New in Factbook: Online Results from Print, Cloud, and Locked Books

Adam Borries (Logos)

In the desktop app version 41, by default, Factbook will act a lot more like Factbook on the web app. Exactly like the web app, in fact. This offers the benefit of returning results from books you don't have downloaded, including your Print Books. If you prefer to keep the old Factbook experience, you can change the setting Prefer Local Data to Yes.

What's different

In prior desktop versions, Factbook primarily used local resources to get the data for its reports. Some sections of Factbook, like Factbook Tags, rely entirely on online services; others like Media are a mix if local and online sources. But in general, if Factbook could use a local resource, it would.

Now, Factbook behaves exactly as it would on the web app: it uses Logos's web APIs to populate the data for the reports. If you are running offline (or have an intermittent network outage), Factbook will fall back to using local data.

Why you should use Factbook online

Running online offers several benefits:

1. Get results from all your Cloud Books. No need to have your whole Library downloaded.
2. Get results from your Print Books.
   1. Available in the Dictionaries, Journals, and Sermons sections.
   2. Requires a license for the Print Library Catalog feature.
3. Get results from books you don't have in your Library yet.
   1. Available in the Dictionaries, Journals, and Sermons sections.
   2. At the end of your results, click "More to discover" to find out what other resources are available for this topic.
   3. Subscribers can also Summarize these articles (Logos Pro and higher).
4. Some users may find Factbook to be faster load results.

Why you should stick with using Factbook locally

There are some desktop features that our web services don't handle well yet.

You should use Factbook in local mode:

1. If you have Personal Books that would return results in Factbook. (Running Factbook in online mode will not include these.)
2. If you have added custom titles to the books your library. (Running Factbook in online mode will use the default resource title.)
3. If you have customized a Series name, and prioritized that Series. (Running Factbook in online mode does not respect prioritization of custom Series.)
4. If you have slow, intermittent, or limited internet bandwidth.

How to change between online and local modes

In Program Settings, set Prefer Local Data to Yes to switch Factbook back to the old behavior. (This setting also governs the data source for the Insights sidebar in Bibles and other books.)

DMB

I'm trying real hard to remember what 'Locked Books' are. Oh … I bet they're unowned.

Dave Hooton

@Adam Borries (Logos)

That is a good Summary (please use in the Help resources) and saved some queries from the wording in Program Settings, where the last Yes sentence would benefit by replacing "have" with "use".

The Settings name Prefer Local Data is rather ominous even though it is stated to apply only to Factbooks and Insights. Would that Setting apply if other features go "online/cloud/Print" e.g. Collections?

Dave Hooton

@Adam Borries (Logos)

You need to state that Layouts disappear from Dig Deeper in "online/web" mode. I'm staying with "local data".