To use or not to use the notes feature?

[Cnthetford]

I am brand new to Accordance and as was the case when I have used eSword and PC Study Bible I have to make the choice as to whether or not to use the notes feature.  I hate to accumulate a few years worth of notes, only to find that they are inaccessible in the event that I stop using the software (either by choice or by being forced to for some reason).  As a result, I have always resorted to saving my notes in OneNote.

 

If I choose to use the notes feature, is there a simple way to export all notes either to a printable format?  Using the "Sample Notes", I was able to use CTRL-A to select all notes, copy them and then paste them into a word document.   What I don't know is how well that technique would work with a few thousand notes rather and a few dozen.

 

Does anyone have any experience exporting large numbers of notes?  There are a number of similar questions on this, but I haven't seen a definitive answer and most of the posts are > 4 years old so I don't know what might have changed.

[ukfraser]

I would explore stacks and papers as well. I found notes too restrictive as i tend to work on chunks of verses so stacks was great for me but after years of making my annotations in an external program, equivalent to one note, i decided to continue with that workflow.

 

Dont you want to continue building your existing one note library so all your notes are in one place and to some extent bible software independent?

[Cnthetford]

Both reasons you give are good reasons to keep doing what I'm doing.  I just feel like I'm not taking full advantage of the software by using integrated notes.

 

I could gradually pull my notes in from OneNote, but the concern about being software independent is very real.  I think I'm likely to continue doing what I'm doing but just thought I'd ask to see if someone can change my mind!

[ukfraser]

And you can continue to sync on android???.?

 

I think there are lots of really brilliant features in accordance you can take full advantage of to get your money's worth. Use whats useful to you. You will find more and more as you use the program. Things you never thought you needed will soon become essential cant live without.

 

Ps, i virtually spend all my time on the ipad these days so working with a third pary software has always been my workflow as stacks and papers are not available on any of the mobile platforms.

Edited April 17, 2019 by ukfraser

[Douglas Fyfe]

You may or may not choose to do this, but if it helps as an example, I have two notes files on the go: one is a running translation, the other is any notes on features of the text or things which don't fit so well as translation notes.

 

For sermons etc I generally use evernote (so I guess in the same way as you use one note), and I'll often do my translation in accordance and then paste them in to evernote when I do further work on them.

 

That way I have my sermon non-specific notes always there with the Bible text, so I don't have to go searching for them next time that passage comes around.

[DoosanMan]

I'm using the notes feature because I like the hyperlinks for verses and references.   I can look back at my notes and hover over a verse or click a reference to a commentary or dictionary I saved in the note.

 

However the notes feature in Accordance is not very robust.   Some of the cheaper and even free Bible softwares have more robust text editors than Accordance.   I continue to think of switching to Evernote because of this.

 

Stacks and Paper just don't work real well into my workflow.   I have just done things a certain way for years and it is hard to change.

[Donald Cobb]

When I was working with BibWorks, I used the notes feature from time to time, but actually much less than with Accordance because 1) I find it much easier in Accordance to keep track of notes with the icon coming up automatically when a verse with one attached to it is brought up, and 2) Accordance notes are much easier to back up (e.g., on DropBox). I'm sure a lot of what one prefers in this area comes down to what one personally finds easier and/or more intuitive, which can change from one person to the next. But I find the Accordance notes feature much more user-friendly.

 

That being said, it would be nice if the next iteration of Accordance did work in some improvements, e.g., 1) have the copied pastes and bibliographical references match the type style of the note into which they are pasted (aside from Biblical languages! It's nice to have the SBL typefaces paste in automatically), 2) offer an easier way of exporting individual notes into a word processor or saving the notes in a universally readable format, 3) have more varied layout features (like the one suggested above). BW was nice for that last feature, almost equivalent of a word processor.

 

Thanks to all the folks at Accordance for the good work. And happy Easter! Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν.