Accordance Blog: Didn't Know You Had It? Outlines

This year, we've been fairly killing ourselves developing more new Accordance modules than ever before. We've already released some of them (Thompson Chain Reference, Gesenius Hebrew grammar, etc.), but you can expect to see a flood of cool new modules appearing in the coming months. Yet before we try to sell you on all the new stuff, I want to "sell" you on the value of the modules you probably already have, but may not be using.

The first module I want to talk about in this "Didn't Know You Had It?" series is Outlines. If you own any level of the Accordance Library CD-ROM, you already have this module. You can find it in the Reference tool pop-up menu of the Resource palette.

As its name implies, this module contains outlines of the literary structure of every book in the Old and New Testaments, and we made it a reference tool so that it could be displayed in parallel with the text of the Bible.

The Outlines modules is useful in a number of ways:

Displayed in parallel with the Bible text, it immediately gives you a feel for the larger context of the verse you're looking at. This is especially useful when scrolling through the results of a search.
Viewed in a tool window, you can search the Outlines by verse reference or by heading. Want to find all the passages which deal with Elijah? Try searching the Headings field of the Outlines module. You can then click the hypertextable Scripture links to view those passages.
Of course, the most obvious use is simply to examine the outlines in order to get a feel for each book's literary structure or flow of thought.

I've talked a lot lately about statistical and graphing tools which can give you a bird's eye view of the passages you're studying. While not quite as flashy as the Analysis Graph, the Outlines module is another excellent way to step back and appreciate the forest before diving in there and examining the bark on every tree. If you have this module and are not using it, I'd encourage you to dust it off and take advantage of it.

# posted by David Lang @ 10:25 AM

Comments:

Hi David. You mentioned in your post that "If you own any level of the Accordance Library CD-ROM, you already have this module [Outlines]." Did you mean any level of Version 6? I only have version 5 of the Library and I don't see the Outline module.

# posted by

Jason : Wed Jun 21, 11:34:00 AM

Me too. I've had Accordance for ages, but I've never seen an Outline module.

# posted by

Anonymous : Wed Jun 21, 12:32:00 PM

Add me to the list. . . I have the most recent version of Accordance, but the Outline module is no where to be found. Bummer...

# posted by

Anonymous : Wed Jun 21, 02:32:00 PM

Remember, I didn't say that EVERYONE has this module; only that you should have it if you have the Library CD-ROM. Those who have never bought that CD-ROM won't have the Outlines. Some of you may have bought one of the Zondervan libraries, but that's not the same as our Library CD-ROM. If you bought and downloaded Accordance 6 or 7, that price will be credited toward your purchase of the Library CD-ROM, making the Introductory Level VERY affordable.

That said, the Outlines module has been available on the Library for years, not just since Library 6. If you bought Library 4 or 5, make sure you're looking in the Reference tools pop-up menu.

By the way, if you have Library 4 or 5 and you haven't upgraded to Library 6, you're missing out on a great deal. In Library 6, we added your choice of 1, 2, or 3 (depending on the level) unlockable English Bibles; and we gave those unlocks to people who only paid the upgrade price. So for a nominal charge you got all the new modules plus $30-$90 worth of unlockable Bibles. There's only a short time left to take advantage of that upgrade price, because the upgrade from Lib 5 to Lib 7 will NOT include those unlockable Bibles.

Hope this helps. Contact our support or sales staff if you need personal help.

# posted by

David Lang : Wed Jun 21, 03:19:00 PM

Thanks for you answer, David. I own Library 5, but only purchased the unlock code for Classic Group II. The Outlines module is in the Classic I folder. When I try to access it, my code for Classic II does not work. Does that mean I have to purchase the upgrade to Library 6 in order to access some of the modules like Outline?

# posted by

Jason : Wed Jun 21, 08:55:00 PM

David, I need to correct the last comment I made. The Outlines module is in the Basic Group folder on the Library 5 CD. However, when I try to access it, it doesn't accept my Classic II unlock code.

Sorry for the confusion.

# posted by

Jason : Wed Jun 21, 08:57:00 PM

now why is it that the outlines module cannot be included with the scholar's collection? Contrary to popular opinion, scholars don't have every book's outline memorized ;)

# posted by

dannyzacharias : Fri Jun 30, 01:05:00 PM