Choosing a SWORD program

Introduction

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

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

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

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

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

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

Features Common to All SWORD Front-end Applications

Most SWORD Front-end programs have these features:

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

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

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 As front-ends are further developed, some items may become out of date.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

Legends

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

• AB — and-bible based on JSword, for Android OS
• ABS — Alkitab Bible Study based on JSword, uses Java 5+
• BD — BibleDesktop based on JSword, uses Java 1.4.2+
• BT — BibleTime uses cross-platform Qt toolkit
• BPB — BPBible uses wxPython
• FB — FireBible based on JSword, runs in FireFox as an extension
• MS — MacSword series 1
• MS2 — MacSword 2.0 released 2009-10-12 – subsequently renamed as Eloquent
• PS — PocketSword v1.x.x
• SPW — The SWORD Project for Windows
• SB — SwordBible
• ST — STEP Bible
• Xi — Xiphos (formerly GnomeSword)
• XS — xulsword

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

Operating Systems and Portability

Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi
Runs on Windows 95/98/NT/ME	no		yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes		yes	no
Runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/8	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes	yes
Available for Windows 64-bit	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes	yes
Runs on Mac OS X 10.3+	no		yes	no	no	yes	yes	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Runs on Mac OS X 10.4+	no	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Runs on Mac OS X 10.5+	no		yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	yes	no
Runs on Linux	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes
Runs on other Unix	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	yes
Runs on iPhone, iPad, & iPod touch	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no
Runs on Android	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no
Can be installed to run from USB drive	no	no	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no

Module related

Module Support

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Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi
Daily devotions start with today		yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	no	yes		yes	no	yes
Daily devotions show friendly dates		yes	yes		yes	yes	no	no	yes		no	no	yes
Shows testament introductions		no	no			no	no	yes	no	yes	no	no
Shows book introductions		no	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes
Shows chapter introductions		no	no	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes
Personal commentary		no	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes
Journal		no	no	no	no	no	no	no		no	no	no	yes
Right to Left scripts		yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Complex scripts					partial	yes			partial	partial			yes
Transliteration					yes					yes		yes	yes
Can display Ruby markup									yes
Footnote expansion			yes	yes			yes	yes	yes	partial		yes	yes
Glossary links			no									no	yes
Alternate Versification	yes	no	no	yes		no	no	yes	yes	no		yes	yes
Show deuterocanonical books	no	no	no	yes		no	no		yes	no		yes	no

Module Management

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Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi
Integrated module manager	yes	yes	yes	yes	partial	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Module unlocking support		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes		no	yes
Multiple download repositories	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Local repositories (e.g. CrossWire CD)		no	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes
Use of Proxy configurable			yes	no	n/a	yes	no	no		no	no	yes	n/a
Downloaded modules are available immediately without restart	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes
User is warned of internet access		yes	yes	yes	n/a	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
User is advised about download size		yes	yes	no	n/a	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes
User can continue working while download is in progress			yes	yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Download can be canceled		yes	yes	yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes		yes	yes	no	partial
User is warned if module already exists		yes	yes		no	no	yes	yes	yes			yes	yes
User is notified of module updates			no	yes	no	no	no	no		yes		no	yes
User is notified of new modules			no		no	no	no	no		no	no	no	yes
Hiding/showing installed modules		no	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes	n/a	yes	no	yes	yes
Modules sorted by type		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Modules are further sorted by language	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes
Module manager displays localized language names	yes		yes		n/a		n/a	n/a	yes	n/a	n/a	yes	yes
Modules can be archived/exported		no	no	no	no	no	no	no		no	no	no	yes
Companion module support	yes	no	no		no	no	no	no		no	no	no	yes
Can install specified font	yes											no

Image Module Support

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Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi
Image resizing		no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	yes
JPEG format		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		no	yes
PNG format		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no		no	yes
SVG format		no	no		no	yes	yes	yes	yes	no		{{no}	yes
Lazy download format	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no

Module Information

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

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

Windowing and Text Display

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Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi
Window layout flexible		yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes				yes	yes
Un/Linkable		yes	yes		yes	n/a	no	yes				yes	yes
Parallel display		yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes		yes		yes	yes
Text comparisons in parallel displays			yes									yes
Interlinear with a single version												yes
Interlinear with a multiple versions												yes
Interlinear with transliteration of lexical form												yes
Interlinear with English glosses of ancient vocabulary												yes
Interlinear with ancient lexical form												yes
Multiple texts		yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	yes				yes	yes
Highlight all Strong occurrences in passage (on mouse-over and click)												yes
Highlight all Strong occurrences across all displays (including search results, passages) (on mouse-over and click)												yes
Highlight all related Strong occurrences in passage (on mouse-over and click)												yes
Highlight all related Strong occurrences across all displays (including search results, passages) (on mouse-over and click)												yes
Display verse vocabulary based on Strongs numbers (e.g. on hover over a verse number)												yes
Display verse vocabulary for any version, including non-tagged version												yes
Display Strong's word counts in a book/testament (e.g. on hover over a verse number)												yes
Module default font		yes	yes		no	yes	no	yes		yes		no	yes
Font settable per module	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		yes		no	yes
Font settable per language	yes		yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no		no		partial	yes
Transliteration		no	no	no	no	no				yes	no	yes	yes
Doublespace lines option												no	yes
Adjustable Font size												yes

Search and Dictionary

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Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi
Able to create a search index	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	yes
Able to download a search index	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no
Able to delete a search index	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes
Index in background	no		yes		no	yes	yes	yes	n/a			yes	yes
Indexed Search	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes
Cross Verse Proximity Search		yes	yes		yes	yes	no	no		yes	no	yes	yes
Indexed Strong, Morphology and Body search		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		yes	no	yes	yes
Indexed CrossRef search	no	yes	yes		yes	yes	no	no		no	no	yes	no
Indexed Note and Heading search	no	yes	yes		no	yes	no	no		no	no	yes	no
Advanced search options	partial					no						yes	yes
Fuzzy search	no	yes	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes		yes	no	yes	yes
GenBook and Commentary search			partial	yes	yes	partial	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Search a Bible for strong numbers by English gloss												yes
Search a Bible for related strong numbers												yes
Search a Bible for strong numbers by transliteration												yes
Search a Bible for strong numbers by expanded transliterations												yes
Search a Bible for strong numbers by entering Greek/Hebrew												yes
Search a Bible for strong numbers by entering Greek/Hebrew English equivalent												yes
Search a Bible for strong numbers by their translations in other Bibles												partial
Filter search results by visually selecting a strong number/gloss/transliteration												yes
Auto-suggestion of search terms when typing a transliteration, Greek, Hebrew, an English gloss												yes
Search for list of verses by topic name (including headings, Nave search, etc.)												yes
Search for list of topics for a particular Bible verse/chapter/book												yes
Combined module search	no		no	yes	no	no	no	yes		no	no	yes	yes
Return to last search results	yes											yes
Search within search results	no					no						yes	yes
Search scopes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	yes		yes		yes	yes
Result highlighting						yes	yes	yes				yes	yes
Automatic/On-Mouse Strongs/Morphology lookup	n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes
Automatic/On-Mouse Glossary lookup	n/a		no			no	no	yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes

Bookmarking, Tagging, Listing and Notes

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Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	ST	Xi
Bookmarks, verselists, or tags	yes		yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	yes
Manual adding			yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	yes
Bulk adding of search result			yes		yes		no	yes				no	yes
Permanent			yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		yes	yes	yes	yes
Hierarchical			no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		yes	no	no	yes
Drag and drop management	n/a		n/a	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes		yes	n/a	no	yes
Exportable			yes	yes		yes	no	no				no	yes
Importable						yes						no	yes
User comments			no	yes	yes	no	no	yes				no	yes
Delete all												no	yes
Study notes	yes		no	yes	no	no	yes	yes		yes	yes	no	yes

Session and State Management

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Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	Xi
Layout stored		yes	partial	yes	yes		yes	yes		yes		yes
Interface language			yes		yes	n/a	yes	yes	yes			yes
Open modules		yes	no	yes	yes	partial	yes	yes	yes	yes		yes
Search results			partial			yes	no	partial				yes
Storing of multiple sessions	n/a		no	yes		no	yes	yes				yes

Help System

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Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	Xi
Manual, English		yes	yes	yes	no		yes	no		yes		yes
Manual, Other				yes	no		no	no				yes
Active links to online help					yes		yes	no				yes
Tooltips		yes	yes	yes	yes		partial	partial				yes

Localization

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

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

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

Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	Xi
GUI RtoL support	yes	yes	yes	yes	no	no	yes	yes		no		yes
Localized numerals		yes	yes				no	no				yes
English	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
中文 (Chinese, Traditional and Simplified)	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes
Deutsch (German)	yes	no	yes	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes
Português (Portuguese)	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no	yes	yes	no	yes
Suomi (Finnish)	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no		yes	no	yes
فارسی (Persian)	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no	no		no	no	yes
Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)	yes	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	no		no	no	no
Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)	yes	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no		yes	no	no
Français (French)	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes
Česky (Czech)	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no		yes	no	yes
Magyar (Hungarian)	yes	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no		yes	no	yes
Español (Spanish)	yes	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes
Polski (Polish)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no		yes	no	yes
Svenska (Swedish)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	yes	no	no	yes
Dansk (Danish)	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no	no		no	no	yes
Slovenščina (Slovenian)	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no		yes	no	yes
Afrikaans	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no
日本語 (Japanese)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	yes	no	yes
Latviešu (Latvian)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
Slovenčina (Slovak)	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
עברית (Hebrew)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
Norsk (Norwegian Bokmål)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
Nederlands (Dutch)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes
Cymraeg (Welsh)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
Român (Romanian)	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes
Русский (Russian)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	yes
Italiano (Italian)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no
Українська (Ukrainian)	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no
ภาษาไทย (Thai)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no
한국어 (Korean)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	yes	no	no	no
Türkçe (Turkish)	yes	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no	no
Ελληνικά (Greek)	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.

Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	Xi
Menu has a print option	no	no	no		no	n/a		yes	no	yes		yes

Other

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Feature	AB	ABS	BD	BT	BPB	FB	MS	MS2	PS	SPW	SB	Xi
Extramodular Bible reading plan	yes	yes	yes		no	no	no	no		no	yes	no
Other extramodular content	no	no	no	yes	yes	no	no	yes		no	yes	no
Read aloud	yes	no	partial		no	no	yes	yes	no	no	no	yes
Skins/Themes	no			yes		yes				yes	yes	yes
Other features not listed otherwise	yes			yes		yes		yes				yes