═══ 1. About Codex for OS/2 ═══ Codex for OS/2 is a full-featured Bible Concordance designed specifically for OS/2 2.1 and above. It features fast boolean and phrase searches, and is designed to be both powerful and flexible. Codex is currently being distributed as shareware, and new versions will be released frequently as additional features are added. The latest version may be obtained from the CompuServe OS/2 Vender B forum, and by anonymous ftp from ftp-os2.nmsu.edu. ═══ 2. Welcome to Codex for OS/2 ═══ Thanks for trying Codex Bible Concordance for OS/2! The most important thing you need to know is this: This program is always growing! ...When we released our first Christian OS/2 program--the WordWise Daily Scripture Calendar--many enthusiastic OS/2 diehards pleaded for an OS/2 concordance. And as fast as possible. The general consensus was that it was better to have a functional program right away and watch it grow than to wait for it to be "perfected" before its release. So, that's the course we've taken. Codex began with a prerelease version 0.6 and has steadily grown since then. This sixth release (1.1) is fully usable and quite fast. It supports multiple synchronized windows in an MDI environment, a wide assortment of boolean operators, clipboard functions, custom search ranges, user notes, and bookmarks. This version was released August 21, 1996, and a revision history. is now available. We will continue releasing updates as frequently as possible during the next year. The best places to check are ftp-os2.nmsu.edu, and the CompuServe OS/2 Users B forum. Comments and suggestions are greatly encouraged and may be sent to CompuServe 74127,2657 (74127.2657@compuserve.com) Examples of mail you could send: Bad Form: "Hey stupid, how come this worthless program won't do such-and-such? Doesn't that seem like an obvious part of any concordance? Any moron should know that. All the Windows programs can do it!...God Bless, john@laodicea.com" Good Form: "Hi! Thank you so much for developing Bible software for OS/2. I'm sure you have a long list of additions, but I would like to suggest that the addition of such-and-such a feature be at the top of the list. I think the bookmarks are implemented well. Oh, by the way, I found a misspelling in the online help for the Locate Verse dialog. Looking forward to the next update!...God Bless, john@philadelphia.com." The registration fee for Codex will be approximately $50 once it reaches a reasonably complete state. However, if you would like to register now, the fee is only $35. This entitles you to guilt-free use of the program, upgrades as they are released, and bragging rights as a true OS/2 visionary. Check or money order may be sent to Creative Systems P.O. Box 241111 Anchorage, Alaska 99524-1111. And PLEASE include an email address if you've got one so I can keep you updated about new releases. Thank you for your support! J. Brandon Barnes ═══ 3. CODEX Release History ═══ Version 1.1 Released August 21, 1996 o Began adding support for Bible references such as Easton's Bible Dictionary and Matthew Henry's commentary. More about theses later... o Added Vertical Tiling of Bible Windows. This was a popular request, but took some doing on my part. A new option was added to the Preferences dialog so you may chose vertical or horizontal tiling. o Added Text Entry for Locating Verses which will allow you to type in a verse in addition to selecting it by way of the listboxes. The parsing routine is quite robust, so you could enter "Colossians 3:1", "Col 3,1", "col 3.1", "col 3 1", or "col3" for the extremely lazy like me. Unspecified chapters or verses default to 1. So "gen 40" is the same as "gen 40:1", and "gen" is the same as "gen 1:1. ("gen :43" would not equal "gen 1:43". You must enter a chapter if you enter a verse.) If you try something which seems extremely intuitive to you, yet fails, let me know. But if would probably take a pretty big mistake to make me get back into the code and make changes. In general, enter the first letters of a book name followed by two separated numbers, and that should be sufficient. o Enabled the "Save" item on the File menu for saving notes on the fly. (Previously, notes were saved only when the window was closed.) The menu item is only available once changes have been made. o Fixed a problem which prevented notes from working correctly when the "Sync New Windows" option was in effect. o Fixed a problem which sometimes truncated the last few characters of a note before saving it. Version 1.0 Released July 14, 1996 o Added Verse Exporting to a Window so that the current list of matching verses in the Verse List dialog may be sent directly to a new window. This window will contain the full text of every matching verse, and will respond to the Clipboard Copy command, and the Print command (once it is implemented. I'm just about ready to tackle it. Honest.) Keep in mind that text windows are subject to the constraints of system memory, so I wouldn't recommend exporting hundreds of verses at a time. Try narrowing the search to a few dozen for better results. o Added Verse Exporting to the Clipboard. The text can then be pasted into other documents or into your notes. The memory requirements are a bit harsher than exporting to windows, so just don't get carried away. I'm not trying to scare you off here, just let you know that trying to copy 1000 verses to the clipboard is memory intensive. If you really need to do so with up to a few hundred though, go ahead and try it. Codex will warn you when you run out of memory. (Truth in Advertising, here.) o Included the UNLOCK utility which will unlock copyrighted Bible database files, such as the New American Standard. It is a command- line utility which can be found in the CODEX directory. After registration for a given Bible is received, you will be emailed a numeric key which can be used to unlock the file. o Added an option to format the Bible text with a smooth left edge and the verse numbers in the white space to the left. This was a frequent request, so it has been added as the default format. It may be disabled from the Prefs dialog. o Added a "Default Bible Translation" option to the Preferences dialog. Now that more than one Bible version is supported, you will want to select which one opens automatically when the program is started. o Added the search string (i.e. "lamb AND lion")to the verse list display as a reminder of the search which produced the resultant list. o Changed the highlighting of matched words to make sure it uses the same background color as normal text. o Included code to better deal with opening Bible DAT files. Codex will now handle bad files and those of incorrect formats more gracefully. Locked files--those requiring registration--are also recognized. o Moved the "Open Bible" and "Open Notes" menu items to the File menu. o Added standard Ctrl-X, C, and V hotkeys for Edit commands. (Cut, Copy, and Paste) Also added Ctrl-A for Append, and implemented the Ctrl-Del hotkey which had not been working. Version 0.9A Released March 4, 1996 o Added the Toolbar Many common features may now be accessed by selecting icons on the toolbar. A new option has been added to the Prefs menu which will enable and disable flyover hints. When enabled, the titlebar will be updated to explain the purpose of each icon as the mouse pointer is moved over it. Thanks to James Johnson for the code needed to implement the toolbar; he saved me a lot of time! o Added Verse Exporting to the Verse List dialog. With this feature, you can send a list of matching verses to a file, a new window, the clipboard, or the printer. Currently, only the printer is supported. However, most of the work is already done for the window option so you can expect it in the next release. o Fixed a bug which caused the program to search outside the selected range during phrase searches including unindexed words. Version 0.9 Released December 1, 1995 o User notes have been implemented! There is currently one general purpose notebook available under the Window menu. It allows you to attach notes of any length to every verse in the Bible. Furthermore, all of the standard Edit menu commands (Cut, Copy, Paste, even Undo) are available so you can transfer text by way of the system clipboard. Future versions will allow multiple notebooks as well. o Implemented the Autosuggest listbox in the Find Dialog. If you have the Autosuggest feature enabled in the Preferences dialog, this listbox will suggest possible words matches as you type. Any word you are currently typing or editing (as long as it is at least 3 characters long) will trigger a list of up to 30 possibilities from the list of indexed words. You can also view a list of common (unindexed) words by selecting the new button located just below the listbox. (See the online help for more details.) o Implemented Matching Word Highlighting After a successful boolean or phrase search, all matching verses will have the appropriate words highlighted. o Enabled case-sensitive boolean searches. With the case-sensitive checkbox selected, boolean searches for "spirit AND God" and "Spirit AND God" will produce different results. Keep in mind that: (A) you will still need to capitalize operators if you do not use the shortcuts (&, |, etc.) and (B) case-sensitive searches will take LONGER, so use case-sensitivity only when needed. If you really do need to distinguish between "spirit" and "Spirit", though, it will take only a few extra seconds and save you several minutes of searching each verse yourself! o Rewrote the Bible Window painting code. By optimizing some of the time-critical parts, I've increased the speed of the redraws by over 30%. There is possibly more I can do along these lines, but I'm afraid that adding additional features (such as code to highlight search words) will offset a lot of the gains just made. You win some, you lose some. o Added Scripture previews to the Matching Verse list. By checking the option in the Prefs dialog, you can have a portion of each matching verse added to the listbox to make searching quicker. o Added a Verse List Export dialog. This new dialog (along with its Import counterpart) may be accessed from the Verse List dialog, and provides a means to deal with entire groups of verses as a whole. A verse list (as derived from a boolean or phrase search) may be copied to the system clipboard, a text file, or a separate window. At this point, only saving to text files is implemented. o Added Color selection for Bible windows. The Program Preferences dialog now allows you to customize the colors used by the Bible window. o Received a license for the New American Standard!. The NASB (including the 1995 update) will soon be available for CODEX! The NASB and La Biblia de las Americas will be made available just as soon as I receive the official text from the Lockman Foundation. Much thanks to them for being the first to make their translations available in native format for CODEX! o Added the current verse reference to the Bible window's titlebar. This makes it a little easier to see where each Bible window is set, and which verse will be copied to the clipboard. o Began adding support for Matthew Henry's Commentary. I hope to have the Henry commentary available by the end of the year. There will be NO ADDITIONAL FEES for this reference. o The Convert program is underway. Kevin Vannorsdel has graciously offered his time to work on a converter program which will create Codex Bible databases from the databases of other Bible programs. This will allow users who have already paid a license fee to use a given translation the ability to convert it to Codex format. Anyone else who is interested in helping aid the development of Codex or WordWise by programming or text formatting, please let me know. o Started on the skeleton code for Codex for Windows. Okay, I know what you're thinking... Is this really an efficient use of time since what we're trying to do here is construct a first-class OS/2 app? Let me answer in two parts: (A) It wouldn't hurt to get a few registrations from Windows users coming in, as it would help to support the primary OS/2 project. It may also encourage a few OS/2 users to register once they realize that their registration will be truly cross-platform. Of course if they ever doubted that Codex could cross platforms, they should have just looked at WordWise. It's now available for seven different platforms! The key: Develop for OS/2, port to Windows as time permits. (B) It's my time to waste. So there. o No bugs were reported in version 0.8, so no fixes were made. o Author's comments Version 0.9 is a great improvement over 0.8, and I'm very satisfied with what has been accomplished in just under a month. Especially considering the fact that four months laid between 0.7 and 0.8, and only about four enhancements were added. I think the program is really beginning to take form. We'll soon have multiple translations from which to choose, as well as a number of reference works. And the addition of a toolbar, print functions, and text selection by mouse will go a great way toward bringing Codex up to parity with its Windows counterparts. Some may ask why so little work was done between July and November, but the following month yielded so much. There are lots of reasons (competing projects, other responsibilities, etc.) but one of the greatest is the amount of feedback I received from users during the last month. Knowing that the program is appreciated and being used on a daily or weekly basis by so many is what encourages me to keep at it. Thanks for all the support. Version 0.8 Released November 1, 1995 o Added a Preferences dialog (located under the Edit Menu) with control over several aspects of the program's operation. o Implemented Custom ranges. By selecting the "cust" radio button in the Find dialog, a new dialog will allow you to create a user-defined custom search range. This newly defined range will be saved to the CODEX.INI file and recalled during subsequent sessions. o Enabled case-sensitive phrase searches. Once the Phrase checkbox is selected in the Find dialog, you will be given the option to select the case sensitive button as well. This will allow you to distinguish between a phrase search for "spirit of God" and "Spirit of God" for instance. o Added support for multiple Bible versions Before opening a Bible window, a new dialog lists all available translations from which you may choose. o Updated the Program Information dialog to include the revision number. o No bugs were reported in version 0.7, so no fixes were made. Version 0.7 Released July 1, 1995 Initial release. ═══ 4. Program Performance ═══ Performance Table ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │FASTER SLOWER IMPACT │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │Boolean search Phrase search dramatic │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │Case insensitive Case sensitive dramatic │ │Boolean search Boolean search │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │Case sensitive Case insensitive minimal │ │Phrase search Phrase search │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │Unsynchronized Synchronized increases with # of windows │ │windows windows │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │Unjustified Verse Justified Verse minimal │ │text text │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │AutoSuggest AutoSuggest minimal │ │disabled enabled │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │Verse list without Verse list with dramatic │ │text text │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │Searching selected Searching complete moderate │ │ranges Bible │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │Search words not Search Words moderate. │ │highlighted highlighted │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │keeping notes keeping notes open minimal - moderate │ │closed │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ═══ 5. File Menu ═══ The File menu contains commands that you use to create, open, and save data files. In addition, it also contains the command that you use to exit the application. The following commands appear in the File menu: New Open Save Save as Exit ═══ 6. New ═══ You can create a new text file within Codex by using the New command. ═══ 7. Open ═══ You can open a file that exists on any drive or in any directory by using the Open command. ═══ 8. Save ═══ You use the Save command to save changes you've made to text files. ═══ 9. Save as ═══ You use the Save as command to save a new file or save any file with a different name. ═══ 10. Exit ═══ You quit Codex by using the Exit command. ═══ Help for Open ═══ ═══ Help for Open ═══ 1. Select the down arrow to the right of the Drive list to display all the drives on your system. 2. Select a drive from the Drive list. 3. Select a directory from the Directory list. 4. Select a file name from the File list or type in a file name and select the Open pushbutton to display the file you want to edit. For specific help, select a topic below. ═══ List of Fields ═══ File name Type of file Drive File Directory Open pushbutton ═══ Help for File name ═══ ═══ Help for File name ═══ Type the name of the file you want to open in the File name field and select the Open pushbutton. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ List of Fields ═══ File name Type of file Drive File Directory Open pushbutton General help ═══ Help for Type of file ═══ ═══ Help for Type of file ═══ Select the down arrow to the right of the Type of file field to display the available file types. The sample has set this field for all file types. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Drive ═══ ═══ Help for Drive ═══ The Drive list displays the drives on your system. Select the drive that contains the files you want to edit. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for File ═══ ═══ Help for File ═══ The File list displays all the files in the directory you selected from the Directory list. Select the file you want to open. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Directory ═══ ═══ Help for Directory ═══ The Directory list displays the directories on the selected drive. Select a directory to display the list of files from that directory in the File list box. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Open ═══ ═══ Help for Open ═══ Select the Open pushbutton to display the file you want to edit. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Save ═══ Use Save to store the file you are editing. After the file is saved, the text remains in the window so that you can continue editing it. Note: If you are editing a new file, select the Save or Save as choices to display the Save as pop-up so that you can name the file you are editing. A file must have a title to be saved. ═══ Help for Save as ═══ Use Save as to name and save a new file or to save an existing file under a different name, in a different directory, or on a different disk. ═══ Help for Save as ═══ ═══ Help for Save as ═══ 1. Select the down arrow to the right of the Drive list to display all the drives on your system. 2. Select a drive from the Drive list. 3. Select a directory from the Directory list. 4. Type the name of the file you want to save in the File name field and select the Save pushbutton. For specific help, select a topic below. ═══ List of Fields ═══ File name Type of file Drive File Directory Save pushbutton ═══ Help for File name ═══ ═══ Help for File name ═══ Type the name of the file you want to save in the File name field and select the Save pushbutton. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ List of Fields ═══ File name Type of file Drive File Directory Save pushbutton General help ═══ Help for Type of file ═══ ═══ Help for Type of file ═══ Select the down arrow to the right of the Type of file field to display the available file types. The sample has set this field for all file types. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Drive ═══ ═══ Help for Drive ═══ The Drive list displays the drives on your system. Select the drive that contains the files you want to save. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for File ═══ ═══ Help for File ═══ The File list displays all the files in the directory you selected from the Directory list. Select the file you want to rename and save. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Directory ═══ ═══ Help for Directory ═══ The Directory list displays the directories on the selected drive. Select a directory to display the list of files from that directory in the File list box. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ Help for Save ═══ ═══ Help for Save ═══ Select the Save pushbutton to save the file to the drive and directory you selected and with the file name you specified. For more help, select a topic below. ═══ 11. Edit Menu ═══ The Edit Menu contains commands associated with text manipulation and the OS/2 clipboard. Undo Cut Copy Paste Clear Append ═══ 12. Undo ═══ Undo reverses the last action taken by the user, and is only available when such reversal is possible. ═══ 13. Cut ═══ Cut removes the selected text from its window and places it into the system clipboard. Any text currently in the clipboard will be overwritten. ═══ 14. Copy ═══ Copy places the selected text into the system clipboard without removing it from the window in which it is located. Any text currently in the clipboard will be overwritten. ═══ 15. Paste ═══ Paste copies the text found in the system clipboard into the currently active window. Any text which is selected in the window will be replaced with the text from the clipboard. ═══ 16. Clear ═══ Clear removes the selected text from the active window, but does not place it into the system clipboard like Cut or Copy. ═══ 17. Append ═══ Append functions the same as Copy except that it does not overwrite the text which is already in the system clipboard. Instead, the selected text is added to the end of the text in the clipboard. ═══ 18. Help Menu ═══ The Help Menu offers help on several subjects. ═══ 19. Index ═══ This menu item opens the help index of Codex's help file. ═══ 20. General help ═══ This item is a mystery even to me. ═══ 21. Using Help ═══ This item will give general help for OS/2's help facilities. ═══ 22. Product information ═══ This item brings up a dialog containing information about this version of Codex. ═══ 23. Product information dialog ═══ This dialog displays information about the application, such as version number and copyright notice. ═══ 24. OK ═══ The OK button closes the Product information dialog. ═══ 25. Locate Verse Dialog ═══ This dialog allows you to jump quickly to any verse in the Bible. The first listbox contains each book of the Bible, and the "Sort" checkbox below controls whether they are sorted alphabetically or listed in sequential order. By selecting one of the three range buttons (All, OT or NT) you can speed your search for the book you are trying to locate. Once a book is selected, the Chapter listbox is updated with the appropriate number of chapters; likewise the Verse listbox is updated once a chapter is selected. The OK button will bring up the selected verse, and Cancel will close the dialog without changing the Bible window's position. ═══ 26. Find Text Dialog ═══ This dialog allows you to specify the text you would like to find in the Bible. A valid search may be a complete phrase, a single word, or an expression consisting of multiple words joined by logical operators. First, type your query in the entryfield at the top of the dialog. To search for a phrase ("Lamb of God", for instance) select the checkbox below entitled "Phrase". (This enables another checkbox which allows you to select whether the search should be case sensitive. In a case sensitive phrase search, "Spirit of God" would be considered different from "spirit of God".) An alternative to phrase searches is the logical word search. This consists of words joined by boolean operators and optionally containing wildcards. Next, select the range. of books you would like to search by choosing the appropriate radio button, and click the OK button. For logical searches, a number of boolean operators are at your disposal. They may be typed in the entry field or selected from the listbox of operators. Double-clicking an operator in the listbox inserts it at the current cursor position, replacing any selected text. For help in understanding logical searches, refer to the help topic entitled Using Operators. If the Autoselect feature is enabled (check the Preferences dialog to make sure) the listbox entitled "Word Suggest" will suggest complete words as you type. For instance, you may want to look up the name "Meshack" from the book of Daniel. As you type the word, the listbox is filled with up to thirty words which match the pattern you have typed thus far. The more letters you type, the more the list of words narrows, until only one word remains. By watching the listbox as you type, you will quickly learn that the name is spelled "Meshach", not "Meshack". If you ever type a complete word (not containing wildcards.) and the listbox is empty, you can be sure that word is not found in the current Bible version. Note that you must type at least three letters before the matching process begins. ═══ 27. Bookmarks Dialog ═══ This dialog allows you to quickly set and locate Bible bookmarks. Once you open the dialog, you may do one of three things: o Locate preset bookmarks The dialog always opens with the "Locate" radio button set. When it is in this state, you can select one of the buttons on the left to quickly locate that verse. The dialog closes immediately. o Set new bookmarks By selecting the "Set" radio button, you may add the current verse to the list of bookmarks. Choose which button you would like to assign the verse to and click it. If it already has a verse assigned to it, you will be asked to verify that you would like it to be overwritten. Then you will be given the opportunity to enter a short description. The Booksmarks dialog will close immediately. o Clear current bookmarks By selecting the "Clear" radio button, you can erase any bookmarks you no longer need. Click the appropriate verse button, verify that you want to clear it when asked, and the button will return to the state. You may clear as many bookmarks as you like before closing the Bookmarks dialog. ═══ 28. Custom Search Range Dialog ═══ This dialog allows you to define a custom set of books to search. A valid search range must contain at least one book, but may contain as many as you like. They do not need to be in sequential order, so gaps in the range are perfectly acceptable. As a means of making selection easier, a number of checkboxes are located at the bottom of the dialog. Each one (such as Law, History, or Major Prophets) will toggle the state of all books in that category. Choosing OK will implement the new range, and choosing Cancel will cause Codex to ignore it. ═══ 29. Operator Table ═══ Note: Be sure to see the section entitled Using Operators. Binary Operator Table ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │OPERATOR SYMBOL RETURNS VERSES... │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │AND & with both words │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │OR | with either word │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │XOR ^ with only one (not both) words │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │NAND @ without both words │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │NOR ~ without either word │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │NXOR # without only one word │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Truth Table ┌─────────┐ │OP 1 1010│ │OP 2 1100│ ├─────────┤ │AND 1000│ ├─────────┤ │OR 1110│ ├─────────┤ │XOR 0110│ ├─────────┤ │NAND 0111│ ├─────────┤ │NOR 0001│ ├─────────┤ │NXOR 1001│ └─────────┘ ═══ 30. Wildcards in Text Searches ═══ The two wildcards accepted within Codex are the * and ? symbols. * may be used to represent 0 or more characters. Thus, "help*" matches help, helps, helped, helper, etc. Any series of characters may follow the point at which the asterisk is placed, so words such as "he*d" will not assure that the matched words will all end with a d. The patterns "he*d" or "he*on" are essentially the same as "he*". Keep in mind that you must specify at least the first two characters or the search will fail. "*" or "a*" will not work. ? may be used to denote a single unknown character. "helpe?" will match helped and helper, but not helpeth. "he??ed" will match helped and heated, but not hewed. Remember, while "*" represents 0 or more characters, "?" always represents exactly one. * and ? may be used together. Thus, "st?p*" matches stepping and stops but not stooped. Complex patterns such as "st?ea??t*" are valid as long as you keep in mind that the first "*" ends any further pattern-matching. So, "hea*t??", "hea*re?h" and "hea*s" are all equivalent to "hea*". So, how useful is a pattern like "re??t?re?s*"? Not very. But wildcards are a great help in many searches. For instance: o If you want to find a verb in all its tenses, use an asterisk. Searching for "repent*" will return instances of repent, repents, repented, repenteth, repentest and repenting. o If you can't remember how to spell Bashanhavothjair (and who can?) you can search for "bashanh*". o Now, surely you can spell Nebuchadnezzar. But who wants to type it all out when "nebuc*" works just as well? ═══ 31. Find Text Range ═══ Button Range All All the Bible- Genesis to Revelation OT Old. Testament- Genesis to Malachi NT New Testament- Matthew to Revelation Law The Law- Genesis to Deuteronomy Hist History- Joshua to Esther Wis Wisdom- Job to Song of Solomon M Pro Major Prophets- Isaiah to Daniel m Pro Minor Prophets- Hosea to Malachi Gosp Gospel Accounts- Matthew to John Paul Pauline Epistles- Romans to Philemon Genrl General Epistles- Hebrews to Jude Cust Custom- You define the search range ═══ 32. Using Operators ═══ Listed below are all of the available boolean operators with examples of their use: AND The AND operator is used very frequently. A search for "Mary AND Joseph" returns all verses including both words. Verses with only one or the other will not match. You may also use the symbol for AND which is &. ("Mary & Joseph") OR OR is also easily understood. "book OR life" returns all verses which contain at least one of the specified words. The symbol for OR is |. ("book | life") XOR The "eXclusive OR" operator differs from the "inclusive OR" described above in that it will not return verses with both words. "Peter XOR Paul" will return verses containing "Peter" and verses containing "Paul", but not verses which contain both. Its symbol is ^. ("Peter ^ Paul") NOT NOT is a unary operator, meaning that it acts on a single word only. In effect, it returns the opposite of what would normally be returned. Searching for "life" returns all verses containing that word, so searching for "NOT life" returns all verses without it. If you want to find all verses about life which do not also mention death, search for "life AND NOT death". The symbol for NOT is !. ("life & !death") () Parentheses are used to alter the order in which expressions are evaluated. The sub-expressions within parentheses are evaluated first, before the rest of the expression. For example, "God AND Jesus OR Christ" is evaluated left to right. All verses containing both "God" and Jesus are found, then those containing "Christ" are added to the list. Verses containing both "God" and "Jesus", and verses containing "Christ" are returned. To match "God AND (Jesus OR Christ)" a verse must contain "God". It must also contain either "Jesus" or "Christ". NAND The NAND operator is simply a "NOTed AND". "God NAND love" will return all verses which do not contain both words. The symbol for NAND is @. ("God @ love") NOR The NOR operator is a "NOTed OR". "Lord NOR God" will return all verses which do not contain either word. The symbol for NOR is ~. ("Lord ~ God") NXOR The NXOR is a "NOTed eXclusive OR". A search fo "son NXOR daughter" will return all verses not containing only one of the words. That is to say, it will return verses which contain neither or both. The symbol for NXOR is #. ("son # daughter") Note: By their nature, the "NOTed" operators are a bit more complex, and possibly more difficult to understand and use correctly. Keep in mind that they are designed to return every verse which does not match the pattern. So, while "Peter AND Paul" may return just a handful of verses, "Peter NAND Paul" will return over thirty thousand verses from the entire Bible. Therefore, they are most useful as a way of refining already-complex patterns by eliminating a large number of unwanted verses. Let's say you wanted to find all the places where Jehovah is coupled with Lord or God, or with neither, but not with both. (Presumably to make a deep theological statement concerning the nature of God as indicated by the names used for Him.) You need only search for "Lord NXOR God AND Jehovah". Using only the simple operators found in most other concordances, you would have to search for "NOT(Lord OR God AND NOT (Lord AND God)) AND Jehovah". An alternate help topic contains a "truth table" of all these operators.