Choosing a SWORD program

2010-05-08T18:39:07Z

Gholmlund: /* Operating Systems and Portability */

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

==Side-by-Side Comparison of Notable SWORD Front-end Applications==
:''This is a work in progress''.

=== 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''
*'''PS''' — [http://crosswire.org/pocketsword/ PocketSword] ''v1.2.0''
*'''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="PocketSword" | PS
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME'''

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

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+'''

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

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104">Version 1.4.x</ref>!! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="for-3.2">in progress in recent 3.1; to be deployed w/3.2. http://surgut.wordpress.com/2009/12/27/xiphos-on-mac-os/</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Mac OS X 10.5+'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="macosx104"/>!! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref name="for-3.2"/>
|-valign="top"
| '''Runs on Linux'''

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

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{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"
| '''Runs on iPhone & iPod touch'''<ref>iPhone OS 3.0 and higher. Also runs on the iPad, but not as a native iPad app.</ref>

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-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"/>
! {{no}}
! {{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="MacSword2" | MS2
! title="PocketSword" | PS
! 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}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !!
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows book introductions'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Shows chapter introductions'''

! {{no}}!! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{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}} !! {{yes}}<ref>OK in Linux, but RtoL text is not right aligned in Xiphos 3.1.2-gtkhtml3 for Windows. Should be fixed in Xiphos 3.2</ref>
|-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>Currently (iPhone OS 3.x), we can't install user fonts, so we can only display fonts that Apple has bundled with the iPhone. This will change for OS 4.0, at which point PocketSword will support this</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}}
!  {{yes}}
!  {{part}}<ref name="Limited">Notes appear in popup. Extremely long notes may appear truncated in the popup.</ref>
! 
!  {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| [[Alternate versification]]
!  {{no}}
!  {{no}}
! 
! 
!  {{no}}
! 
!  {{yes}}
!  {{yes}}
!  {{no}}<ref>Latest binary available for public download is v1.5.11 which does not support av11n</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="PocketSword" | PS
! 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}} !! {{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}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{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}} !! {{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}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User is advised about download size'''

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

! {{yes}} !! {{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}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Module manager displays [[Localized Language Names|localized language names]]'''

! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{n/a}} !! !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! !! {{n/a}} !! {{n/a}} !! {{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="PocketSword" | PS
! 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="PocketSword" | PS
! 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}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per module'''

! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}} !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Font settable per language'''

! !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! !! {{no}} !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Implemented; to be deployed in 3.2.</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''[[Transliteration]]'''

! {{no}} !! {{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="PocketSword" | PS
! 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"
| '''Advanced search options'''<ref>e.g. All words / Exact phrase, Regular expressions, Boolean combinations, Case-[in]sensitive, etc.</ref>

! !! !! !! !! {{no}} !! !! !! !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-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 within search results'''

! !! !! !! !! {{no}} !! !! !! !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-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 ===
:''Please add content to the ABS column''.

{|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="PocketSword" | PS
! 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}} !! !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Plaintext, XML, HTML; for plaintext and HTML, with or without referenced material.</ref>
|-valign="top"
| '''Importable'''<ref>[[Frontends:Bookmarks Standard|Bookmarks Standard]]</ref>

! !! !! !! !! {{yes}} !! !! !! !! !! !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''User comments'''

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

! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! {{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="PocketSword" | PS
! 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"/> !! !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref name="variablelocale">For 3.1.2 and beyond, this is selectable in Preferences-General-Options</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="PocketSword" | PS
! 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 these front-end applications.
{|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="PocketSword" | PS
! 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}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''中文 (Chinese, Traditional and Simplified)'''

! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Simplified only</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}<ref>zh_TW (Taiwanese).</ref>
|-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}} !! {{yes}} !! {{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}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Español (Spanish)'''

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

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

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Dansk (Danish)'''

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

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

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

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Latviešu (Latvian)'''

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

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

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

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

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

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Român (Romanian)'''

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

! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Italiano (Italian)'''

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

=== 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="PocketSword" | PS
! title="The SWORD Project for Windows" | SPW
! title="SwordBible" | SB
! title="Xiphos" | Xi
|-valign="top"
| '''Menu has a print option'''

! {{no}} !! {{no}}<ref>Print menu to be added as a future enhancement.</ref> !! !! {{no}} !! {{n/a}}<ref>Use Firefox to print displayed passage</ref> !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Current text display</ref> !! {{no}} !! {{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="PocketSword" | PS
! 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}} !! {{yes}}<ref>Notes (RTF files) management</ref> !! !! {{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}} !! {{no}} !! {{yes}}
|-valign="top"
| '''Skins<ref>See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_(computing) Skin (computing)] in Wikipedia.</ref>/Themes<ref>See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_(computer) Theme (computer)] in Wikipedia.</ref>'''

! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Via OS and saved themes.</ref> !! !! {{yes}}<ref>By installing Firefox themes, e.g. [http://www.virtusdesigns.net/?page_id=322 Bible Fox]</ref> !! !! !! !! {{yes}}<ref>Via OS and saved themes.</ref> !! {{yes}}<ref>Via OS</ref> !! {{yes}}<ref>Via OS and saved color preferences</ref>
|-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/>

[[Category:SWORD Frontends]]
[[Category:Localization]]
[[Category:Bookmarks]]

CrossWire Bible Society - User contributions [en]

Choosing a SWORD program