Logos iOS App / MAC_PC platform feature request

Could we get a "book shelf" feature for the app and computer that would allow us to "place" our current books being read on the shelf for easy access when we "reach" for them. If I had a real library with over a 1,000 books and was reading one of them cover to cover, I would not place it back on the shelf, but would leave it on the coffee table or the end table of my reading chair.

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Todd Phillips

[Y]

I think the mobile home page should allow books to be "pinned" to it for quick access. I don't use the home page for anything else so that would make it a useful place for me. Use large cover images to help remind me what I'm reading.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/854391#Comment_854391

If one reads the Logos blogs, you get the feeling there's some dissonance at Bellingham HQ.

The software really hates any hint of physicalities. Text!! But the marketers (aka blog) almost always have to appeal to physicality to achieve quick understanding.

I was impressed by this image:

- Notice the book covers (of course, almost random; the text people were squealing, when the view was created).

- Also the empty software box. Explaining that 'gold' was just a label for selected digital books, didn't work too well.

- And of course the 3D tomb for rich people ... that definitely drew my eye. I thought it was chocolate fudge.

It just seems to me, users would love this suggestion. But the text people would piously explain, there's so many more critical issues ... maybe users should 'vote'.

Extra: Did you notice the word 'simple' in the visual? I think that was hopeful, since the blog took several pages to explain ... and then left out the 5th choice. A reader caught it, too.

PetahChristian

I was in this situation the other day, when I read something interesting in Logos while on the desktop, and wanted to read that passage aloud to a friend at church via the mobile app.

To conviently access the book on iOS, I had to misuse the rating system to tag the book as 5 stars, and sort the mobile library by rating.

You'd think the sort by recent criteria would do the trick, but the two different platforms don't seem to share that particular info, as what I read on the desktop isn't "recent" on iOS.

We do have ways in the physical world to keep books we're reading nearby, or dog-ear/bookmarking a passage for later, but there's not always an equivalent digital way to conveniently accomplish the same, unless you subvert the system, such as temporarily marking current books you're reading as favorites.

It occurs to me now that a clipping document can keep an excerpt from a book, and that would have been a good approach to save a passage to read to someone for later. It just goes to show how we have to master different approaches for common tasks, while transitioning from a physical to a digital library.

James McAdams

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/854510#Comment_854510

For books that I'm actually reading through, I tend to create reading plans and download them on my phone - I can then access them from the homepage or by searching my library for "local:" - I do have several other books that I want installed permanently or for a stretch of time, so this will put the books on my table nearer to the 20 mark than just 4-5.

But then you could tag the books and search for them that way (e.g. tag them with "current" and filter library for "tag:current"), or simply "favourite" your spot using the star/bookmark function and you can get back to where you were last reading pretty easily.

I've been using tags on my reading list too, so I can easily filter my library by which books I've read (tag:completed), which ones I'm reading (tag:current) and which ones I want to read next (tag:to read). I think I'm going to mark books by the year that I read them too (so I'll change "completed" to "Completed 2016", but this will be my first full year of using Logos so I've not done that before. The first tag I used with Logos was the "to read" tag because I found that after buying a huge base package I kept forgetting what books I actually owned and quickly lost track of my priorities.

I'm pretty sure there was talk a while ago of adding a button/option to show downloaded books straight away, rather than having to type in "local:", which is a small thing, but I think it would help a lot of people.

Tags can only be added when you're at your computer, so downloading and starring is the best option if you're away from your computer for prolonged periods, I guess?

Todd Phillips

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/854556#Comment_854556

Tagging is a way to create a collection of books to be read, but unfortunately, tags can't be modified on a mobile device. And display of collections is not integrate into the mobile UI.

Downloading books is also a good way to keep track of what you're reading, but you still have to tediously type "local:" every time you want to see it. Plus, if you have to reinstall, you stand a chance of your current books not being redownloaded because the cloud thinks it's a new device. This is also not a cross-platform option for tracking it.

I think we need a more streamlined way to manage this, thus my suggestion for pinning book covers to the home page, as if it is a special shelf for your current books. It could be done other better ways though, especially if there was a way to display and manage collections and/or tags on the mobile device. I still think having a special home page display would be cool and useful, even if it is collection-based.

James McAdams

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/854565#Comment_854565

Tagging is a way to create a collection of books to be read, but unfortunately, tags can't be modified on a mobile device. And display of collections is not integrate into the mobile UI.

Just to clarify, if you have added a tag to a book, you definitely can filter your library for that tag on mobile (or iOS, at least) by typing "tag:[tag name]" - I agree with the rest of your comment, but don't know if you've missed this.

Todd Phillips

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/854579#Comment_854579

Tagging is a way to create a collection of books to be read, but unfortunately, tags can't be modified on a mobile device. And display of collections is not integrate into the mobile UI.

Just to clarify, if you have added a tag to a book, you definitely can filter your library for that tag on mobile (or iOS, at least) by typing "tag:[tag name]" - I agree with the rest of your comment, but don't know if you've missed this.

Thanks for clarifying. It is good that there is some access to that data. I meant that the UI doesn't explicit has controls for viewing collections. Someone who didn't know what to type wouldn't know unless they came here and asked. And even when using library filter, you still have to guess/remember what collections you've defined.

James McAdams

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/854582#Comment_854582

Thanks for clarifying. It is good that there is some access to that data. I meant that the UI doesn't explicit has controls for viewing collections. Someone who didn't know what to type wouldn't know unless they came here and asked. And even when using library filter, you still have to guess/remember what collections you've defined.

Aye, definitely agree with that. I've introduced a lot of friends to Logos via their mobile app, and most have had to be "coached" through the library view - being able to choose a category view would be a huge help. Olive Tree's library view is good on that front - you can look at a list of everything or go through to various folder views to narrow things down (author/publisher/resource type etc - if Logos could add tags, collections and favourite/prioritised, I'd be thrilled). The flexibility and speed of the current search is really great though.

Brandon Scott Frank

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/854556#Comment_854556

For books that I'm actually reading through, I tend to create reading plans and download them on my phone - I can then access them from the homepage or by searching my library for "local:" - I do have several other books that I want installed permanently or for a stretch of time, so this will put the books on my table nearer to the 20 mark than just 4-5.

But then you could tag the books and search for them that way (e.g. tag them with "current" and filter library for "tag:current"), or simply "favourite" your spot using the star/bookmark function and you can get back to where you were last reading pretty easily.

I've been using tags on my reading list too, so I can easily filter my library by which books I've read (tag:completed), which ones I'm reading (tag:current) and which ones I want to read next (tag:to read). I think I'm going to mark books by the year that I read them too (so I'll change "completed" to "Completed 2016", but this will be my first full year of using Logos so I've not done that before. The first tag I used with Logos was the "to read" tag because I found that after buying a huge base package I kept forgetting what books I actually owned and quickly lost track of my priorities.

I'm pretty sure there was talk a while ago of adding a button/option to show downloaded books straight away, rather than having to type in "local:", which is a small thing, but I think it would help a lot of people.

Tags can only be added when you're at your computer, so downloading and starring is the best option if you're away from your computer for prolonged periods, I guess?

@James: Great idea regarding using a reading plan. I like things that are intentional and this is it! Probably better than my idea honestly. I have already created a reading plan. I had no idea that you could create one for anything other than the Bible. This will work wonderfully. Great idea!