Visibility of Location when Scrolling

[Robb B]

One feature that would be really nice is for Accordance to show a small text box when scrolling through a text or tool to indicate where in that text/tool the user is. In my opinion the best way to handle it would be as follows:

 

For texts, show the book, chapter, and verse when scrolling

For tools with page numbers, show the page number when scrolling

For tools without page numbrs, show the paragraph number when scrolling

 

I jot down paragraph numbers in tools without page numbers so I know where I found something, and in longer tools it can be time-consuming to get back to that exact paragraph (like in Church Fathers modules, for example). I have attached a screenshot with a concept of how it could look, with the paragraph trailing the scroll button.

[David Lang]

Robb,

 

In text windows, the Go To Box already updates to show you the book, chapter, and verse when you drag the scroll thumb. In Tool windows, it updates to show the current article title. This happens when you drag the scroll thumb, but not when you just click and hold on the scroll arrows.

 

As far as jotting down paragraph numbers, why not just option-click to bookmark the paragraphs you want to get back to. You can then use the up and down Mark buttons to scroll to those paragraphs quickly.

 

Hope this helps.

[Robb B]

David,

 

I didn't realize the text box at the bottom updated like that. That's a great feature! Perhaps a good update would be for the paragraph number/page number on tools to update as you scroll (where it says paragraph x of y). Right now it stays static until you release the scroll button.

 

Option-click works ok as long as I keep the tools open, which I don't always do. A lot of times a study will span several weeks and is interspersed with other studies that use different tools, so I lose all my bookmarks when I close a workspace or a tool and then come back to it later. Any suggestions to help with this dilemma would be welcome! Thanks for your response.

[David Lang]

Robb,

 

How about creating a User Tool to keep track of your study. You could jot down the resource you referred to and any notes about what you got out of it. Then, instead of referring to paragraph number, just copy and paste a phrase from the paragraph that will help you find it again. When you want to find that paragraph, select the phrase in the user tool and then amplify to the tool.

 

Hope this helps.

 

By the way, I'm suggesting solutions to help you now, but I do think your suggestions are worth considering. It would be nice if we could update the paragraph number while dragging the scroll thumb, and even nicer if you could enter a paragraph number in the Go To Box to jump to it. Not sure how easy it will be to do either one of those things, but we can certainly consider it.

[Robb B]

Yes, having a paragraph option in the GoTo box would be ideal, or even making it a search field (or both!). I appreciate your suggestions and they should help me save some time.

 

While we're talking about new ideas, how about two different kinds of bookmarks, like a multi-session bookmark and a single-session bookmark? A multi-session bookmark would stay in the text until you intentionally clear it, and the single-session bookmarks would reset every time the tool is re-opened. Maybe that is too complicated, but I know I would find it useful, especially when I'm reading through something like a Systematic Theology but don't want to leave it open indefinitely.