Review Comparing TheWord Features besides E-Sword

Page Topics
Overall view of the two programs.
Use of Bibles.
Bible Searching
Creation of Book Modules
Creation of other Modules (Commentaries, Dictionaries)
Creation of Bible Modules
Conversion of e-Sword Modules to TW.

Overall view of the two Programs

Both programs are free, and work basically the same. e-Sword has had a lot of interface problems for a long while now, while have not been fixed even though numerous versions have come and gone. Most of these types of problems are resolved beautifully in THEWORD.

(1) e-Sword has no graphics in its modules except a map module which has 1 single graphic per chapter. TheWord has graphics anywhere except Bibles.
(2) e-Sword has no searching across modules, only within a single module. TheWord has a universal search which searches everything except Bibles.
(3) theWord has a Bible search that is awesomely more powerful that e-Sword. It uses Boolean searches, RegEx, etc.
(4) theWord has Module Layout sets where you can restrict what theWord sees, presents and searches to a certain set of modules.
(5) theWord has a detect all verse references that can be set to automatic. e-Sword you have to highlight 1 single verse reference, and then convert it one at a time.
(6) theWord has a very good detecting routine for detecting verse references. e-Sword is locked on its own format or it won't read it.
(7) theWord has the possibility of making footnotes or page jumps within a module to see another place in the same or other modules (like a Bible tooltip popup, but within any module). These can be seen as tooltips.
(8) theWord allows multiple windows of Bible modules, dictionary modules, commentary modules, or Book modules to be similtaneous onscreen, i.e. read one book and write in another.
(9) theWord has a USB memory mode that is all self contained in the USB memory stick.
(10) theWord has the ability to create and work on modules from within the same program.
(11) theWord has a straight ASCII text Bible format.

Use of Bibles

While e-Sword has a fixed place for its window, THEWORD has windows that are more easily moved and docked to different areas of the screen. For those who use the Bible Navigation Tree, this was done away with in e-Sword version 9. THEWORD still has it as well as alternative Bible navigation (same as e-Sword). Searching in e-Sword is a singular event. In other words, when you search in e-Sword, you get a set of verses, and you go to one of them. THEWORD has a much better interface to see the search results and move between them.

Whereas e-Sword has a dropdown menu, TW has a separate window and you can see the results in a verse list, in an expanded verse list, and by clicking on the verse you go to the particular passage in the Bible.

Bible Searching

E-Sword offers the Bible student a search of one, all, or exact phrase (which TW uses quotation marks to get the exact phrase), and the options of Partial match and Case-sensitive searches.

THEWORD offers the Bible student all of these, plus a full set Boolean search operators, AND, OR, NOT, NEARV, NEARW, XOR, TR, "", (), and the possibility of using Regular Expression in searches.

Here we need to digress a bit. Most people know what AND and OR Boolean operators are, and they can guess what NOT is, but some of the others are more powerful and specific to limit searches (making these searches impossible in e-Sword and very easy in THEWORD).

() PARENTHESES which allow more direct grouping of search words (necessary and powerful in using Boolean operators).

NEAR will find one word "near" another (not necessarily in the same verse).

XOR will match one word where the other is not.

TR (TRANSLATE) will search a Strong's number against its translation

Moreover, THEWORD let's you limit your searches a little easier (more options there also).

Bible Window Extras

THEWORD has a lot of extras that you can do to customize the interface depending on what you want or need at the moment.

These are the options for the Bible Window.

Chapter Headings - Toggle Chapter headings on and off.

Footnotes - Toggle these footnotes on or off (must be present in the Bible version you have to work).

Bible highlighting - Markup in e-Sword

Display OT Quotes in bold -

Paragraph mode - This removes the break at the end of each verse and makes breaks on the basis of paragraphs in the originals.

Cross-References - These are hand made cross references that you make from one verse to another. In e-Sword concepts, this is make your own TSK (Treasure of Scripture Knowledge).

Strong's Numbers - In e-Sword you had to have 2 separate Bibles for seeing Strongs, and with TW, this is combined and you turn it on or off.

Morphological Codes - These are Robinson's codes, likewise it is turned on or off as a Bible option instead of a separate Bible.

Commentary links -

Commentary Links - These are commentaries that have an entry for the particular verse you are on.

This works as seeing the commentary notes on a verse by passing the move the commentary link. By just passing the cursor over each link, you can quickly see the content of that commentary.

Inline Commentaries - Perhaps one of the nicest things in the Bible window is the ability to place the commentaries beside or after each verse.

<- This is after each verse.

Below is beside the Bible text.

The Book Modules

You create a new module by clicking on the main menu, File -> New User Module. A new module will be created and TW will ask you if you want it placed in the current layout. (Answer yes probably). Click on the new module (it should be in the Book View window), and then Ctrl N to make a new topic. That is it!

Creation of Other Modules

Creation of Bible Modules

You cannot create a new Bible module directly from within THEWORD (why would you want to?), but any program that reads plain ASCII text files can be used. The extensions are ONT for Old Testament and New Testament Bible Version. NT for New Testament only, and OT for Old Testament only. I would recommend you open one of the TW Bibles to see how the format is set up. Each line is a verse in the Bible, starting with Genesis. There are no book/chapter/verse designations in this file, just the verse separated one from another by a simple carriage return.

Note at the end of the file, there are a few special fields. I will use the 1901 American Standard Version as an example here.

lang=en
description=1901 American Standard Version
short.title=ASV
about=The American Standard Version (ASV) of the Holy Bible is in the Public Domain. \
Please feel free to copy it, give it away, memorize it, publish it, sell it, or whatever God \
leads you to do with it.<p><p>The American Standard Version of 1901 is an Americanization...

Lang=en tells us what language the Bible is in,

and the description is the tooltip popup text,

the short title is what will appear on the tab within TW.

the About box is basic RTF with <p> for paragraph breaks.

Module Conversion from e-Sword

Note that TW has a module importer utility Importer Tool.
Latest version I have for this is Importer tool (ver. 1.0.4.47 - 30-Jun-2009) 1.44Mb
Go to this page - http://www.theword.gr/index.php?article.tools&l=english

The importer will look like this

Note that you can only import e-Sword modules that are unlocked. Unlock them first before attempting to convert them.

Select your modules by clicking on the browse button, and then click Convert. That's it!

For more information on how to use this program, please go to How to use the TWImporter Utility.