Feature Requests

[Cincinnati]

A preference item allowing for 'return to previous page' would be nice for all resources. This would allow one to read multiple resources and always be able to return to a resource at the last visited page. Currently (Android 1.05), everything opens on page 1.

 

Bookmarks would also be nice. In single pane mode, it would be helpful if bible texts also had an option of opening synced allowing one to read NIV and switch to ESV with ESV then opening at the same location as the NIV, etc.

 

One very helpful way to implement this would be to also allow for swiping right and left between bible texts. Swiping would be a helpful interactive method in both single and split window view. In split window view, in the second window, swiping would take one through a list of perhaps the top 10 resources that one could choose in an advanced menu. The same thing could be done for bible texts, or pane 1, with preferred order and texts, etc. being designated in an advanced option.

[robrecht]

Are Bookmarks not yet incorporated into the Android mobile version? I was reading about in Accordance Mobile Help on the app on my phone but this does not appear to be functional. 

[Λύχνις Δαν]

Not yet but a number of us are interested in it.

[robrecht]

Not yet but a number of us are interested in it.

Thanks, Daniel. Is there any kind of list of what is not yet available or what things are planned next? 

[Λύχνις Δαν]

I'm sure they have a list but Oaktree does not usually publicise new features until they are pretty much done and ready to be released. My understanding is that they judge what to add and when based at least in part on user input in the forums. The Android port is young so there are a lot of choices as to what to add. So, open topics for the features you most want in the https://www.accordancebible.com/forums/forum/98-feature-requests-for-android/. In that forum you can at least see what's been requested and gauge how much interest there is.

 

Thx

D

[Cincinnati]

Many thanks to the Android dev. team. The program has really spun up quickly.

 

I'm still feeling quite strongly though about the need for a few interface tweaks that would make the program so much more pleasant to use. These would make the program encourage the user to read the text and enjoy it rather than just refer to it and they would also encourage the reader to actively use all their resources. At the moment Olivetree (when it's not crashing in Android) is still so appealing visually and it's a bit more intuitive.

 

Here's the list:

 

1. Swiping between resources (see note below). (Logos has a rudimentary form sort of...swipe right for resources which isn't as nice as what I suggest below.)

 

2. Easy size adjustment of dual pane dividing bar. This is executed intuitively in Olivetree - touch it drag it to be one line high or take about all the screen...it's up to the user. Everything should be up to the user when possible.

 

3. Attention to font and reading. Add more fonts and provide more fine tuning options of what is shown even allowing turning off verse numbers so that the text can look like a normal book. Both Olivetree and Logos both are so pleasant to read but Logos wins. You can turn off all extras and choose to only see the font...and they have a fantastic serif font. The fonts are very attractive and there are a host of quality font choices each of which is visible in that font when viewing available fonts. One of the benefits of interacting with the text digitally should be that one can tailor their experience on demand - no print run required. Please give an option to turn off even verse numbers. Get a graphic artist to make some Schuyler style chapter graphics (which can be turned on/off to taste). It would be great to be able to get a true reader's mode free of all distractions in the text. This a popular idea these days with multi-volume sets out in this format.

 

4. Bookmarks/tabs. Every major browser has tabs. Users should be encouraged to follow any bunny trail to their heart's content. As it is, I might use multiple devices just to keep from losing my place. Once I have 2 sources open, etc. I should be able to bookmark or tab that setup and get to it on demand, so that I can run off and check other resources knowing that with 1 to 2 presses max I'll be back where I started. 

 

Notes on swiping:

On the Android app in it's most advanced split-screen configuration assuming texts on top and reference tools on the bottom pane:

It would be enormously pleasant and efficient to be able to simply swipe right and left through appropriate resources in each pain. In the top pane one could swipe through all bibles while in the bottom pane one could swipe through lexicons and commentaries, etc. A swipe to the right would take one to the next text in his numbered list while a swipe left would take one to the previous text ie from 4 up to 5 or from 4 down to 3. Some users may choose to only select 3 texts for swiping and then needn't be bothered by remembering direction, etc. swiping either way would get them through all 3 texts rapidly.

My suggested implementation would be that there be a menu option added that allowed one to configure the resources available for swipe-through in texts as well as in resources. Perhaps 10 options could be given for each window and be listed in re-configurable order 1-10. It would be good if the user set this, the order he set was fixed and then one would become accustomed to that order and know that his current text was #5 NIV and a simple 2 swipe left would get him to #3 NA28. An advanced option could be added later allowing the saving of configurations whereby one list of 10 could be for Greek and the other Hebrew, etc. etc.

 

For full screen mode - especially for texts and especially when one wants to be in a clean 'Reader's Mode': I would love to have two swipe zones - top half of screen and bottom half of screen. These could be user configurable to allow reversing to taste. The top half of the screen set for swipe right and left to change chapters. Luke 1...swipe right and your immediately on Luke 2. The bottom half of the screen (for my settings) would be to swipe right and left through the exact same list of reference resources I selected in the user options for dual-pane swiping. If I had this option for normal study I would have my chosen text in reader's mode and swipe through chapters as i read using the top or bottom half and the moment I wanted to check my reference I would simply swipe the bottom half to check a study bible and a commentary. All tap/menu free. This allows the actual software to fade into the background and, as much as is possible, removes application barriers from the equation. I would use dual-pane much less as, especially on phones, screen real estate is at a premium. There could be several user-configurable options here such as top half and bottom half. Another good bottom-half option would be swiping in order through books of the bible so top half chapters, bottom half books. Perhaps even a 3rd swipe zone could be implemented to swipe through whatever class is in the primary single window...so if Bibles then swipe to another version then swipe right back. That would be effectively a parallel bible but implemented perfectly for a phone.