Why Buy Graphics Modules When You Can Google Images?

[Sean R.]

This is exactly the reason I regularly utilize the PhotoGuide. It's really a Bible locations dictionary illustrated with good quality, decent resolution pictures. As OakTree contemplates development of additional graphics modules, I'd like to see this type of approach. When a picture has reliable, semi-detailed background information, it's very useful to me in Accordance.

[g.nicholson]

It would be great if the Atlas could be extended to include ALL the Mediterranean coast right round to Spain, [e.g. one cannot display Spain on a map, the Biblical text of Rom 15:24 & 28 notwithstanding. This would, also end up including parts of Europe and Africa, but this would also be very helpful in developing maps for early church history as well.

[Helen Brown]

We do not currently have any plans to expand the Atlas reach, sorry! That would be a very major undertaking for limited benefit.

[Mark Nigro]

I prefer the integration with Accordance, and own the Atlas, Timeline, Photo Guide 3, Sites, C-Quest, Holman Charts, Bible Art, Bar Archive and BP American Colony, all of which get used weekly. I could probably think of other reasons why I prefer the integration, but here are my immediate four:

 

1. All the graphics are biblically relevant, whereas this is not the case in a Google search. I often have to weed through scores of photos that have nothing to do with biblical content.

 

2. Graphics in Accordance are tagged and have greatly flexible search criteria, such as limiting the string to a 'caption' only.

 

3. I never need to worry about inappropriate photos showing up in Accordance, but in Google searches I often find inappropriate photos. Inappropriate can range from merely irrelevant, non-biblical content to outright offensive. Some people put photos on the net with 'religious' key words just to shock people with very irreligious content.

 

4. I am not always in a wifi accessible area and like to have access to content resident on my MBP in those times.

[A.D. Riddle]

Although this is an older discussion, I came across this statement by James Wicker that is directly relevant to David Lang’s original post:

 

“Accuracy is extremely important in showing Biblical pictures. One can use Internet search engines to find pictures; however, a typical Internet search will give a number of false findings. For instance, searching Google Images for ‘Peter’s house excavations Capernaum’ produces only nine accurate results out of the first twenty. So, unless one has physically been to a site in order to recognize its picture, verifying accurate pictures from an Internet search engine can be a daunting task.”

 

I just performed the same search in Google, and got 13 correct out of 20 (15/20 if you count those where Peter's house is not the main focus but appears somewhere in the photo). This is better than Wicker's findings, but even then, many may not be able to verify, without some effort, that all of the results are correct. Unless one is familiar with the site, it is not obvious that some of the photos are indeed accurate results.

 

As others noted, this is THE big advantage of resources such as Accordance’s PhotoGuide and Todd Bolen’s Pictorial Library and Historic Views collections: the content has been selected, labeled, and organized so that users can find relevant and accurate material that they are looking for, without having to sort through misinformation.

 

A.D. Riddle

 

 

 

The James Wicker quote above is from a review of Pictorial Library of Bible Lands in Southwestern Journal of Theology 56/1 (Fall 2013):131-133.

Edited November 26, 2016 by A.D. Riddle

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Here's why I LOVE PhotoGuide, PhotoMuseum, and all of Accordance's graphics tools, and why I alway upgrade to the latest versions, and love to see more.

 

1. The images are high quality (on Google it's hit and miss).

 

2. I can LEGALLY use the images in teaching, etc., without worrying about accidentally violating someone's copyrights.

 

3. The articles in PhotoGuide, etc., are also extremely beneficial. When doing background biblical research, I always read the articles in these and learn something from the articles in addition to seeing all the great pictures.

 

4. The convenience of searching everything in my Bible software is a huge plus.

 

5. I can find more images and better images by running Bible software searches than what I could find on Google.

 

6. I can waste way too many hours in these tools if I'm not careful. :-)

 

7. They make a fun way to demo Accordance to people interested in purchasing Accordance, and demoing them to my family is a great way to get more gift money from them on holidays to put toward Accordance purchases. :-)

[Helen Brown]

Nathan and others: thank you for the good words. A review on the relevant product pages would be seen by many more interested people.

[Rick Ausdahl]

I've used Bible software for several years but am brand new to Accordance (currently playing with the free "Lite" collection) and I'm considering a purchase of the Graphics Pro collection.  But I don't want to make that purchase without having a better understanding of how pictures in the various PhotoGuides and how maps and charts in the Atlas resources (especially Carta Atlas) are integrated in the software with Bible passages.

 

E.g. when reading Bible passages in Accordance, can pertinent pictures from the PhotoGuides and pertinent maps and charts from the atlases be "easily" located and viewed?  Ideally, I'd like settings that would result in the PhotoGuides and atlases automatically tracking with the Bible passages, providing some kind of links/quick access to the relevant pictures, maps, and charts for the passages.

 

Whatever the process is, would someone be able to offer some insight into how it works?  I'm also very interested in how well the resources are tagged in the software to ensure relevant pictures, charts, and maps are referenced and not missed.

 

Thanks!

Edited December 7, 2016 by Rick Ausdahl

[kpang808]

One thing to keep in mind is the graphic collections are considered add ons. Which means your best route would be to get Starter which is 59.90 I believe with no discount. Then you can add the graphics package. The awesome thing about Accordance all the features come with the starter which is more than reasonable.

Edited December 7, 2016 by keithp

[Rick Ausdahl]

One thing to keep in mind is the graphic collections are considered add ons. Which means your best route would be to get Starter which is 59.90 I believe with no discount. Then you can add the graphics package. The awesome thing about Accordance all the features come with the starter which is more than reasonable.

Thanks for the info.     I was wondering about that and was planning to ask someone in sales about it, if after learning more about how the resources were integrated with the software, it seemed like Accordance would be a good fit for my goals.

[kpang808]

Thanks for the info.     I was wondering about that and was planning to ask someone in sales about it, if after learning more about how the resources were integrated with the software, it seemed like Accordance would be a good fit for my goals.

 

 

I believe there are some podcast found on https://www.accordancebible.com/Lighting-The-Lamp-Podcaststhat can give you better information than I can about how the resources are integrated. The atlas is interactive, so it does not technically scroll with a bible passage. Though if you were to highlight a name of a city, for example, Nazareth and then opening up the Atlas from that selection would take you to that area. Also there are different layers you can turn on and off and animated routes that you can view too. The Atlas is awesome, so are the graphics resources, and Accordance has Carta products so that is pretty sweet too. I hope this helps, and I would be willing to answer any questions I possibly could answer. 

[ukfraser]

Rick, in lite you have a number of samplers (photo guide, atlas and timeline) so you can have a bit of a play to see how they integrate.

 

In 12 the image tools dont show in the info pane so they dont scroll. If you have images in your other tools (like esv study bible which is dripping with maps and illustrations) then that will scroll so you will see that there is an itemlinked to a package. However, If you have the resource open in a pane, it will scroll and you will see the actual illustration when relevant as in genesis 11 in esv.

 

However, the image tools will link to bible passages so you can click on the link to see the text from within the image resource. (This is taken from the photoguide sampler for bethlehem, but screen shot of iOS as not using 12 at the moment).

 

Also included a screen shot from carta sacred bridge so you can see the image and scripture reference.

 

As to tagging, accordance is on steroids and brilliant. If it can be tagged, it is! And while you may not have images in photoguide scrolling, you can ceratinly search you resources.

 

;o)

Edited December 7, 2016 by ukfraser

[Julia Falling]

Whatever the process is, would someone be able to offer some insight into how it works?  I'm also very interested in how well the resources are tagged in the software to ensure relevant pictures, charts, and maps are referenced and not missed.

 

Thanks!

 

Rick – You might want to consider some of the free Webinars.  Here's one on the Timeline.  And one on the Atlas.  There are also archived Webinars.  Another option, to have an in-person demo where you can get your questions answered, is a free Training Seminar.  My husband and I have been to three.  We always learn something new.  As a bonus we get to meet Accordance staff and other users.

[Rick Ausdahl]

I believe there are some podcast found on https://www.accordancebible.com/Lighting-The-Lamp-Podcaststhat can give you better information than I can about how the resources are integrated. The atlas is interactive, so it does not technically scroll with a bible passage. Though if you were to highlight a name of a city, for example, Nazareth and then opening up the Atlas from that selection would take you to that area. Also there are different layers you can turn on and off and animated routes that you can view too. The Atlas is awesome, so are the graphics resources, and Accordance has Carta products so that is pretty sweet too. I hope this helps, and I would be willing to answer any questions I possibly could answer. 

Thanks!  I'll see what I can find.

[Rick Ausdahl]

Rick, in lite you have a number of samplers (photo guide, atlas and timeline) so you can have a bit of a play to see how they integrate.

 

In 12 the image tools dont show in the info pane so they dont scroll. If you have images in your other tools (like esv study bible which is dripping with maps and illustrations) then that will scroll so you will see that there is an itemlinked to a package. However, If you have the resource open in a pane, it will scroll and you will see the actual illustration when relevant as in genesis 11 in esv.

 

However, the image tools will link to bible passages so you can click on the link to see the text from within the image resource. (This is taken from the photoguide sampler for bethlehem, but screen shot of iOS as not using 12 at the moment).

 

Also included a screen shot from carta sacred bridge so you can see the image and scripture reference.

 

As to tagging, accordance is on steroids and brilliant. If it can be tagged, it is! And while you may not have images in photoguide scrolling, you can ceratinly search you resources.

 

;o)

 

I'm not at my machine to type this so can't play around with the software at the moment, but have questions about two of the things you said. I.e:

 

In 12 the image tools don't show in the info pane so they don't scroll.

By "info pane" are you referring to the Instant Info window/pane that you can chose to have (or not have) open?

 

However, If you have the resource open in a pane, it will scroll and you will see the actual illustration when relevant as in genesis 11 in esv.

Does the term "resource" include tools like the Carta Atlas, Satellite Atlas, and Photoguides?  I watched one training video for an older version of Accordance and understand everything in the library is classified as a text or a tool, and that things like the atlases and Photoguides would be called tools if I'm following that correctly.  But are they (can they) also be referred to simply as resources?

 

I'm a little confused (my fault, not yours) but based on what you said, it's my impression that image related tools (maps, charts, photos) won't show up in the instant info pane, but if a map, chart, or photo tool (resource?) such as the Carta Atlas, Satellite Atlas, or an appropriate photoguide is open in it's own pane, that it will scroll along with a text such as the ESVs.  Am I tracking with you?  If not, it's probably because I'm not familiar enough with the software.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Rick Ausdahl

[kpang808]

Julia has also gave some excellent ideas you could try Rick 

Edited December 9, 2016 by keithp

[Rick Ausdahl]

Rick – You might want to consider some of the free Webinars.  Here's one on the Timeline.  And one on the Atlas.  There are also archived Webinars.  Another option, to have an in-person demo where you can get your questions answered, is a free Training Seminar.  My husband and I have been to three.  We always learn something new.  As a bonus we get to meet Accordance staff and other users.

Julia, thank you for the links.  I won't be able to make the upcoming training seminar, but will check out the Timeline, Atlas, and Webinar links.

[ukfraser]

Hi rick.

 

My bad, yes i should have said tool rather than resource. Basically the things you buy. So yes, carta sacred bridge or photo guide are tools which i called resources.

 

The info pane lists the the tools that you have which relate to a particular verse and you can have the pane open. Have a look at this blog podcast. And you will see what is in the info pane. As in all accordance stuff, you can have it open or closed. Simple click on tool bar to open it. It shows commentary, study bible, cross references, word lists and topics. Unfortunately not carta sacred bridge, satellite atlas or photo guide.

 

https://www.accordancebible.com/Accordance-12-Sneak-Peek-3-Info-Pane-Enhancements

 

You can open photo guide in its own pane but it will not scroll with a bible text.

The photo guide includes links in the text to bible passages so you can click on those and see them in the instant details.

 

You can open a study bible in its own pane.

This will scroll with the bible text.

If there is an image in the study bible, eg esv, then you will see the image.

 

The info pane is different from instant details.

 

But play when next at your computer and more will become clear.

 

;o)

Edited December 10, 2016 by ukfraser

[ukfraser]

This is an excellent set, well indexed and worth getting while its on offer for the useful background images .

 

;o)

 

https://www.accordancebible.com/store/details/?pid=BP-Cultural+Images

[Outis]

Since it seems as if this topic has been rekindled, I thought I might add some comments.

 

First, here's what I have and use:  timeline, atlases, bible art, Uncial images.

 

Limitations:  I use my iPad for teaching. And when using the atlases I find several limitations:  Some atlases are not available for syncing or downloading to the iPad (for some strange reason:  "Holman Charts, Maps, Reconstructions").  Those that are, are of some use (ZIBBCOT, ZIBBCNT).  The difficulty I find with them is that when you try to use the "pinch and zoom" feature in the iOS, you can only zoom in so far before it springs back.  I was doing a bible study on the seven churches in Revelation and in the most embarrassing way had to give up using my atlas because when I zoomed in to look at a church's location, it would spring out once again.  Also, when loading large modules onto my iPad, (ZIBBCOT), it causes Accordance to lock up. So, I've deleted them. And now Accordance on my iPad is somewhat useable without them.

 

Advantages/Strengths:    Of all the graphics modules, the images provided to accompany the tagged uncial texts are the best.  They load reliably onto my iPad.  I can expand them and zoom in without the app crashing.  And I can use them without an internet connection (as opposed to having to look them up  on the official website corresponding to their manuscript).  In fact, I would very much like to see the offerings of these uncial images expanded into the earlier papyri images (p45-46, the bodmer collection, etc).

 

I've used the Accordance Mac OS atlas over the years. And I have to admit, it's very powerful and fun to use.  It's a somewhat complicated process to build a map layer and then save it for use later on. But it's worth it.  Years ago I made on on the table of nations in Genesis. And it turned out very nice.

[R. Mansfield]

 

Some atlases are not available for syncing or downloading to the iPad (for some strange reason:  "Holman Charts, Maps, Reconstructions").  

 

 

Outis, you should be able to install Holman Book of Biblical Charts, Maps, & Reconstructions on your iPad. I don't have mine in front of me, but here's a screenshot from my iPhone.

 

[ukfraser]

Outis, the springing back from full zoom isn't limited to images in accordance, it also happens in my pdf reading software, image software and safari so im guessing it is a 'feature' of Ios.

 

;o(

Edited December 14, 2016 by ukfraser

[Outis]

Update:

 

• I was able to get the Holman maps and charts module working. It's not in the category I expected to find it in.
• The springing back 'feature' found in the atlases is annoying.  However in the 'images' modules (for the uncials) it doesn't seem to be present.  So I can zoom and it will stay there.

[Scott Knapp]

The native image viewer in iOS allows us to specify a minimum and maximum zoom level on an image. And as part of its built in gesture handling it will allow a user to temporarily exceed the maximum zoom level during the pinch to zoom gesture But it will spring back to the maximum once the gesture is released.

 

For iAccord I believe we set the maximize zoom level to 2X the original image size. That's why some images can be zoomed more than others. It's entirely dependent on the original image size in the module.

 

We can certainly look at setting the maximum zoom level higher. Particularly since many of our newer modules are shipping with higher resolution images than what was available when the app was first launched.

 

Thank you as always for the feedback.

[Tony Lawrence]

Here is a suggestion if you want to use image files and zoom a little easier. You can select the image in Accordance on the iPad. Choose Share. There is not an option to "Save Image" but you can choose "Add to Notes." Once in Notes you can select the image and there you can "Save Image" and it will save to Photos. Once you have all the photos you want to use you can put them in an Album (or create one). Once in Photos you can zoom a little easier and even crop an image to show just the part of the image you desire.

 

Perhaps I could suggest that the next version of mobile Accordance allow Sharing to permit "Save Image." 

Edited December 15, 2016 by Tony Lawrence