Download e-Sword User's Guide PDF v.10.0.7 - Revision 1/20/2012

• How do I view e-Sword Modules? Download the e-Sword Module Installer

Author:
Josh Bond, Sarah Valente

e-Sword Version:
9.x - 10.x

Need help installing e-Sword modules? Use our new e-Sword Module Installer!

Goal of this Documentation
The goal of this documentation is to explain every e-Sword feature for both the casual and advanced user. This documentation is the product of hundreds of hours of work.

If you have questions about a feature, we hope you can easily find the answers you are seeking by referring to the hyperlinked Table of Contents. If you’re viewing this document in a PDF browser, the Table of Contents is available in the Bookmarks window. The Table of Contents is invaluable for using this documentation.

This documentation uses informal, conversational English, keeping with our goal of real-world use by Christians wanting to learn more about e-Sword. The best way to accomplish our goal is to use conversational English.

Documentation Authors
A concept of this manual was first written in 2003 by Barrie Gordon and Johan Struwig.

Sarah Valente completely rewrote the manual in June 2011. Other than the organizational structure, the documentation Sarah produced bears little resemblance to the 2003 version.

Josh Bond rewrote and reorganized the manual, split in two revisions: July 2011 and November 2011.

This documentation is produced by BibleSupport.com.

Copyright and Distribution
This text is copyrighted only to prevent the documentation from being used for commercial profit.

You may freely copy and distribute this documentation as long as you make do not make any changes or use the documentation commercially, including charging, in any way, for it’s use, reading or distribution.

If you have any questions on this policy, contact Josh Bond at BibleSupport.com.

Table of Contents


About this User’s Guide 12

About e-Sword 12

Goal of this Documentation 12

Documentation Authors 12

Copyright and Distribution 12

What New in e-Sword 10? 13

Reference Library 13

Search All Topics At Once 13

REFX File Format 13

Support For Pictures 13

New Editor with True Word Processing Power 14

SermonAudio.com Integration 14

STEP Reader Still Included 14

Chapter 1: Getting to Know e-Sword 15

e-Sword Interface Overview 15

e-Sword Quick References: Tooltips 15

Common Tasks Menu 16

e-Sword Hotkey Reference Sheet 16

The Main Toolbar and Main Menu 19

Main Toolbar Icon Summary 19

Maximizing Window Views 21

Bible Books Navigation Tree 21

Introduction to the Bibles Window 22

The Compare Tab 24

The Parallel Tab 25

Introduction to the Commentaries Window 26

Introduction to the Editors Window 27

Introduction to the Dictionaries Window 28

Introduction to the Reference Library 29

Chapter 2: Customizing e-Sword 30

Adjusting the Layout of e-Sword’s Main Screen 30

Maximizing / Minimizing Window Panes With Push Pins 30

Maximizing Window Panes With the Window Menu 31

Making Window Panes Larger or Smaller 32

Window Docking Introduction 33

Docking Windows – Getting Started 34

Docking Windows: Overlapping 36

Floating Window Customization 39

Zoom Feature: A Gift for Old Eyes 40

The Zoom Icon 40

Zooming with the Mouse Wheel 40

Changing Fonts and Sizes 41

Changing Text and Background Colors 42

e-Sword Multilingual Settings 42

Changing the e-Sword Application Language 42

Miscellaneous Display Options 43

Search Options 44

Reset e-Sword Settings 44

Hiding and Uninstalling Resources 45

Hiding Resources 45

Permanently Delete Resources 46

Deleting Editor Notes 46

Configuring Resource Tabs 47

Display Tabs on a Single Row or Multiple Rows 47

Resource Tab Sorting - Advanced 47

Renaming Resource Tabs 48

Resource Tab Conflicts 48

Changing the e-Sword Resource Location 49

Downloading Additional Resources 50

Unofficial Resources 50

Official Resources 50

Installing Unofficial Resources 52

Self Installing Resources 52

Compressed Zip File 52

Raw e-Sword Resources 52

Support for Unofficial e-Sword Resources 52

Chapter 3: The Bibles Window in Detail 53

Navigating the Bible in the Bibles Window 53

Using the Bible Books Window 54

Using the Lookup Scripture Reference Popup 54

Viewing Your Previous Bible Search Results 55

Viewing Your Verse History 55

Searching the Bible - Basic 56

Quick Searching – Context Menu 58

Additional Search Options Wheel 59

Searching Only the OT, NT, and Apocrypha 60

Apocrypha 60

Extended Bible Search - Multiple Translations 61

Search Results 61

Searching the Bible - Advanced 62

Copying and Printing Bible Searches 63

Printing 64

Quick Copying 64

Copying/Printing Entire Bible Passages 65

Copying and Printing from Parallel Mode 66

Working with Strong's Hebrew and Greek Numbers 67

Strong’s Number Basics 67

e-Sword Modules with Strong’s Numbers 67

Viewing Strong’s Number Definitions Without Leaving the Bible Window 67

Viewing Strong’s Number Definitions in the Dictionary Window 68

Searching by Strong's Numbers 69

The Compare Tab 71

The Parallel Tab 72

Split Bible View 73

Analyzing Verses – Passage Theme and Word Distribution 74

Using the Gospel Harmony 76

Displaying Information about a Bible Translation 77

Chapter 4: Highlighting, Marking, and Bookmarking Resources 78

Highlighting Text 78

Marking Text 80

Working with Bookmarks 81

Setting Bookmarks 81

Accessing Bookmarks 81

Bookmark Hotkeys/Shortcuts 82

Bible Markup File 83

Chapter 5: The Verse List Feature – Saving Verses 84

Adding a Verse to Your Verse List 84

Creating a Verse List from a Search 85

Creating a Verse List Manually 86

Updating a Verse List 87

Adding a Verse from a Verse List 87

Deleting a Verse from a Verse List 87

Sorting Verses in a Verse List 87

Viewing Verse References 88

Deleting Verse Lists 89

Chapter 6: Printing in e-Sword 90

Printing in e-Sword 90

The Print Preview Window 90

Printing Bible Chapters 91

Printing Selected Verses and Chapters 91

Printing from the Editors Window 93

Printing from the Commentaries 93

Printing from the Dictionaries Window 93

Printing from the Reference Library Window 93

Printing Bible Reading 94

Printing Daily Devotions 94

Printing Prayer Lists 94

Printing with the STEP Reader 94

Chapter 7: The Commentaries Window 95

Using Commentaries 95

When to Synchronize/Unsynchronize a Commentary 96

Selecting Between Verse, Book, and Chapter Comments 97

Viewing “Next Comment” and “Previous Comment” 97

Viewing Commentary Information 97

Viewing All Commentary Entries – Birds Eye View 98

Searching a Commentary 99

Searching More Than One Commentary Simultaneously 99

Chapter 8: Introduction to the Editors 100

New Editor Features in e-Sword 10 100

Editor Hotkeys 100

Using the Editor – Word Processing 102

Find (Ctrl-F), Replace (Ctrl-R), Go To (Ctrl-G) 102

Spell Check (F7) 103

Thesaurus (Shift-F7) 103

Cut (Ctrl-X), Copy (Ctrl-C), Paste (Ctrl-V) 103

Pasting Formatted Text (F11 Toggle) 103

Undo (Ctrl-Z) and Redo (Ctrl-Y) 103

Insert Bookmark 104

Insert Hyperlink 104

Insert Table 105

Dragging Table Boundaries 105

Table Properties (Settings) 106

Adjusting Rows and Columns 107

Insert Picture 107

Image Attributes 108

Header and Footer 110

Page Layout 111

Show/Hide Formatting Symbols 111

Font Selection and Size 111

Bold (Ctrl- , Italic (Ctrl-I), Underline (Ctrl-U) 112

Font Color 112

Highlight 112

Format Scripture Tooltip (Ctrl-J) 113

Align Left, Align Center (Ctrl-E), Align Right, Justify 113

Numbering and Bullets 114

Bullets and Numbering Format 114

Decrease Indent and Increase Indent 114

Format Paragraph 115

Border 115

Columns 116

Page Break 116

Save Notes 116

Understanding Where the Editors Read Notes Files. 117

How to Backup Your Notes - Advanced 117

Chapter 9: Journal Notes 118

Viewing Journal Notes 118

Creating a Journal Note 119

Editing a Journal Note 119

Deleting a Journal Note 120

Viewing All Journal Notes – Birds Eye View 121

Searching Journal Notes 122

Additional Search Options Wheel 122

Copying from the Bible to Your Journal Notes 123

Copying from Other Windows to Journal Notes 124

Copying the Entire Text 124

Copying an Excerpt 124

Importing and Exporting Journal Notes 125

To import a file: 125

To export a Journal note: 125

Managing More than One Journal Notes File - Advanced 126

Creating a New Journal Notes File 126

Opening a Journal Notes File 126

Changing Where e-Sword Reads Journal Notes - Advanced 127

Chapter 10: The Study Notes 128

Viewing Study Notes 128

Creating a Study Note 129

Editing a Study Note 130

Deleting a Study Note 130

Viewing All Study Notes – Birds Eye View 131

Searching Study Notes 132

Additional Search Options Wheel 133

Copying from the Bible to Your Study Notes 135

Copying from Other Windows to Study Notes 136

Copying the Entire Text 136

Copying an Excerpt 136

Importing and Exporting Study Notes 137

To import a file: 137

To export a Study note: 137

Managing More than One Study Notes File - Advanced 138

Creating a New Study Notes File 138

Opening a Study Notes File 139

Changing Where e-Sword Reads Study Notes - Advanced 139

Chapter 11: Topic Notes 140

Viewing Resources: Topic Editor or Reference Library? 140

e-Sword 9 Users: Can’t Find your Topic Notes? 141

Viewing Your Topic Notes 141

Creating a Topic Note 142

Editing a Topic Note 143

Optimizing Topic Notes Files with Images 144

How Image Bloat Happens 144

Removing Image Bloat 144

Deleting a Topic Note 144

Searching Topic Notes 145

Additional Search Options Wheel 146

Copying from the Bible to Your Topic Notes 148

Copying from Other Windows to Topic Notes 149

Copying the Entire Text 149

Copying an Excerpt 149

Importing and Exporting Topic Notes 150

To import a file: 150

To export a Topic note: 150

Managing More than One Topic Notes File - Advanced 151

Creating a New Topic Notes File 151

Opening a Topic Notes File 152

Changing Where e-Sword Reads Topic Notes - Advanced 153

Reference Library (.REFX) Files 154

When to Use Reference Book Files 154

Why Convert to Reference Book Files Then? 154

How to Convert Topic Notes to Reference Book Format 154

Chapter 12: The Dictionaries Window 155

Using Dictionaries 155

Topics List and Performance 155

Quick Lookup Inside the Dictionary 156

Viewing Your Dictionary Search History 157

Viewing Strong’s Number Definitions in the Dictionary Window 158

Strong’s Number Basics 158

Searching a Dictionary 159

Searching More Than One Dictionary Simultaneously 159

Chapter 13: Reference Library 160

Viewing Resources: Topic Editor or Reference Library? 160

Why Can’t I View Topic Notes Files in the Reference Library? 160

Opening the Reference Library 161

Reference Library: Background, Foreground, Resizing 161

Viewing Resources in the Reference Library 162

Filtering Resources in the Reference Library 162

Searching the Reference Library - Basic 163

Additional Search Options Wheel 165

Searching the Reference Library - Advanced 167

Extended Search - Multiple Reference Books 168

Search Summary 168

Paste Into Topic Notes 169

Highlighting Text 169

Chapter 14: The Bible Reading Plan 170

Opening Bible Reading Plans 170

Using Bible Reading Plans 171

Previous Reading and Next Reading 171

Incrementing the Reading Plan Progress Bar 171

View Chapter as Paragraph 171

Changing Bible Reading Plans 171

Creating a Bible Reading Plan 172

Show at Startup 172

Chapter 15: Daily Devotions 173

About Daily Devotions 173

Opening the Daily Devotions 173

Using the Daily Devotions 174

Show Devotions at Startup 174

Chapter 16: Prayer Requests 175

Opening Prayer Requests 175

Viewing Prayer Requests 175

Adding Prayer Requests 176

Editing or Deleting a Prayer Request 177

Managing Prayer Request Files 178

Creating Prayer Request Files 178

Loading Prayer Request Files 178

Show Prayer Requests at Startup 179

Chapter 17: Scripture Memory 180

Opening Scripture Memory 180

Viewing Verses to Memorize 180

Adding Scripture Memory 181

Editing or Deleting a Memory Verse 182

Testing Memory Verses 183

Associate Reference Test 183

Fill In The Blanks 184

Word Position 184

First Letter 184

Managing Memory Verse Files 185

Creating Memory Verse Files 185

Loading Memory Verse Files 185

Show Memory Verses at Startup 186

Chapter 18: Sermon Audio 187

Starting Sermon Audio 187

Listening to a Sermon 188

Learning More About the Speaker or Sermon 188

Using the Audio Player 189

Listening to Sermons On Different Verses 190

Sorting Sermons By Heading 190

Adjusting the Width of Heading Columns 190

Chapter 19: Sermon Illustrations 191

Unlocking Sermon Illustrations 191

Opening Sermon Illustrations 191

Viewing and Copying Sermon Illustrations 192

Filtering Sermon Illustrations 192

Adding Sermon Illustrations 192

Editing or Deleting a Sermon Illustration 193

Chapter 20: The Graphics Viewer 194

Opening the Graphics Viewer 194

Viewing Graphics 195

Selecting Graphics within the Graphic File 195

Panning Graphics 195

Resizing Graphics 196

Chapter 21: The STEP Reader 197

About STEP Books 197

Opening The STEP Reader 197

Viewing STEP Books 198

Pasting Into Notes 198

Searching STEP Books 199

Chapter 22: Searching e-Sword Using Regular Expressions 200

Regular Expressions 200

Conventions Used in this Chapter 200

Lesson 1: Case sensitive; Characters found anywhere 201

Lesson 2: Literal vs. Special Meaning Characters 201

Lesson 3: Word Boundaries 202

Lesson 4: Dot Character 203

Lesson 5: Brackets “[]” 204

Lesson 6: Range of characters “-” 204

Lesson 7: Caret “^” 205

Lesson 8: Word Characters “\w” 206

Lesson 9: Non-Word Characters “\W” 207

Lesson 10: Pipe Character “|” and Parenthesis “()” 208

Lesson 11: Digit “\d” 209

Lesson 12: Quantifiers "*", "+", and "?" 210

Lesson 13: Curly brackets “{}” 212

Lesson 14: Beginning Verse Anchor “^” 212

Lesson 15: Ending Verse Anchor “$” 213

Lesson 16: Putting It All Together with Useful Examples 214

Example 1: Verses Starting/Ending with a Specific Characters 214

Example 2: Finding Words Beginning/Ending with Specific Characters 215

Example 3: Finding Verses Only If They Contain Two+ Specific Words. 216

Example 4: Finding “Wildcard” Verses References. 217

Example 5: Finding a Verse with Words in Proximity to other Words. 218

Reference Information on Regular Expressions. 218