Prioritizing Non-Bible Material - A Massive Headache (exaggerating)

I'm pretty sure MJ has already plowed the field on this issue. But it's a continuing headache.

I'm in a commentary on the Pastorals. It's comparing guidance in the Pastorals vs Didache. Good. I mouse the Pastoral reference, it pops up the NT text ... not my favorite Pastoral commentary. I mouse Didache, and it pops up my favorite Didache commentary ... not Didache.

Prioritizing seems like almost impossible ... quite a few commentaries have a volume for commentary, and a volume for text (eg Jubilees or Enoch). Then, in a commentary, text often precedes commentary, so you get the opposite effect.

I'm wondering if I have to massively move non-Bibllical above Biblical. Sounds strange, I admit. Then I can see Didache!

PS: Libby used to have a tool for this. The LogosX library prioritizing was supposed to be better. Prioritizing needs work.

Find more posts tagged with

Desktop App

Comments

MJ. Smith

what I find fascinating is that several software iterations ago, we the users were up in arms over prioritization. For a variety of reasons, it didn't make the cut for being rewritten. we the users quieted down although there had been no change. I'll go check to see if any of the prioritization changes requested even managed to move across in the change in request software.

While I am certain I have seen (and perhaps entered) a request related to books that have been split into multiple parts, I can't find it. However, this request is tangentially related: View of works in Library | Faithlife

Liam

Agreed.

I would love to have the ability to set prioritization by some outside web sources (say bestcommentaries.com), and then still have the ability to tweak it a little bit here and there. If someone wanted to prioritize only, say, 3 favorite commentaries for each Bible book, it would still take a ton of time.

Would love something that would allow prioritizing for each type of resource as well. Looking at my list… it’s hundreds of resources long - and then good luck trying to put one in a different spot on the priority list. Its a bit of a nightmare.

Dave Hooton

I'm in a commentary on the Pastorals. It's comparing guidance in the Pastorals vs Didache. Good. I mouse the Pastoral reference, it pops up the NT text ... not my favorite Pastoral commentary. I mouse Didache, and it pops up my favorite Didache commentary ... not Didache.

Search for milestone:apostolicFathers:"Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)" to identify commentaries with Didache milestones (if necessary).

You should then be able to prioritize your favorite Didache (an Apostolic Fathers volume or ANF7) higher than those commentaries.

Bible commentaries can be prioritized higher/lower than Didache commentaries as long as Bibles are higher.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1260697#Comment_1260697

Search for milestone:apostolicFathers:"Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles)" to identify commentaries with Didache milestones (if necessary).

Dave, I know you're being helpful. And such a search is likely useful to others. Thank you.

But that's just Didache. What about the next milestone search. And the next one. Some resources are multiple; unanticipated overlaps.

The prioritization might have worked at L4; Bob didn't even offer notes. But it's 15 years later.

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1260704#Comment_1260704

But that's just Didache. What about the next milestone search. A

Generally, prioritize all your commentaries together (bible and non-bible) and priortize the datatype source higher (e.g. bibles, Apostolic Fathers volumes). It is just that you need to identify the sources!

So I typed "Didache" into a Search box and selected the datatype suggestion. .The milestone search gave me a choice of Apostolic Fathers volumes and ANF7, and I found that I had previously prioritized ApFathInt in the correct place. I replaced that with ApFathEng.

You can also get the datatype from a reference when you right-click that in a resource.

GregW

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1260678#Comment_1260678

what I find fascinating is that several software iterations ago, we the users were up in arms over prioritization. For a variety of reasons, it didn't make the cut for being rewritten. we the users quieted down although there had been no change. I'll go check to see if any of the prioritization changes requested even managed to move across in the change in request software.

While I am certain I have seen (and perhaps entered) a request related to books that have been split into multiple parts, I can't find it. However, this request is tangentially related: View of works in Library | Faithlife

There does seem a reluctance to tackle prioritisation (British English spelling). I suspect the previous requests got lost in the change of feedback site. I have two main bugbears:

Commentaries and Series - I set priorities by individual commentaries per book of the Bible. If I try to prioritise a commentary by dragging it across, it applies to the whole series. If I then try to prioritise the individual volume, it puts it at the bottom of the list and I have to drag it all the way up to the appropriate place. When you’ve got dozens in the list, ordered by Bible book, that gets messy.
Type - I have created empty PBs as headers for Lexicons, Encyclopaedias, Commentaries, Devotionals, Bibles, etc. I would like the list to be categorised by book type to make it easier, and probably to be able to filter by type so that I can have a more manageable list when I’m working on it.

I recognise that these are “tweaks” and that the whole function probably needs creative reimagining (so long as any reimagining deals with my tweaks!). I suspect that most of those who have complained about Search in the past have never even attempted Advanced Prioritization where setting priorities for a number of Bible books in something like the Expositor’s Bible Commentary is incredibly messy.

I’m reluctant to put these up as requests as the need is probably for something considerably more radical, like the Bestcommentaries suggestion above, although I also recognise some on these forums would oppose something like that as well.

Gregory Lawhorn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1260725#Comment_1260725

This thread got me thinking. Logos knows (a) the last time I opened a resource, and (b) how many times I've used a resource.

So why doesn't Logos use some amount of machine learning to prioritize commentaries?

Sure, the new user would get more random results, but as they went to their most preferred and reliable resources, Logos would quietly observe and begin to give greater weight to them over time. Just make sure to give the user access to that list so that we could drop in a new favorite or remove one that has turned out to be less helpful.

I created a suggestion for it for those who think it's a good idea to explore: https://feedback.faithlife.com/boards/logos-desktop-app/posts/machine-learning-prioritization

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1260711#Comment_1260711

But that's just Didache. What about the next milestone search. A

Generally, prioritize all your commentaries together (bible and non-bible) and priortize the datatype source higher (e.g. bibles, Apostolic Fathers volumes). It is just that you need to identify the sources!

You're being obtuse (smiling). 'Just need to identify the sources!' We used to be able to do that. Easily. By index.

Even worse, Logos.com is even more naive ... no clue what products have which indices ... lots (and lots) of work and little marketing value. 'It's a research edition!!'. Whoopie-do.

And every time, on the forum, someone mentions a writing, I have to guess in my own library ... indexed as? Or try to remember your search syntax. Not good design work. Need new blood north of Seattle.

Donovan R. Palmer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1260678#Comment_1260678

we the users quieted down although there had been no change.

We pushed on this starting at v. 4 and as the versions have gone along, I gave up. Small hacks like using blank personal books to create separators between types of resources have become a permanent part of my library!

While I am on the topic, a tag manager from the v. 4 days is still a badly needed feature. I went quiet on that as well.

To be fair, the library window has had some love. Filters were very helpful. Being able to look for resources in the store was also useful.

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1260734#Comment_1260734

So why doesn't Logos use some amount of machine learning to prioritize commentaries?

I created a suggestion for it for those who think it's a good idea to explore: https://feedback.faithlife.com/boards/logos-desktop-app/posts/machine-learning-prioritization

There are a lot of individual ideas to improve Prioritization, so I think it would be better to increase support for https://feedback.faithlife.com/boards/logos-desktop-app/posts/prioritize-library-feature-update and add your request to the comments.

Ryland Brown

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1260766#Comment_1260766

Yes, please!

While I am on the topic, a tag manager from the v. 4 days is still a badly needed feature. I went quiet on that as well.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1260689#Comment_1260689

I would love to have the ability to set prioritization by some outside web sources (say bestcommentaries.com), and then still have the ability to tweak it a little bit here and there. If someone wanted to prioritize only, say, 3 favorite commentaries for each Bible book, it would still take a ton of time.

Agree about time needed to create a customized series. Thread => Creating a New Series of Commentaries

To be fair, the library window has had some love. Filters were very helpful. Being able to look for resources in the store was also useful.

Thankfully width of Library prioritization can be changed. Screen shot shows my custom series Top 2 Commentaries having several advanced Bible prioritizations with other resource indexes prioritized lower: e.g. English Headwords. My library has better English Headword resources prioritized above glossaries in Top 2 Commentary & Bibles: e.g. NLT.

Right Click: Bible reference has Look Up choices of Bible(s) & Top Commentary Resource(s).

Would love something that would allow prioritizing for each type of resource as well. Looking at my list… it’s hundreds of resources long - and then good luck trying to put one in a different spot on the priority list. Its a bit of a nightmare.

+1 [Y]

My Library prioritization starts with advanced Bible settings so a cross reference pop-up in a Bible shows that Bible instead of my Top Bible.

Keep Smiling [:)]