Would love simple search ability

I have an extensive logos library with loads of information. However, finding it is not always easy. I was working on a sermon months ago and wanted to know the total number of years David spent running from Saul. My logos searches turned up tons of mostly unhelpful information that had to be sorted through. I finally gave up and went to my personal library and obtained the needed information from a chronological bible. I later discovered that I could have found out the same information within seconds from credible sources by simply googling the question. Now some will respond that I simply did not know how to enter the information into logos; and you would be correct. However, google has become the technology standard for finding information quickly, while proficiency in logos is tantamount to learning a second language. I spent thousands in order to make my job easier, not frustrating.

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Justin Gatlin

For what you are looking for, I think Collections might help. You can make a collection of books, call it "Simple" and include a concise commentary, an atlas, a single dictionary, et cetera. Then you can only search the basic references and have a lot less to sort through. A lot of collections are premade for download on Faithlife, where you could just sort theology books, etc. You could even search by community tag.

Dave Hooton

I was working on a sermon months ago and wanted to know the total number of years David spent running from Saul. My logos searches turned up tons of mostly unhelpful information that had to be sorted through. I finally gave up and went to my personal library and obtained the needed information from a chronological bible.

This isn't an easy one for Logos and I had the same experience after trying a number of queries. A single internet search for "david running from saul" gave me an article on "Saul hunts David. Timeline, maps, chronology" as the second ranked answer. No way could Logos translate my query into "Saul hunts David" with "chronology". My library is concerned with the bigger picture of Davidic chronology.

But this wiki article should help you with other queries.

Al Het

I later discovered that I could have found out the same information within seconds from credible sources by simply googling the question.

I have found this to be true of many things, including Scripture that I can't quite remember exactly, and don't have the reference in my brain. I've struggled for years for a quick way to search Logos for lots of these things. Then one day, after 2 or 3 attempts at a passage that I knew wasn't quite right, and getting nothing close from Logos, I googled it, and got the reference in the third or forth link. Didn't even have to open any links - what was on the Google screen was enough to give me my answer.

Advanced Seminary degree, thousands of dollars of books on my shelf, more than a thousand dollars in Bible Software, and the best answer to a quick question is often Google. Obviously, you need to be more cautious about confirming the info you find from Google, but still the fastest resource for many answers.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/703507#Comment_703507

I think Collections might help

Searched a couple collections for:

David NEAR run NEAR Saul

Found a resource with "next ten years" so changed search to:

years NEAR David NEAR run NEAR Saul

that took awhile to find three more resources:

Keep Smiling [:)]

Floyd Johnson

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/703640#Comment_703640

Maybe topic search should include a few entries from Google like some searches do for Wikipedia?

Reuben Helmuth

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/703699#Comment_703699

Maybe topic search should include a few entries from Google like some searches do for Wikipedia?

I LOVE this idea! [Y]

I'd much prefer staying within Logos, and this idea would accomplish that.

Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/703767#Comment_703767

Normally, the "Ranked" sorting option for search results is supposed to "sorts search hits in order of relevance" (so says the help file), but after all these years of using Logos, I am not sure I have noticed a big difference when I choose to use it as opposed to other sorting options (I do in fact find more use for sorting by resources and/or count). I wonder how the "ranking" tech compares with Google's method and whether it could be improved in order to work more like Google. This is not the first time people have observed that they find things faster on Google than in Logos.

This being said, it may also have to do with the differences between what is search (webpages vs resources). For instance, I find that I typically find specific information much more quickly in Wikipedia than in Logos. The information is there, in Logos, but the articles are not as down-to-the-nitty-gritty. The info you look for is lost in a sea of discussion going in all kinds of direction.

One interesting question, with regard to the search for the sermon you mentioned earlier, would be to identify whether we can actually find this information in a Logos resource or tool (without having to do work it out ourselves) and then compare how the information is presented versus what you found in Google. This could also be a part of the answer.

This being said, I still have the feeling that the ranking sorting option of Logos might also be in need of improvement.

Al Het

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/703699#Comment_703699

Maybe topic search should include a few entries from Google like some searches do for Wikipedia?

I think that would be pretty easy for Logos to pull off. And, it would add another capability to the program. I also think it fits Logos' current strategy, to have their Bible software be able to do a huge variety of things.

On the other hand, I guess I'd rather Logos stuck to the academic side of things, and just became the best "Bible Resource Software" it can be. It just feels to me like the more Logos tries to do all things for all people, the more the program is getting bigger, bloated, and problematic. I think this mentality is a major source of the problems Logos faces right now. Logos is more and more becoming software that doesn't work well with computers that are a couple of years old, due to its huge need for resources. The tough thing is, their biggest clientele is Pastors, who aren't likely to want to spend money every couple of years, buying the latest, greatest computers. New releases are full of problems, because of the amount of new things they are trying to do. The more they expand, the more they introduce more problems, more conflicts, and more usability issues. And it seems, they have to remove more straight-forward tools for straight Bible Study.

Just my opinion. I'm probably in the minority on this. For me though, I don't mind jumping over to Firefox to do a quick Google search for something. This is what THAT program is designed for, and it does it perfectly. I'd rather do that then having my Bible software try to do it, as well as everything else it is trying to do.

All that said, I bet this is a feature that they add soon. It should be easy for them to do.

Okay, sorry for the rant.

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/703946#Comment_703946

Maybe topic search should include a few entries from Google like some searches do for Wikipedia?

I think that would be pretty easy for Logos to pull off. And, it would add another capability to the program. I also think it fits Logos' current strategy, to have their Bible software be able to do a huge variety of things.

On the other hand, I guess I'd rather Logos stuck to the academic side of things, and just became the best "Bible Resource Software" it can be. It just feels to me like the more Logos tries to do all things for all people, the more the program is getting bigger, bloated, and problematic.

In Wikipedia Saul and David just got me an article on Saul og David --> "the first of two operas by...". An article on Saul is more meaningful and has a section on Saul and David. I say to use Google for what it does best and use Logos for what it does best. I mean, what are you going to do with the answer that Saul hunted David for "8 years" that Logos should provide it just as readily? If you want the background/history that is a search for Logos as the Wikipedia article adds little to "the narrative".