Shortcuts - Logos + Launch Center Pro + Goodreader

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MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I felt that it would be
helpful to show how I use a couple of apps in conjunction with Logos to make my
accessing of the resources easier and faster.
I don’t have any connection to the mentioned apps.

One of the challenges when using the Logos app is navigating
around to different resources in a quick and efficient manner. One of the features of the Logos app is that
it opens up to the most recent resource on the page you left off at. Unlike another Bible app that I have Logos
doesn’t allow for a good way to have multiple tabs open so that you can
navigate to other resources quickly.

I have discovered a tool, Launch Center Pro, that allows for
one to create short cuts using what is called in the Apple realm, URL Schemes
and Logos has a great support for this.

At a high level what I can do is to create a shortcut to
open up a specific resource like a Bible or a Dictionary using the URL’s that
Logos has. I can simply open up a book
or in the case of a Bible build it such that I get prompted to input a
reference or in the case of a dictionary be prompted for a headword. I will try to show below what this looks
like.

This is the screen shot of what you see when you first
invoke Launch Center. What you see here is that I have a couple of
buttons set aside for Logos; one for Bibles and one for resources.

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MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

This is the resources tab and I have different resources
available such as a book I am reading or a Bible or a Commentary or a
Dictionary. If I want to continue
reading in the Catechism for example, I simply select the icon in the top left. If I want to reference a Bible passage, I
simply select one of the Bibles, say the NIV and a text box pops up asking me
for a verse reference. I type it in and
hit Go and it takes me to that passage in the NIV. If I want to look up a word in a dictionary I
can select the NBD and I am prompted for a Headword and if I put in a valid one
it takes me to that dictionary entry.

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MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

I have created a Bible tab that will take me to various
translations. I have not bothered to use
the lookup function for all of them as I can do that on the first bible and then
know that all the following ones will be in the same place.

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MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

The other feature that is great is using a PDF document in
Goodreader as a table of contents to get to other resources. For example I picked up the index document that
MJ Smith created on the Early Church Fathers that has a number of links to resources
within Logos and those outside of Logos.
(There is another document created by George Somsel). It was a Word document so I had to change it
to a PDF in order for Goodreader to use with links. I used Google Docs to do that and then put
that document in my Goodreader folder on the itouch. I created a shortcut to that document by
using the option within Goodreader to create a Link to the document. It creates a URL for the document and places
it in the clipboard. I can use that
string in the creation of a shortcut in Launch
Center. Now I can bring up the document and click on
a link to a resource and it takes me to that document. One issue that I have is that in most cases
it doesn’t take me to the desired page, but will at least open the document. I think there is an issue of using the URL’s
with a reference to page numbers that works in the Logos L4 but not in the ios
app. Maybe someone could help out with that.

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MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Now if I am at church I can quickly open up Launch
Center and select something like
the NIV and input the reference and bingo, I am there. If I want to refer to it in a different
translation, I can bring back Launch Center
and select a different Bible version icon and I am quickly taken there.

If I want to look up a document written by a Church Father,
I don’t need to know what book it is in.
I can bring up Launch Center
and select the Goodreader icon and then the Church Fathers icon and find the
reference in the document and click on the hyperlink and I am taken at least to
that resource and in some cases to the proper page.

Here is some sample urls:

To open the NIV with prompt:

logosres:niv2011;ref=bibleNIV2011.[prompt]

To open the NBD:

logosres:14.0.1;hw=[prompt]

This is what the link Goodreader would look like:

gropen://0/Early Church Fathers Index.pdf?cc=1

Link to Launch Center
page:

http://appcubby.com/launch-center/

Link to Goodreader page

http://www.goodiware.com/goodreader.html

Link to Logos Wiki page:

http://wiki.logos.com/Hyperlinks

Link to MJ Smith’s document

http://topics.logos.com/Early_Church_Fathers_Index

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Comments

JT (alabama24)

Interesting Bruce! [:)]

Milford Charles Murray

Thank you very much, Bruce! You have given us some fantastic possibilities; and I am grateful!!!

*smile* Peace to you! I'm an old guy and not too super-technical; so, I've put this post aside for eight months now pondering if it would be helpful to me .......

Tomorrow morning I'm going to Bible Study at my (Lutheran!) congregation before Divine Service -- we just recently added Wi-Fi; and it would be helpful to me to have my library available to me during Bible Study.

I've been using all four of the Logos apps, permitting me to have a number of scenarios open and "ready to go" -- with some of your ideas, Bruce, I could move around my resources rather quickly ..

I wonder what others are doing in Bible Study situations??? Would love to hear from you, eh???

Liam

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/503729#Comment_503729

Bruce this looks great! I downloaded the app and I'm hoping to post a few links on it to open each of the resources that I am currently reading. The one thing that I'm fuzzy on is how to know what the URLs are for each resource. How do I find these URLs for each resource? Are there also different URLs for each location within a resource? How do I find those? Will resources automatically open up to the last location they were in, or would I need to put in a new URL each time I make progress in each book?

My biggest question in all this is how to actually find the URLs. I'm definitely not a techy dude, so I'll need it in dummy language.

Thanks so much for posting about this app! It looks extremely helpful!

Anthony Keating

This sounds really good. I am going to download and start playing immediately. Thanks for the tip.

Liam

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/503762#Comment_503762

Ok, figured it out. For each resource go to the info screen (little round i button on top right). At the bottom of the info screen there will be a LLS: code. Put the characters after the LLS: in the URL section of the Launchpad app, and it'l open up Logos to that resource. Now you can have several books ready to pick up and read without searching for each one in the Logos app! Awesome app!

Liam

Hey Bruce,

I'm trying to get this to work with the ebook app Marvin. Marvin allows you to create tools that it calls "menus". These can link to web services or other apps for definitions on words in the book. I want to use the Logos URL to go to a Bible verse after I highlight it in Marvin (similar to what the Logos app does when you tap a verse). This would give the Marvin app nearly the same functionality of the Logos app (plus all the added features of Marvin (like dimming)). I can get the link to go to a Bible in the Logos app, but I can't get it to put the highlighted verse into the Bible reference and open at that place with your ref=[prompt]. Do you know how I would do this? Any ideas?

Thanks again!

Liam

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/607558#Comment_607558

Ok, I figured it out! Use this URL in Marvin's menus option: logosres:esv;ref=BibleESV.{text}.1 (this is for the ESV) and name that menu option "Bible." In Marvin when you want to look up a verse highlight just the book and chapter and not the verse #. Then a popup menu will come up. Hit "Bible" in the popup menu. Then Logos will open the ESV to verse 1 of the given reference chapter (I can't figure out how to get the individual verse yet, but the chapter should suffice since it's typically somewhere on the screen that just loaded)! This makes Marvin's functionality similar to Logos' verse popup menu (except it has to load a new app to do it)!

The reason to even bother with this is that the Marvin app is preferable to Logos in that it has fully customizable features as far as the book display goes, and it can be dimmed down very low for those who like to read at night. This is awesome for people who need it! For those who are good with normal reading the Logos app is fine, but for anyone who wants to customize anything about the appearance of the text, this is great!

Joel Ingram

Can this only open specific resources via URLs on bibles or is there a way to do this without an internet connection/wifi?

Liam

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/610522#Comment_610522

Joel it can open any resource as long as you put in the Logos URL for that resource (you can find the url at the bottom of the information panel, it will say LLS: and then show that books url). This works with or without internet as long as the book is downloaded.

Tes

Hi Bruce, this is wonderful , very interesting! Could you please show me steps how I can create?

spitzerpl

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/610748#Comment_610748

I know I'm resurrecting a dead thread here but I love this app. I created two Launch center actions, one OT and one NT. They allow me to select the translation and reference of my choosing very easily. Here are my URL:

Yasmin Stephen

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/607563#Comment_607563

Ok, I figured it out! Use this URL in Marvin's menus option: logosres:esv;ref=BibleESV.{text}.1 (this is for the ESV) and name that menu option "Bible." In Marvin when you want to look up a verse highlight just the book and chapter and not the verse #. Then a popup menu will come up. Hit "Bible" in the popup menu. Then Logos will open the ESV to verse 1 of the given reference chapter (I can't figure out how to get the individual verse yet, but the chapter should suffice since it's typically somewhere on the screen that just loaded)! This makes Marvin's functionality similar to Logos' verse popup menu (except it has to load a new app to do it)!

I'm happy this old thread was resurrected, else I would never had found this post! I use Marvin as well (love it!) and have always wanted this functionality for Bible references. I used the URL you created and it works great but I wondered if you ever got it to work where it'll take you direct to the verse rather than just at the beginning of the chapter?

Yasmin Stephen

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/808056#Comment_808056

I wondered if you ever got it to work where it'll take you direct to the verse rather than just at the beginning of the chapter?

I figured it out - you need to remove the .1 at the end of the URL; it should be: logosres:esv;ref=BibleESV.{text}

I'm so happy with this - thank you! [:D]

Into Grace

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/808056#Comment_808056

Ok, I figured it out! Use this URL in Marvin's menus option: logosres:esv;ref=BibleESV.{text}.1 (this is for the ESV) and name that menu option "Bible." In Marvin when you want to look up a verse highlight just the book and chapter and not the verse #. Then a popup menu will come up. Hit "Bible" in the popup menu. Then Logos will open the ESV to verse 1 of the given reference chapter (I can't figure out how to get the individual verse yet, but the chapter should suffice since it's typically somewhere on the screen that just loaded)! This makes Marvin's functionality similar to Logos' verse popup menu (except it has to load a new app to do it)!

I'm happy this old thread was resurrected, else I would never had found this post! I use Marvin as well (love it!) and have always wanted this functionality for Bible references. I used the URL you created and it works great but I wondered if you ever got it to work where it'll take you direct to the verse rather than just at the beginning of the chapter?

Thanks, also for resurrecting this thread. I bought an IOS app called Launcher that meets my needs. With one downward swipe I can access frequently used apps. Seperately, I also use the four finger side swipe to open last used app. These short cuts are a time saver.

In Christ!