BibleBrowser is a program for Macintosh computers for browsing, reading, and searching the text of the Holy Bible. It offers many features that make it useful while retaining a simplicity that makes it easy to use. BibleBrowser may be freely copied; you are encouraged to distribute it to anyone with a Mac and an interest in the Bible.
Using BibleBrowser
System Requirements
BibleBrowser runs on almost every Mac ever made. It been tested on machines from the latest PowerMac to the earliest MacPlus, system 7.5.x through 6.0. It can run in a system with as little as 500K available memory. It is designed to be fast and friendly.
Starting
When BibleBrowser is started it looks for a document called “Bible” in the same folder it is in. (If this can’t be found you may locate the file and it will be remembered for the next launch.) The first time you use BibleBrowser the text of Genesis 1 will be displayed in a new window. In subsequent sessions BibleBrowser will restore the way BibleBrowser was when you previously quit it.
The window contents is formatted using 3 styles: one for the text, one for the verse numbers, and one for the leading cap (the first letter of the chapter). The default is that the text is compact and readable, the numbers are smaller but distinguished, and the leading cap is large and decorative. Use the Format command in the Edit menu to adjust the display to your liking.
Getting Around
Each BibleBrowser window contains the text from a chapter. Scrolling the window is done with the usual methods (scroll bar, keyboard home/end/page-up/page-down). As an added convenience the space bar works like page-down but it will also jump to the next chapter when the end of the current chapter is displayed. The return key scrolls down a line at a time as would clicking on the scroll down arrow. When scrolling using the scroll bar arrows the speed or direction can be changed using modifier keys. (See Tips and Tricks below.)
To display a different chapter use the Jump command in the Navigate menu. A dialog prompts for the name of the book and number of the chapter. A popup menu may be used to choose the book name, or any unique abbreviation of the name can be typed. A chapter number can be specified by typing the number after the book name. The Navigate menu also contains commands to simply jump to the next, or previous, chapter or book.
Bookmarks
If you ever think you might want to return to a particular place in the Bible at a later time you can set a bookmark using the Set command in the Bookmarks menu. A dialog prompts for a name for the bookmark; the default is whatever is currently selected. To jump to a bookmarked location choose the name from the Bookmark menu. Of course bookmarks are remembered for subsequent sessions with BibleBrowser. You can use the Remove command to delete ones that are no longer needed.
Searching
BibleBrowser has a highly efficient search engine that can very quickly find words and phrases. Choose the Find command from the Navigate menu to specify the word or phrase. Initially only the simple find dialog appears. Click the More Choices button to display the advanced options. There are buttons to select the search method, a maximum distance for when using the “all of them” choice, and a range option for restricting the search to only part of the Bible.
Search Options
You can search for the next occurence of any of a number of words. Choose the “any of them” option. e.g. a search for “Mary Joseph” would find where either one of the names is mentioned.
You can search for words that appear within a certain distance of each other. Choose the “all of them” option. e.g. a search for “Mary Joseph” with maximum distance 20 would find where both names are mentioned within almost 20 words of each other.
Menus
File
New Window… opens a new window with a different chapter in it
Close closes the frontmost window
Save As… saves the text in the frontmost window to a plain text file
Save Selection As… saves only the text in the current selection to a plain text file
Export… creates a text file with the text from a range of book chapters
Preferences… sets several preferences including whether 1, 2, etc. command keys refer to windows or bookmarks
Edit
Format… defines the styles used to display the text
Navigate
Previous Chapter
Next Chapter changes the window to display the previous or next chapter
Previous Book
Next Book changes the window to display the previous or next book
Jump To… changes the window to display a given book chapter
Find… searches for the next occurence of a word or set of words
Find Again… continues the search
Bookmarks
Set Mark… records the chapter, book, and current selection and tags it with a name for later recall
Remove Mark… allows removal of one or several bookmarks from the list
(Bookmark list) jumps to the chapter/book and selects the text as recorded during Set Mark
Window
Hints… displays the Hints window containing online help
(Window list) brings to the front another window
Tips and Tricks
The option key can modify the behavior of several situations.
When holding the option key while choosing:
New Window - the current window is “duplicated”, no prompt for a chapter/book is made
Close - all windows are closed, not just one
Jump To - a new window is opened as the destination for the jump, the existing window doesn't change
Set Mark - the current selection names the mark, no prompt for a name is made
(bookmark choice) - a new window is opened to display the bookmark location, the existing window doesn't change
When scrolling by clicking on the scroll arrows each modifier key has an effect:
the Command () key doubles the speed of scrolling
the option key halves the speed
the control (ctrl) key makes it very slow
the shift key changes direction of the scroll.
Legal disclaimer
BibleBrowser is supplied “as-is” and comes without warranty of any kind.
Feedback
Please feel free to distribute copies of BibleBrowser to others that you think might be interested in it. Or at least let them know about it and where they can get it.
I hope you enjoy using BibleBrowser. If you do a donation of $10 would be appreciated; it means a lot to me. I'm registered with the Kagi shareware system so you easily use checks, cash, or credit cards. Use the Register program; see the About Registration document for more information.
If you have questions or comments about BibleBrowser you can email me at “HolyMac@kagi.com”. I look forward to your feedback!
