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Accessibility Request: Hard to Read Search Box


Enoch

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Given my setup, often I find it hard to read what I have typed in the Search Box. The font size is just too small.

Thus I request some way to enlarge the font in the Search Box.

 

(I have already asked that Accordance do something about the little Blue Oval Search Selection Box which has white characters in it, very hard for me to read -- of course it would also help if there were a preferences choice to completely separate the verse selection function from the search string function. I regularly get error responses like: "There is no such book as earth in the Bible.")

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I regularly get error responses like: "There is no such book as earth in the Bible.")

 

 

Enoch – I think font size is an issue for many of us, and being able to up it a bit in the search entry box would be nice.

 

I get the same kind error message on a regular basis, but just use the keyboard shortcut ⌘; to switch from a word to a verse search (or vice versa). That quickly fixes the problem so I can move on and, at least for me, eliminates the aggravation. I don't have to remove my hands from the keyboard and move to mouse or trackpad to make the switch.

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Thanks for the ⌘ information.

 

It just shows that I need to take a month out of my life to master (I should say rather, scratch the surface of) Accordance.

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Out of curiosity, what searches are you all running to give you this error message? Accordance 10 will automatically switch between words and verses as needed, and I never get this error anymore.

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Out of curiosity, what searches are you all running to give you this error message? Accordance 10 will automatically switch between words and verses as needed, and I never get this error anymore.

I know it is supposed to do this but I get the same result as Enoch on occasion. Cannot tell you what search criteria it was.

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I get the error quite frequently also. I use the shortcut to switch between word and verse search. But I haven't found that automatic switching of v10 to be effective.

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Hi Joel. I don’t know what the actual searches are, but to get the error, all you need to do is enter a word that is not exactly in the text. So, in ESVS verse mode, enter lovingkindness. Accordance does not switch to word mode and give you the dropdown, it just says, no book of that name found.

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This is not an error, though, how do I know you didn't intend to find the book called lovingkindness? In Enoch's example, the word was 'bread', a valid word search, so it would have switched.

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It does switch if its an English text and bread is known to exist in the text. If its a German or a Spanish bible it won't switch as the word is known not to exist in the text. What was the text against which the bread was sought ?

 

But typo's are not your friend here. If you make a typo, or you search for a word that occurs both as a book and a word (eg. Hebrew) then it won't switch. That last case is understandable of course. (As an aside, the handling here is different. In verse mode you are simply told that the book does not exist. In word mode you are given a popup to select words from. But given the nature of the errors I don't have much issue with that.)

 

thx

D

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Enoch – I think font size is an issue for many of us, and being able to up it a bit in the search entry box would be nice.

 

I get the same kind error message on a regular basis, but just use the keyboard shortcut ⌘; to switch from a word to a verse search (or vice versa). That quickly fixes the problem so I can move on and, at least for me, eliminates the aggravation. I don't have to remove my hands from the keyboard and move to mouse or trackpad to make the switch.

Julie, just using the command key on my computer does not switch from a word to a verse search. Disappointment. When I checked the keyboard shortcuts all I found was a 3 key combo to change, and a different one for each choice, not a simple toggle switch.

 

The original sin (IMHO) is not having separate fields (windows) for 2 essentially different functions. I can see little reason not to make that available as a preference. But I am no computer programmer.

 

The other feature which inconveniences me is the automatic pop up, drop down menu which has to be got rid of.

Edited by Enoch
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Hey Enoch, the shortcut is CMD and semi-colon together to toggle verse/word searching, thus ⌘;

 

Thx

D

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Enoch — I've never found a single search field to be a problem. I like the simplicity of it – like to keep things as uncluttered as possible. The pop-ups and drop-downs are good, too. Familiarity with this in Accordance and other programs means I don't really think about it and am grateful for the functionality. Give yourself some time to just learn the program. Often the issue is the learning curve. For all the basic stuff – simple word or verse searches – Accordance is easy. Other things can be learned as we go, adding on to the basics.

 

I have watched and rewatched the podcasts over the years, as well as the webinar archives. We've been to two training seminars. The more I've learned, the more I my appreciation and gratitude for Accordance grows. The A-team is responsive to suggestions, requests, and technical problems, but we must remember that resources (the number of people involved, the amount of time they have) will always be a limiting factor. We regularly gain new features and increased functionality. I'm content to wait for new modules and new features. And when I'm having difficulties, the problem is often me, not Accordance or any other program.

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This is not an error, though, how do I know you didn't intend to find the book called lovingkindness? In Enoch's example, the word was 'bread', a valid word search, so it would have switched.

 

Hi Joel, it seems to me that it is much easier to know the possibilities for Bible books, (there are only a *very* limited number) whereas the number of words that are possibly in and not in a word-search are somewhat larger in sample space.

 

I get the logic, if you are in verse mode, then if Accordance doesn’t recognise the word (at all) then Accordance presumes that you chose your criterion correctly and so will tell you that the book doesn’t exist. So, all you need is a word that is not in the corpus you are searching to get the error. And that can be disorientating if you are expecting an automatic shift to word mode.

 

I wonder if it might not be better to use the Bible book names as the initial reference, and if the word is not found there then to switch to verse mode and try the search... It’s not a big deal (from where I stand anyway) just thinking out loud.

Edited by Ken Simpson
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Enoch — I've never found a single search field to be a problem. I like the simplicity of it – like to keep things as uncluttered as possible. The pop-ups and drop-downs are good, too. Familiarity with this in Accordance and other programs means I don't really think about it and am grateful for the functionality. Give yourself some time to just learn the program. Often the issue is the learning curve. For all the basic stuff – simple word or verse searches – Accordance is easy. Other things can be learned as we go, adding on to the basics.

 

I have watched and rewatched the podcasts over the years, as well as the webinar archives. We've been to two training seminars. The more I've learned, the more I my appreciation and gratitude for Accordance grows. The A-team is responsive to suggestions, requests, and technical problems, but we must remember that resources (the number of people involved, the amount of time they have) will always be a limiting factor. We regularly gain new features and increased functionality. I'm content to wait for new modules and new features. And when I'm having difficulties, the problem is often me, not Accordance or any other program.

I have been using Accordance for many years now.

The single window has been a constant inconvenience.

I am not asking that it be enforced on everyone, only that it be made one Preference.

It is not like this is rocket science; I have another Bible program that has separate windows for what are really two different functions.

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I have another Bible program that has separate windows for what are really two different functions.

 

Enoch,

 

I appreciate that the Verses/Words toggle button can be hard to read. I personally do not prefer light text on a darker background and find it harder to read. With that said, I disagree that two different functions necessitate different windows. (I'm also not sure these are two different functions anyway. You are either looking for a location marked by a verse reference or by the fact that it contains a particular word.) You're right that it's not rocket science. I'm sure that the programmers and designers at Accordance could make separate windows if they wanted to, but the current form is a good design decision. It is clean and efficient, and even if you do accidentally get the wrong sort of search (which I have also done on occasion), the program is fast enough to change the setting and run it again.

 

Nevertheless, back to your original request, I agree that the button could be made easier to read.

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Hey Enoch, the shortcut is CMD and semi-colon together to toggle verse/word searching, thus ⌘;

 

 

Daniel, I am beginning to think that you may have the spiritual gift of helps. Thanks again for your great & appreciated help.

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Enoch,

 

I appreciate that the Verses/Words toggle button can be hard to read. I personally do not prefer light text on a darker background and find it harder to read. With that said, I disagree that two different functions necessitate different windows. (I'm also not sure these are two different functions anyway. You are either looking for a location marked by a verse reference or by the fact that it contains a particular word.) You're right that it's not rocket science. I'm sure that the programmers and designers at Accordance could make separate windows if they wanted to, but the current form is a good design decision. It is clean and efficient, and even if you do accidentally get the wrong sort of search (which I have also done on occasion), the program is fast enough to change the setting and run it again.

 

Nevertheless, back to your original request, I agree that the button could be made easier to read.

Do you have some basis for objecting to it being a choosable preference?

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That might be overstating it a bit :) Though I'm pleased it helps.

I did database support at a high level for a number of years. Some habits are hard to break.

 

Thx

D

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Do you have some basis for objecting to it being a choosable preference?

 

Well, the idea of having multiple windows doesn't sound like a minor interface tweak to me, and I wouldn't want the current interface to change significantly. If there is a clever way to implement this that can be turned off in order to retain the current interface, then no, I don't object.

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The problem is that currently tool searching and text searching have similar methods. It is a search therefore you have one entry box and you select what you are searching. There are, of course, many more selection possibilities within tools. But if you allow splitting of text searching input then it becomes a different methodology for each.

 

Now many people have asked for the paragraph headings to be included in the translations, at least as an option. Now if that happened (which may or may not) then there would be a third item to search for in texts. That could be easily implemented in the current system but not if you have a different search box for each text search option.

Edited by Steve King
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