Numbers, Cross References, Notes and Headings.
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|CLucene
|
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Custom
|yes (allowing phrases across verse boundaries)
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) full list of topics with topic entry box
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
*Lucene search syntax
*Indexed, searchable fields: text, Strong's Numbers, Cross References, Notes and Headings.
|yes
|no
|no
|Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
| Apple SearchKit
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's, Morph (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
|no
|no
|yes
|no
| Strong's, Morph and glossary on click
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|yes (create lists of modules to search)
|Strong's + parsing automatic, glossary (on click)
|}

== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Permanent Bookmarks, Tags or Verse Lists
!width="9%"|Nestable
!width="9%"|With Comments
!width="9%"|Exportable
!width="9%"|Study Notes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|
| yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|yes
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
|
|no
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|}

== Localization ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Localization Support
!width="9%"|GUI RtoL Support
!width="9%"|GUI Languages
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes
|yes
|English, Indonesian
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|English, German, Farsi, Chinese, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|English, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|yes
|no
|English
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|?
|English, German, Frensh, Finnish, Spanish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|no
|Afrikaans, Česky, Deutsch, English, Suomi, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語, Polski, Português, Slovenščina
|-valign="top" 
|[http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
|
|
|English
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|English, German, French, Finnish, Farsi, Czech, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish
|}

== Other ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Portable
!width="9%"|Extramodular Content
!width="9%"|Other
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|
|Bible Reading Plan
|word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable] both in the sense that it can be carried in ones pocket and in the sense that it runs on Windows, Mac or Linux, requiring nothing from the host computer and leaving no trace on it.
| Bible Reading Plan
| word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|Bible Study HOWTO
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition]
|gospel harmonies; Guess the Verse game;
|display Strong's headwords;
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|portable, but leaves data on host computer
|
|read aloud
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
| Portable, and with some effort, will leave no trace on host computer.
|
| parallel verse display, transliteration
|-valign="top" 
|[http://swordwarrior.net/ SwordBible]
|portable
|Verse lists with prefilled topics, One year daily reading plans
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|
|
|Read Aloud, pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology, transliteration into Latin characters
|}

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-03-02T03:59:18Z

Brian.fernandes: /* Localization */

=Introduction=
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD 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 program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

=Features Common to All SWORD Applications=
For the most part all the SWORD programs have the same features.
* Use Unicode
* 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 customised scopes.
* Strong's, morphological info, cross references and footnotes
* All frontends listed beleow are undergoing more or less active development.
* verse and block layout
* image support in GenBook type modules

=Side-by-Side Comparison of Leading SWORD Applications=
== Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|RtoL Modules
!width="9%"|Daily Devotions
!width="9%"|Book/Chapter Introductions
!width="9%"|User Editable Module Content
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java 1.4.2+ 
Windows 98SE or later 
Mac 10.3 or later 
Linux, BSD, etc.
|yes
|yes (automatic) Displays date in user's language.
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|yes
|yes
|
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|no
|yes (automatic)
|partial, not books
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|yes
|Personal Commentary, Journal, all exportable
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|Windows
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|no
|no
|}
'''RtoL Modules''' - Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left. 
'''Daily Devotions''' - While all SWORD applications support Daily Devotions modules, some integrate Daily Devotions more fully. 
'''Book/Chapter Introductions''' - Some modules contain Book and Chapter introductions. Some SWORD applications do not handle them. 
'''User Editable Module Content''' - The application supports the Personal Commentary and may allow other types of module creation.

== Module Manager Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Locked Modules (via GUI)
!width="9%"|Multiple Repositories
!width="9%"|Archiving/Hiding
!width="9%"|Indexing
!width="9%"|New Content Immediately Available?
!width="9%"|Other Features
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes (plugins)
|yes (plugins)
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|
|zip installer, download from CrossWire only
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|no
|no
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|no
|yes
|no
|yes
|after repo refresh
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Show available updates, Show uninstalled modules.
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|
|yes
|
|no
|
|no
|}
'''Locked Modules (via GUI)''' - The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file. 
'''Multiple Repositories''' - The application has an integrated module installer that allows installation from more than one SWORD module repository. 
'''Archiving/Hiding''' - The application can remove and safely store currently non required modules or otherwise remove them from sight, keeping them available for future use, 
'''Indexing''' - The application is able to index the module for fast search. This may be automatic and not require any user interaction (e.g. clicking a "Create Search Index" button). 
'''New Content Available Immediately''' - Modules that are downloaded with the application's module installer are immediately available for use.

== Image Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|non GenBook Image Module Support
!width="9%"|Image Formats
!width="9%"|Image Resizing
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|no
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Images supported in all modules
|All image formats allowed to be in a SWORD module. With support for all images supported by Java.
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|yes
|all supported by Firefox (png, apng, jpeg, bmp, svg, xbm)
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|all supported by WebKit (png, jpeg, tiff, bmp, ...)
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Images can be incorporated into all module types
|png (in version 1.5.12+), jpg, bmp
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|All modules
|png, jpg, tiff, gif, bmp
|yes
|}

*'''Non Genbook Image support''' - The application can use images in commentaries, dictionaries or Bible texts
*'''image formats''' - which graphic formats can be displayed. Some non CrossWire modules will use graphic formats which are not supported by all programmes.
*'''image resizing''' -

== Windowing and Display ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Window Layout
!width="9%"|Several texts open at same time?
!width="9%"|Poetry Layout
!width="9%"|Complex Scripts
!width="9%"|Ruby layout
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Multiple windows with flexible arrangement and library navigation on left
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
| 1-7 tiled subwindows, repositioning/hiding of panes.
| no
| yes (two-level poetry, indented, verse numbers at side)
|Arabic - fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|1 or 2 panes (library navigation in Firefox sidebar)
|yes, through multiple Firefox windows or tabs
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|Multi-window, each module gets it's window
| yes
| no
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Three-pane with tabbed library navigation
| only using Parallel display for Bibles
| yes, but not indented
| depends on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe], and rendering will be best in Windows 2K/XP+; Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Four-pane with library navigation, verse lists, etc. on left, multiple tabs, separate dialogs, saved sessions
| yes
| yes
|Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail (on Mozembed)
|
|}
*'''Complex Scripts''' - Whether the application can correctly render complex scripts, provided an adequate font is installed. Complex scripts may include Indic and other Brahmic scripts such as Myanmar, Tamil, & Devanagri, as well as scripts that require contextual shaping such as Arabic, and scripts that require rendering in non-left-to-right order such as Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, & Mongolian.

== Search and Dictionary ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Indexed Search Features
!width="9%"|Cross Verse Proximity Search
!width="9%"|GenBook and Commentary search
!width="9%"|several module search
!width="9%"|Dictionary Look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|CLucene
|
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Custom
|yes (allowing phrases across verse boundaries)
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) full list of topics with topic entry box
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Lucene
|yes
|no
|no
|Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
| Apple SearchKit
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's, Morph (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|yes (create lists of modules to search)
|Strong's + parsing automatic, glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|no
|no
|yes
|no
| Strong's, Morph and glossary on click
|}

== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Permanent Bookmarks, Tags or Verse Lists
!width="9%"|Nestable
!width="9%"|With Comments
!width="9%"|Exportable
!width="9%"|Study Notes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|
| yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|yes
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|
|no
|
|
|yes
|}

== Localization ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Localization Support
!width="9%"|GUI RtoL Support
!width="9%"|GUI Languages
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes
|yes
|English, Indonesian
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|English, German, Farsi, Chinese, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|English, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|yes
|no
|English
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|?
|English, German, Frensh, Finnish, Spanish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|no
|Afrikaans, Česky, Deutsch, English, Suomi, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語, Polski, Português, Slovenščina
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|English, German, French, Finnish, Farsi, Czech, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible|SwordBible]]
|
|
|English
|}

== Other ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Portable
!width="9%"|Extramodular Content
!width="9%"|Other
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|
|Bible Reading Plan
|word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable version]
| Bible Reading Plan
| word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|Bible Study HOWTO
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition]
|gospel harmonies; Guess the Verse game;
|display Strong's headwords;
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|portable, but leaves data on host computer
|
|read aloud
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
| Portable, and with some effort, will leave no trace on host computer.
|
| parallel verse display, transliteration
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|
|
|Read Aloud, pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology, transliteration into Latin characters
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible | SwordBible]]
|portable
|Verse lists with prefilled topics, One year daily reading plans
|
|}

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-03-02T03:58:17Z

Brian.fernandes: /* Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes */

=Introduction=
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD 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 program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

=Features Common to All SWORD Applications=
For the most part all the SWORD programs have the same features.
* Use Unicode
* 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 customised scopes.
* Strong's, morphological info, cross references and footnotes
* All frontends listed beleow are undergoing more or less active development.
* verse and block layout
* image support in GenBook type modules

=Side-by-Side Comparison of Leading SWORD Applications=
== Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|RtoL Modules
!width="9%"|Daily Devotions
!width="9%"|Book/Chapter Introductions
!width="9%"|User Editable Module Content
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java 1.4.2+ 
Windows 98SE or later 
Mac 10.3 or later 
Linux, BSD, etc.
|yes
|yes (automatic) Displays date in user's language.
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|yes
|yes
|
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|no
|yes (automatic)
|partial, not books
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|yes
|Personal Commentary, Journal, all exportable
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|Windows
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|no
|no
|}
'''RtoL Modules''' - Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left. 
'''Daily Devotions''' - While all SWORD applications support Daily Devotions modules, some integrate Daily Devotions more fully. 
'''Book/Chapter Introductions''' - Some modules contain Book and Chapter introductions. Some SWORD applications do not handle them. 
'''User Editable Module Content''' - The application supports the Personal Commentary and may allow other types of module creation.

== Module Manager Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Locked Modules (via GUI)
!width="9%"|Multiple Repositories
!width="9%"|Archiving/Hiding
!width="9%"|Indexing
!width="9%"|New Content Immediately Available?
!width="9%"|Other Features
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes (plugins)
|yes (plugins)
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|
|zip installer, download from CrossWire only
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|no
|no
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|no
|yes
|no
|yes
|after repo refresh
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Show available updates, Show uninstalled modules.
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|
|yes
|
|no
|
|no
|}
'''Locked Modules (via GUI)''' - The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file. 
'''Multiple Repositories''' - The application has an integrated module installer that allows installation from more than one SWORD module repository. 
'''Archiving/Hiding''' - The application can remove and safely store currently non required modules or otherwise remove them from sight, keeping them available for future use, 
'''Indexing''' - The application is able to index the module for fast search. This may be automatic and not require any user interaction (e.g. clicking a "Create Search Index" button). 
'''New Content Available Immediately''' - Modules that are downloaded with the application's module installer are immediately available for use.

== Image Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|non GenBook Image Module Support
!width="9%"|Image Formats
!width="9%"|Image Resizing
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|no
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Images supported in all modules
|All image formats allowed to be in a SWORD module. With support for all images supported by Java.
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|yes
|all supported by Firefox (png, apng, jpeg, bmp, svg, xbm)
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|all supported by WebKit (png, jpeg, tiff, bmp, ...)
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Images can be incorporated into all module types
|png (in version 1.5.12+), jpg, bmp
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|All modules
|png, jpg, tiff, gif, bmp
|yes
|}

*'''Non Genbook Image support''' - The application can use images in commentaries, dictionaries or Bible texts
*'''image formats''' - which graphic formats can be displayed. Some non CrossWire modules will use graphic formats which are not supported by all programmes.
*'''image resizing''' -

== Windowing and Display ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Window Layout
!width="9%"|Several texts open at same time?
!width="9%"|Poetry Layout
!width="9%"|Complex Scripts
!width="9%"|Ruby layout
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Multiple windows with flexible arrangement and library navigation on left
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
| 1-7 tiled subwindows, repositioning/hiding of panes.
| no
| yes (two-level poetry, indented, verse numbers at side)
|Arabic - fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|1 or 2 panes (library navigation in Firefox sidebar)
|yes, through multiple Firefox windows or tabs
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|Multi-window, each module gets it's window
| yes
| no
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Three-pane with tabbed library navigation
| only using Parallel display for Bibles
| yes, but not indented
| depends on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe], and rendering will be best in Windows 2K/XP+; Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Four-pane with library navigation, verse lists, etc. on left, multiple tabs, separate dialogs, saved sessions
| yes
| yes
|Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail (on Mozembed)
|
|}
*'''Complex Scripts''' - Whether the application can correctly render complex scripts, provided an adequate font is installed. Complex scripts may include Indic and other Brahmic scripts such as Myanmar, Tamil, & Devanagri, as well as scripts that require contextual shaping such as Arabic, and scripts that require rendering in non-left-to-right order such as Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, & Mongolian.

== Search and Dictionary ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Indexed Search Features
!width="9%"|Cross Verse Proximity Search
!width="9%"|GenBook and Commentary search
!width="9%"|several module search
!width="9%"|Dictionary Look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|CLucene
|
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Custom
|yes (allowing phrases across verse boundaries)
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) full list of topics with topic entry box
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Lucene
|yes
|no
|no
|Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
| Apple SearchKit
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's, Morph (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|yes (create lists of modules to search)
|Strong's + parsing automatic, glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|no
|no
|yes
|no
| Strong's, Morph and glossary on click
|}

== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Permanent Bookmarks, Tags or Verse Lists
!width="9%"|Nestable
!width="9%"|With Comments
!width="9%"|Exportable
!width="9%"|Study Notes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|
| yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|yes
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|
|no
|
|
|yes
|}

== Localization ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Localization Support
!width="9%"|GUI RtoL Support
!width="9%"|GUI Languages
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes
|yes
|English, Indonesian
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|English, German, Farsi, Chinese, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|English, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|English
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|?
|English, German, Frensh, Finnish, Spanish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|no
|Afrikaans, Česky, Deutsch, English, Suomi, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語, Polski, Português, Slovenščina
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|English, German, French, Finnish, Farsi, Czech, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible|SwordBible]]
|
|
|English
|}

== Other ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Portable
!width="9%"|Extramodular Content
!width="9%"|Other
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|
|Bible Reading Plan
|word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable version]
| Bible Reading Plan
| word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|Bible Study HOWTO
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition]
|gospel harmonies; Guess the Verse game;
|display Strong's headwords;
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|portable, but leaves data on host computer
|
|read aloud
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
| Portable, and with some effort, will leave no trace on host computer.
|
| parallel verse display, transliteration
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|
|
|Read Aloud, pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology, transliteration into Latin characters
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible | SwordBible]]
|portable
|Verse lists with prefilled topics, One year daily reading plans
|
|}

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-03-02T03:56:14Z

Brian.fernandes: /* Search and Dictionary */

=Introduction=
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD 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 program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

=Features Common to All SWORD Applications=
For the most part all the SWORD programs have the same features.
* Use Unicode
* 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 customised scopes.
* Strong's, morphological info, cross references and footnotes
* All frontends listed beleow are undergoing more or less active development.
* verse and block layout
* image support in GenBook type modules

=Side-by-Side Comparison of Leading SWORD Applications=
== Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|RtoL Modules
!width="9%"|Daily Devotions
!width="9%"|Book/Chapter Introductions
!width="9%"|User Editable Module Content
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java 1.4.2+ 
Windows 98SE or later 
Mac 10.3 or later 
Linux, BSD, etc.
|yes
|yes (automatic) Displays date in user's language.
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|yes
|yes
|
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|no
|yes (automatic)
|partial, not books
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|yes
|Personal Commentary, Journal, all exportable
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|Windows
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|no
|no
|}
'''RtoL Modules''' - Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left. 
'''Daily Devotions''' - While all SWORD applications support Daily Devotions modules, some integrate Daily Devotions more fully. 
'''Book/Chapter Introductions''' - Some modules contain Book and Chapter introductions. Some SWORD applications do not handle them. 
'''User Editable Module Content''' - The application supports the Personal Commentary and may allow other types of module creation.

== Module Manager Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Locked Modules (via GUI)
!width="9%"|Multiple Repositories
!width="9%"|Archiving/Hiding
!width="9%"|Indexing
!width="9%"|New Content Immediately Available?
!width="9%"|Other Features
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes (plugins)
|yes (plugins)
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|
|zip installer, download from CrossWire only
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|no
|no
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|no
|yes
|no
|yes
|after repo refresh
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Show available updates, Show uninstalled modules.
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|
|yes
|
|no
|
|no
|}
'''Locked Modules (via GUI)''' - The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file. 
'''Multiple Repositories''' - The application has an integrated module installer that allows installation from more than one SWORD module repository. 
'''Archiving/Hiding''' - The application can remove and safely store currently non required modules or otherwise remove them from sight, keeping them available for future use, 
'''Indexing''' - The application is able to index the module for fast search. This may be automatic and not require any user interaction (e.g. clicking a "Create Search Index" button). 
'''New Content Available Immediately''' - Modules that are downloaded with the application's module installer are immediately available for use.

== Image Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|non GenBook Image Module Support
!width="9%"|Image Formats
!width="9%"|Image Resizing
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|no
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Images supported in all modules
|All image formats allowed to be in a SWORD module. With support for all images supported by Java.
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|yes
|all supported by Firefox (png, apng, jpeg, bmp, svg, xbm)
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|all supported by WebKit (png, jpeg, tiff, bmp, ...)
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Images can be incorporated into all module types
|png (in version 1.5.12+), jpg, bmp
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|All modules
|png, jpg, tiff, gif, bmp
|yes
|}

*'''Non Genbook Image support''' - The application can use images in commentaries, dictionaries or Bible texts
*'''image formats''' - which graphic formats can be displayed. Some non CrossWire modules will use graphic formats which are not supported by all programmes.
*'''image resizing''' -

== Windowing and Display ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Window Layout
!width="9%"|Several texts open at same time?
!width="9%"|Poetry Layout
!width="9%"|Complex Scripts
!width="9%"|Ruby layout
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Multiple windows with flexible arrangement and library navigation on left
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
| 1-7 tiled subwindows, repositioning/hiding of panes.
| no
| yes (two-level poetry, indented, verse numbers at side)
|Arabic - fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|1 or 2 panes (library navigation in Firefox sidebar)
|yes, through multiple Firefox windows or tabs
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|Multi-window, each module gets it's window
| yes
| no
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Three-pane with tabbed library navigation
| only using Parallel display for Bibles
| yes, but not indented
| depends on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe], and rendering will be best in Windows 2K/XP+; Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Four-pane with library navigation, verse lists, etc. on left, multiple tabs, separate dialogs, saved sessions
| yes
| yes
|Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail (on Mozembed)
|
|}
*'''Complex Scripts''' - Whether the application can correctly render complex scripts, provided an adequate font is installed. Complex scripts may include Indic and other Brahmic scripts such as Myanmar, Tamil, & Devanagri, as well as scripts that require contextual shaping such as Arabic, and scripts that require rendering in non-left-to-right order such as Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, & Mongolian.

== Search and Dictionary ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Indexed Search Features
!width="9%"|Cross Verse Proximity Search
!width="9%"|GenBook and Commentary search
!width="9%"|several module search
!width="9%"|Dictionary Look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|CLucene
|
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Custom
|yes (allowing phrases across verse boundaries)
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) full list of topics with topic entry box
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Lucene
|yes
|no
|no
|Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
| Apple SearchKit
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's, Morph (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|yes (create lists of modules to search)
|Strong's + parsing automatic, glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|no
|no
|yes
|no
| Strong's, Morph and glossary on click
|}

== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Permanent Bookmarks, Tags or Verse Lists
!width="9%"|Nestable
!width="9%"|With Comments
!width="9%"|Exportable
!width="9%"|Study Notes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|
| yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|
|no
|
|
|yes
|}

== Localization ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Localization Support
!width="9%"|GUI RtoL Support
!width="9%"|GUI Languages
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes
|yes
|English, Indonesian
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|English, German, Farsi, Chinese, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|English, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|English
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|?
|English, German, Frensh, Finnish, Spanish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|no
|Afrikaans, Česky, Deutsch, English, Suomi, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語, Polski, Português, Slovenščina
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|English, German, French, Finnish, Farsi, Czech, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible|SwordBible]]
|
|
|English
|}

== Other ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Portable
!width="9%"|Extramodular Content
!width="9%"|Other
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|
|Bible Reading Plan
|word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable version]
| Bible Reading Plan
| word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|Bible Study HOWTO
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition]
|gospel harmonies; Guess the Verse game;
|display Strong's headwords;
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|portable, but leaves data on host computer
|
|read aloud
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
| Portable, and with some effort, will leave no trace on host computer.
|
| parallel verse display, transliteration
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|
|
|Read Aloud, pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology, transliteration into Latin characters
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible | SwordBible]]
|portable
|Verse lists with prefilled topics, One year daily reading plans
|
|}

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-03-02T03:55:20Z

Brian.fernandes: /* Windowing and Display */

=Introduction=
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD 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 program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

=Features Common to All SWORD Applications=
For the most part all the SWORD programs have the same features.
* Use Unicode
* 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 customised scopes.
* Strong's, morphological info, cross references and footnotes
* All frontends listed beleow are undergoing more or less active development.
* verse and block layout
* image support in GenBook type modules

=Side-by-Side Comparison of Leading SWORD Applications=
== Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|RtoL Modules
!width="9%"|Daily Devotions
!width="9%"|Book/Chapter Introductions
!width="9%"|User Editable Module Content
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java 1.4.2+ 
Windows 98SE or later 
Mac 10.3 or later 
Linux, BSD, etc.
|yes
|yes (automatic) Displays date in user's language.
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|yes
|yes
|
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|no
|yes (automatic)
|partial, not books
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|yes
|Personal Commentary, Journal, all exportable
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|Windows
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|no
|no
|}
'''RtoL Modules''' - Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left. 
'''Daily Devotions''' - While all SWORD applications support Daily Devotions modules, some integrate Daily Devotions more fully. 
'''Book/Chapter Introductions''' - Some modules contain Book and Chapter introductions. Some SWORD applications do not handle them. 
'''User Editable Module Content''' - The application supports the Personal Commentary and may allow other types of module creation.

== Module Manager Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Locked Modules (via GUI)
!width="9%"|Multiple Repositories
!width="9%"|Archiving/Hiding
!width="9%"|Indexing
!width="9%"|New Content Immediately Available?
!width="9%"|Other Features
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes (plugins)
|yes (plugins)
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|
|zip installer, download from CrossWire only
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|no
|no
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|no
|yes
|no
|yes
|after repo refresh
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Show available updates, Show uninstalled modules.
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|
|yes
|
|no
|
|no
|}
'''Locked Modules (via GUI)''' - The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file. 
'''Multiple Repositories''' - The application has an integrated module installer that allows installation from more than one SWORD module repository. 
'''Archiving/Hiding''' - The application can remove and safely store currently non required modules or otherwise remove them from sight, keeping them available for future use, 
'''Indexing''' - The application is able to index the module for fast search. This may be automatic and not require any user interaction (e.g. clicking a "Create Search Index" button). 
'''New Content Available Immediately''' - Modules that are downloaded with the application's module installer are immediately available for use.

== Image Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|non GenBook Image Module Support
!width="9%"|Image Formats
!width="9%"|Image Resizing
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|no
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Images supported in all modules
|All image formats allowed to be in a SWORD module. With support for all images supported by Java.
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|yes
|all supported by Firefox (png, apng, jpeg, bmp, svg, xbm)
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|all supported by WebKit (png, jpeg, tiff, bmp, ...)
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Images can be incorporated into all module types
|png (in version 1.5.12+), jpg, bmp
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|All modules
|png, jpg, tiff, gif, bmp
|yes
|}

*'''Non Genbook Image support''' - The application can use images in commentaries, dictionaries or Bible texts
*'''image formats''' - which graphic formats can be displayed. Some non CrossWire modules will use graphic formats which are not supported by all programmes.
*'''image resizing''' -

== Windowing and Display ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Window Layout
!width="9%"|Several texts open at same time?
!width="9%"|Poetry Layout
!width="9%"|Complex Scripts
!width="9%"|Ruby layout
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Multiple windows with flexible arrangement and library navigation on left
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
| 1-7 tiled subwindows, repositioning/hiding of panes.
| no
| yes (two-level poetry, indented, verse numbers at side)
|Arabic - fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|1 or 2 panes (library navigation in Firefox sidebar)
|yes, through multiple Firefox windows or tabs
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|Multi-window, each module gets it's window
| yes
| no
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Three-pane with tabbed library navigation
| only using Parallel display for Bibles
| yes, but not indented
| depends on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe], and rendering will be best in Windows 2K/XP+; Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Four-pane with library navigation, verse lists, etc. on left, multiple tabs, separate dialogs, saved sessions
| yes
| yes
|Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail (on Mozembed)
|
|}
*'''Complex Scripts''' - Whether the application can correctly render complex scripts, provided an adequate font is installed. Complex scripts may include Indic and other Brahmic scripts such as Myanmar, Tamil, & Devanagri, as well as scripts that require contextual shaping such as Arabic, and scripts that require rendering in non-left-to-right order such as Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, & Mongolian.

== Search and Dictionary ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Indexed Search Features
!width="9%"|Cross Verse Proximity Search
!width="9%"|GenBook and Commentary search
!width="9%"|several module search
!width="9%"|Dictionary Look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|CLucene
|
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Custom
|yes (allowing phrases across verse boundaries)
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) full list of topics with topic entry box
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
| Apple SearchKit
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's, Morph (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|yes (create lists of modules to search)
|Strong's + parsing automatic, glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|no
|no
|yes
|no
| Strong's, Morph and glossary on click
|}

== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Permanent Bookmarks, Tags or Verse Lists
!width="9%"|Nestable
!width="9%"|With Comments
!width="9%"|Exportable
!width="9%"|Study Notes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|
| yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|
|no
|
|
|yes
|}

== Localization ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Localization Support
!width="9%"|GUI RtoL Support
!width="9%"|GUI Languages
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes
|yes
|English, Indonesian
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|English, German, Farsi, Chinese, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|English, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|English
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|?
|English, German, Frensh, Finnish, Spanish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|no
|Afrikaans, Česky, Deutsch, English, Suomi, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語, Polski, Português, Slovenščina
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|English, German, French, Finnish, Farsi, Czech, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible|SwordBible]]
|
|
|English
|}

== Other ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Portable
!width="9%"|Extramodular Content
!width="9%"|Other
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|
|Bible Reading Plan
|word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable version]
| Bible Reading Plan
| word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|Bible Study HOWTO
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition]
|gospel harmonies; Guess the Verse game;
|display Strong's headwords;
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|portable, but leaves data on host computer
|
|read aloud
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
| Portable, and with some effort, will leave no trace on host computer.
|
| parallel verse display, transliteration
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|
|
|Read Aloud, pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology, transliteration into Latin characters
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible | SwordBible]]
|portable
|Verse lists with prefilled topics, One year daily reading plans
|
|}

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-03-02T03:53:49Z

Brian.fernandes: /* Image Module Support */

=Introduction=
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD 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 program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

=Features Common to All SWORD Applications=
For the most part all the SWORD programs have the same features.
* Use Unicode
* 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 customised scopes.
* Strong's, morphological info, cross references and footnotes
* All frontends listed beleow are undergoing more or less active development.
* verse and block layout
* image support in GenBook type modules

=Side-by-Side Comparison of Leading SWORD Applications=
== Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|RtoL Modules
!width="9%"|Daily Devotions
!width="9%"|Book/Chapter Introductions
!width="9%"|User Editable Module Content
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java 1.4.2+ 
Windows 98SE or later 
Mac 10.3 or later 
Linux, BSD, etc.
|yes
|yes (automatic) Displays date in user's language.
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|yes
|yes
|
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|no
|yes (automatic)
|partial, not books
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|yes
|Personal Commentary, Journal, all exportable
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|Windows
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|no
|no
|}
'''RtoL Modules''' - Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left. 
'''Daily Devotions''' - While all SWORD applications support Daily Devotions modules, some integrate Daily Devotions more fully. 
'''Book/Chapter Introductions''' - Some modules contain Book and Chapter introductions. Some SWORD applications do not handle them. 
'''User Editable Module Content''' - The application supports the Personal Commentary and may allow other types of module creation.

== Module Manager Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Locked Modules (via GUI)
!width="9%"|Multiple Repositories
!width="9%"|Archiving/Hiding
!width="9%"|Indexing
!width="9%"|New Content Immediately Available?
!width="9%"|Other Features
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes (plugins)
|yes (plugins)
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|
|zip installer, download from CrossWire only
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|no
|no
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|no
|yes
|no
|yes
|after repo refresh
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Show available updates, Show uninstalled modules.
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|
|yes
|
|no
|
|no
|}
'''Locked Modules (via GUI)''' - The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file. 
'''Multiple Repositories''' - The application has an integrated module installer that allows installation from more than one SWORD module repository. 
'''Archiving/Hiding''' - The application can remove and safely store currently non required modules or otherwise remove them from sight, keeping them available for future use, 
'''Indexing''' - The application is able to index the module for fast search. This may be automatic and not require any user interaction (e.g. clicking a "Create Search Index" button). 
'''New Content Available Immediately''' - Modules that are downloaded with the application's module installer are immediately available for use.

== Image Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|non GenBook Image Module Support
!width="9%"|Image Formats
!width="9%"|Image Resizing
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|no
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Images supported in all modules
|All image formats allowed to be in a SWORD module. With support for all images supported by Java.
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|yes
|all supported by Firefox (png, apng, jpeg, bmp, svg, xbm)
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|all supported by WebKit (png, jpeg, tiff, bmp, ...)
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Images can be incorporated into all module types
|png (in version 1.5.12+), jpg, bmp
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|All modules
|png, jpg, tiff, gif, bmp
|yes
|}

*'''Non Genbook Image support''' - The application can use images in commentaries, dictionaries or Bible texts
*'''image formats''' - which graphic formats can be displayed. Some non CrossWire modules will use graphic formats which are not supported by all programmes.
*'''image resizing''' -

== Windowing and Display ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Window Layout
!width="9%"|Several texts open at same time?
!width="9%"|Poetry Layout
!width="9%"|Complex Scripts
!width="9%"|Ruby layout
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Multiple windows with flexible arrangement and library navigation on left
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
| 1-7 tiled subwindows, repositioning/hiding of panes.
| no
| yes (two-level poetry, indented, verse numbers at side)
|Arabic - fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|1 or 2 panes (library navigation in Firefox sidebar)
|
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|Multi-window, each module gets it's window
| yes
| no
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Three-pane with tabbed library navigation
| only using Parallel display for Bibles
| yes, but not indented
| depends on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe], and rendering will be best in Windows 2K/XP+; Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Four-pane with library navigation, verse lists, etc. on left, multiple tabs, separate dialogs, saved sessions
| yes
| yes
|Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail (on Mozembed)
|
|}
*'''Complex Scripts''' - Whether the application can correctly render complex scripts, provided an adequate font is installed. Complex scripts may include Indic and other Brahmic scripts such as Myanmar, Tamil, & Devanagri, as well as scripts that require contextual shaping such as Arabic, and scripts that require rendering in non-left-to-right order such as Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, & Mongolian.

== Search and Dictionary ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Indexed Search Features
!width="9%"|Cross Verse Proximity Search
!width="9%"|GenBook and Commentary search
!width="9%"|several module search
!width="9%"|Dictionary Look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|CLucene
|
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Custom
|yes (allowing phrases across verse boundaries)
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) full list of topics with topic entry box
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
| Apple SearchKit
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's, Morph (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|yes (create lists of modules to search)
|Strong's + parsing automatic, glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|no
|no
|yes
|no
| Strong's, Morph and glossary on click
|}

== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Permanent Bookmarks, Tags or Verse Lists
!width="9%"|Nestable
!width="9%"|With Comments
!width="9%"|Exportable
!width="9%"|Study Notes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|
| yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|
|no
|
|
|yes
|}

== Localization ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Localization Support
!width="9%"|GUI RtoL Support
!width="9%"|GUI Languages
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes
|yes
|English, Indonesian
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|English, German, Farsi, Chinese, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|English, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|English
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|?
|English, German, Frensh, Finnish, Spanish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|no
|Afrikaans, Česky, Deutsch, English, Suomi, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語, Polski, Português, Slovenščina
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|English, German, French, Finnish, Farsi, Czech, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible|SwordBible]]
|
|
|English
|}

== Other ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Portable
!width="9%"|Extramodular Content
!width="9%"|Other
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|
|Bible Reading Plan
|word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable version]
| Bible Reading Plan
| word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|Bible Study HOWTO
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition]
|gospel harmonies; Guess the Verse game;
|display Strong's headwords;
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|portable, but leaves data on host computer
|
|read aloud
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
| Portable, and with some effort, will leave no trace on host computer.
|
| parallel verse display, transliteration
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|
|
|Read Aloud, pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology, transliteration into Latin characters
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible | SwordBible]]
|portable
|Verse lists with prefilled topics, One year daily reading plans
|
|}

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-03-02T03:45:36Z

Brian.fernandes: /* Module Manager Support */

=Introduction=
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD 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 program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

=Features Common to All SWORD Applications=
For the most part all the SWORD programs have the same features.
* Use Unicode
* 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 customised scopes.
* Strong's, morphological info, cross references and footnotes
* All frontends listed beleow are undergoing more or less active development.
* verse and block layout
* image support in GenBook type modules

=Side-by-Side Comparison of Leading SWORD Applications=
== Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|RtoL Modules
!width="9%"|Daily Devotions
!width="9%"|Book/Chapter Introductions
!width="9%"|User Editable Module Content
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java 1.4.2+ 
Windows 98SE or later 
Mac 10.3 or later 
Linux, BSD, etc.
|yes
|yes (automatic) Displays date in user's language.
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|yes
|yes
|
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|no
|yes (automatic)
|partial, not books
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|yes
|Personal Commentary, Journal, all exportable
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|Windows
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|no
|no
|}
'''RtoL Modules''' - Arabic, Farsi, Hebrew and other modules Right-to-Left scripts are displayed from right-to-left. 
'''Daily Devotions''' - While all SWORD applications support Daily Devotions modules, some integrate Daily Devotions more fully. 
'''Book/Chapter Introductions''' - Some modules contain Book and Chapter introductions. Some SWORD applications do not handle them. 
'''User Editable Module Content''' - The application supports the Personal Commentary and may allow other types of module creation.

== Module Manager Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Locked Modules (via GUI)
!width="9%"|Multiple Repositories
!width="9%"|Archiving/Hiding
!width="9%"|Indexing
!width="9%"|New Content Immediately Available?
!width="9%"|Other Features
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes (plugins)
|yes (plugins)
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|
|zip installer, download from CrossWire only
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|no
|no
|no
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|no
|yes
|no
|yes
|after repo refresh
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Show available updates, Show uninstalled modules.
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|
|yes
|
|no
|
|no
|}
'''Locked Modules (via GUI)''' - The application allows the user to supply the unlock key. The user does not have to manually edit the module's conf file. 
'''Multiple Repositories''' - The application has an integrated module installer that allows installation from more than one SWORD module repository. 
'''Archiving/Hiding''' - The application can remove and safely store currently non required modules or otherwise remove them from sight, keeping them available for future use, 
'''Indexing''' - The application is able to index the module for fast search. This may be automatic and not require any user interaction (e.g. clicking a "Create Search Index" button). 
'''New Content Available Immediately''' - Modules that are downloaded with the application's module installer are immediately available for use.

== Image Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|non GenBook Image Module Support
!width="9%"|Image Formats
!width="9%"|Image Resizing
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|no
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Images supported in all modules
|All image formats allowed to be in a SWORD module. With support for all images supported by Java.
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|all supported by WebKit (png, jpeg, tiff, bmp, ...)
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Images can be incorporated into all module types
|png (in version 1.5.12+), jpg, bmp
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|All modules
|png, jpg, tiff, gif, bmp
|yes
|}

*'''Non Genbook Image support''' - The application can use images in commentaries, dictionaries or Bible texts
*'''image formats''' - which graphic formats can be displayed. Some non CrossWire modules will use graphic formats which are not supported by all programmes.
*'''image resizing''' -

== Windowing and Display ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Window Layout
!width="9%"|Several texts open at same time?
!width="9%"|Poetry Layout
!width="9%"|Complex Scripts
!width="9%"|Ruby layout
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Multiple windows with flexible arrangement and library navigation on left
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
| 1-7 tiled subwindows, repositioning/hiding of panes.
| no
| yes (two-level poetry, indented, verse numbers at side)
|Arabic - fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|1 or 2 panes (library navigation in Firefox sidebar)
|
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|Multi-window, each module gets it's window
| yes
| no
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Three-pane with tabbed library navigation
| only using Parallel display for Bibles
| yes, but not indented
| depends on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe], and rendering will be best in Windows 2K/XP+; Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Four-pane with library navigation, verse lists, etc. on left, multiple tabs, separate dialogs, saved sessions
| yes
| yes
|Arabic - yes, Myanmar - partial fail (on Mozembed)
|
|}
*'''Complex Scripts''' - Whether the application can correctly render complex scripts, provided an adequate font is installed. Complex scripts may include Indic and other Brahmic scripts such as Myanmar, Tamil, & Devanagri, as well as scripts that require contextual shaping such as Arabic, and scripts that require rendering in non-left-to-right order such as Arabic, Hebrew, Syriac, & Mongolian.

== Search and Dictionary ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Indexed Search Features
!width="9%"|Cross Verse Proximity Search
!width="9%"|GenBook and Commentary search
!width="9%"|several module search
!width="9%"|Dictionary Look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|CLucene
|
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Custom
|yes (allowing phrases across verse boundaries)
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) full list of topics with topic entry box
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
| Apple SearchKit
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's, Morph (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|yes (create lists of modules to search)
|Strong's + parsing automatic, glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|no
|no
|yes
|no
| Strong's, Morph and glossary on click
|}

== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Permanent Bookmarks, Tags or Verse Lists
!width="9%"|Nestable
!width="9%"|With Comments
!width="9%"|Exportable
!width="9%"|Study Notes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|
| yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|yes
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|
|no
|
|
|yes
|}

== Localization ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Localization Support
!width="9%"|GUI RtoL Support
!width="9%"|GUI Languages
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|yes
|yes
|English, Indonesian
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|yes
|yes
|English, German, Farsi, Chinese, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|yes
|no
|English, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|English
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|yes
|?
|English, German, Frensh, Finnish, Spanish, Swedish, Polish, Portuguese
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|yes
|no
|Afrikaans, Česky, Deutsch, English, Suomi, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語, Polski, Português, Slovenščina
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|yes
|yes
|English, German, French, Finnish, Farsi, Czech, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible|SwordBible]]
|
|
|English
|}

== Other ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Portable
!width="9%"|Extramodular Content
!width="9%"|Other
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|
|Bible Reading Plan
|word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable version]
| Bible Reading Plan
| word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|
|Bible Study HOWTO
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition]
|gospel harmonies; Guess the Verse game;
|display Strong's headwords;
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|portable, but leaves data on host computer
|
|read aloud
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
| Portable, and with some effort, will leave no trace on host computer.
|
| parallel verse display, transliteration
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|
|
|Read Aloud, pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology, transliteration into Latin characters
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible | SwordBible]]
|portable
|Verse lists with prefilled topics, One year daily reading plans
|
|}

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-03-01T10:51:55Z

Brian.fernandes: /* Module Support */

=Introduction=
This page is under development. As such it may not be helpful until it is near completion. For that reason, please don't link it on another page until then. To become complete it needs fair and balanced™ coverage of the SWORD 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 program is the best for them. The first consideration is which programs are available for the user. This can be found at [http://www.crosswire.org 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.

=Features Common to All SWORD Applications=
For the most part all the SWORD programs have the same features.
* Use Unicode
* 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 customised scopes.
* Strong's, morphological info, cross references and footnotes
* All frontends listed beleow are undergoing more or less active development.
* verse and block layout

=Side-by-Side Comparison of Leading SWORD Applications=
== Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|Unlock Locked Modules (via GUI)
!width="9%"|RtoL Modules
!width="9%"|Daily Devotions
!width="9%"|Book/Chapter Introductions
!width="9%"|User Editable Module Content
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|yes] (automatic)
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|
|yes
|yes
|
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|yes
|no
|yes (automatic)
|partial, not books
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|no
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|
|yes
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|yes
|yes
|yes
|Personal Commentary
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|yes
|Personal Commentary, Journal, all exportable
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|Windows
|
|yes
|yes (automatic)
|no
|no
|}

== Module Manager Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|Locked Modules (via GUI)
!width="9%"|Multiple Repositories
!width="9%"|Archiving
!width="9%"|Indexing
!width="9%"|New Content Immediately Available?
!width="9%"|Other Features
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|no
|yes
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|
|zip installer, download from CrossWire only
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|no
|no
|no
|no
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|yes
|
|yes
|no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|yes
|yes
|
|yes
|Show available updates, Show uninstalled modules.
|-valign="top" 
|SwordBible
|Windows
|
|yes
|
|no
|
|no
|}

== Image Module Support ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|Image GenBook Support
!width="9%"|Other Image Module Support
!width="9%"|Image Formats
!width="9%"|Image Resizing
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|no
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|yes
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|Images can be incorporated into all module types
|png (in version 1.5.12+), jpg, bmp
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|All modules
|png, jpg, tiff, gif, bmp
|yes
|}

== Windowing and Display ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|Window Layout
!width="9%"|Several texts open at same time?
!width="9%"|Poetry Layout
!width="9%"|Complex Scripts
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|Two-pane with tabs and library navigation on right
|yes
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|Multiple windows with flexible arrangement and library navigation on left
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
| 1-7 tiled subwindows, repositioning/hiding of panes.
| no
| yes (two-level poetry, indented, verse numbers at side)
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|1 or 2 panes (library navigation in Firefox sidebar)
|
|yes
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|Multi-window, each module gets it's window
| yes
| no
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|Three-pane with tabbed library navigation
| only using Parallel display for Bibles
| yes, but not indented
| depends on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniscribe Uniscribe]
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|Four-pane with library navigation, verse lists, etc. on left, multiple tabs, separate dialogs, saved sessions
| yes
| yes
|yes
|}

== Search and Dictionary ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|Indexed Search Features
!width="9%"|Cross Verse Proximity Search
!width="9%"|GenBook and Commentary search
!width="9%"|several module search
!width="9%"|Dictionary Look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|CLucene
|
|
|
|Strong's + parsing (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
| Custom
|yes (allowing phrases across verse boundaries)
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) full list of topics with topic entry box
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|Lucene
|yes
|
|
|Manual look-up
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
| grouping, Strong's, Morph, Apple SearchKit
|
|
|
|Strong's, Morph (automatic)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|no
|Strong's + parsing (automatic) and glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|CLucene
|no
|yes
|yes (create lists of modules to search)
|Strong's + parsing automatic, glossary (on click)
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|Windows
|no
|no
|yes
|no
| Strong's, Morph and glossary on click
|}

== Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|Permanent Bookmarks, Tags or Verse Lists
!width="9%"|Nestable
!width="9%"|With Comments
!width="9%"|Exportable
!width="9%"|Study Notes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|manual and search result
|
|
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|
|
|
|
| yes
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|manual and search result
|yes
|yes
|no
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|
|
|
|
|no
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|
|
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|manual and search result
|yes
|no
|no
|yes
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible |SwordBible]]
|
|
|
|
|
|yes
|}

== Localization ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|Localization Support
!width="9%"|GUI RtoL Support
!width="9%"|GUI Languages
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|English, Indonesian
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|yes
|yes
|English, German, Farsi, Chinese, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|yes
|no
|English, Vietnamese
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|
|
|English
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
|yes
|no
|Afrikaans, Česky, Deutsch, English, Suomi, Magyar, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語, Polski, Português, Slovenščina
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|yes
|yes
|English, German, French, Finnish, Farsi, Czech, Hebrew, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible|SwordBible]]
|Windows
|
|
|English
|}

== Other ==
{|width="100%" border="1" class="sortable"
!width="18%"|Application
!width="9%"|Operating Systems
!width="9%"|Portable
!width="9%"|Extramodular Content
!width="9%"|Other
|-valign="top" 
|[http://www.kiyut.com/products/alkitab/ Alkitab Bible Study]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|
|
|word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleDesktop|BibleDesktop (JSword)]]
|Any system with Java (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.)
|[http://www.crosswire.org/~dmsmith/bd/ Portable version]
| Bible Reading Plan
| word-by-word comparison of Bible versions
|-valign="top" 
|[http://devel.bibletime.info BibleTime] (see also [[Frontends:KioSword|Kio-Sword]])
|Linux
|
|Bible Study HOWTO
|
|-valign="top" 
|[http://bpbible.com BPBible (wxPython)]
|Windows, Linux
|[http://PortableApps.com/BPBiblePortable PortableApps.com edition]
|gospel harmonies; Guess the Verse game;
|display Strong's headwords;
|-valign="top" 
|[http://thegoan.com/firebible FireBible (JSword/FireFox)]
|Firefox web browser in Windows, Mac, Linux
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:MacSword|MacSword]]
|version 1.3.x Mac OSX 10.3+, version 1.4.x Mac OSX 10.4+
|
|
|
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:BibleCS|The SWORD Project for Windows]]
|Windows (95/98/NT4/2000/XP/Vista/7)
| portable, but leaves data on host computer
|
| parallel verse display, transliteration
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:Xiphos|Xiphos (GNOME)]] (formerly [[Frontends:GnomeSword|GnomeSword]])
|Windows (2000/XP/Vista/7), Linux, BSDs
|
|
|Read Aloud, pseudo-interlinear display of Strong's/morphology, transliteration into Latin characters
|-valign="top" 
|[[Frontends:SwordBible | SwordBible]]
|Windows
|portable
|Verse lists with prefilled topics, One year daily reading plans
|
|}

Choosing a SWORD program

2009-02-28T17:24:35Z

Brian.fernandes: /* Side-by-Side Comparison of Leading SWORD Applications */