Logos 0.9.4 Beta 1 - Split Screen Suggestion

Matt Zimmerman
Matt Zimmerman Member Posts: 138
edited November 21 in English Forum

Proposal:

When we swipe-up on a verse in the left/right panel the common (Passage
Guide / Comparison / Search) menu appears.

I want to propose that a menu such as (PG on Left / PG on Right /
Comparison / Search) appear and act accordingly so that if I swipe-up
in the left panel
and select “PG on Right” then the passage guide I select will appear in the
right panel.

Rationale:

Presently, if I am reading the bible in the left panel and commentary
in the
right panel and chosen not to sync the panels then loading a resource in
the right panel is very, very, cumbersome. If I jump somewhere in the
bible on the left panel and want the corresponding
commentary to appear on the right panel I need to do the following:

1. click the right panel;

2. click the right panel again to make the menu appear;

3. select library

4. find my resource

5. locate the particular verse within the resource...

So we need a better way to get our corresponding passage guide to the proper
panel faster. I think the “PG on Left” and “PG on Right” options are a good
idea.

What do you guys think?

Tagged:

Comments

  • George
    George Member Posts: 476 ✭✭

    Did you try using "Link Panels" under Settings?

  • Matt Zimmerman
    Matt Zimmerman Member Posts: 138

    Yes, I have tried link panels and it is a handy feature. However, it does not achieve what my suggestion is trying to achieve.

    Presently, if I select passage guide on a passage in the bible in the left panel when I pick a resource from the passage guide to open there is no way to get it to open on the right panel but it instead opens in the left panel thus replacing the bible.

    This is not about syncing the two panels (which is useful in its own right) but rather about finding an efficient manner to open a resource corresponding to a passage in the opposite panel.

     

  • Dave Hooton
    Dave Hooton MVP Posts: 35,682

    Presently, if I select passage guide on a passage in the bible in the left panel when I pick a resource from the passage guide to open there is no way to get it to open on the right panel but it instead opens in the left panel thus replacing the bible.

    You can use the device's Back key to return to PG and again to return to the original bible. What you propose gives you right bible, wrong commentary so what do you want the Back key to do

    • return to PG as it does now; or
    • return to previous commentary?

    I would want to return to PG and try a different commentary then Back out to return to the original commentary (hopefully). The potential advantage is that you can elect to stay with the original bible and new commentary.

    Dave
    ===

    Windows 11 & Android 13

  • Matt Zimmerman
    Matt Zimmerman Member Posts: 138

     

    Maybe I confused you somewhere because I do not propose modifying the back button functionality at all. In a nutshell, I want Logos to implement a way so that when we swipe-up
    on something in one pane (ex., LEFT PANE) we can get a resource from the passage guide
    loaded in the opposite pane (e.g., RIGHT PANE).

    Here is the issue I am running into. I will go step-by-step:

     

    SETUP (try this out):

    Open Logos in split-screen mode on Android with a Bible (e.g., NET Bible) on the LEFT PANE and a commentary (e.g., Expositor's) on the RIGHT PANE.

     

    GOAL (this is what we want to accomplish in this functionality test):

    To open a different commentary/resource in the RIGHT PANE for a passage we are looking in the bible presently displayed in the LEFT PANE.

     

    STEPS (what is currently required to accomplish the above-mentioned goal):

    1. Visually identify the passage you desire to research from the bible displayed in the LEFT PANE.

    2. Click the RIGHT PANE to bring it into focus.

    3. Click the RIGHT PANE again to bring up the menu.

    4. Click the "Library" button.

    5. Either scroll through the library or enter search terms to find the resource you want to open (note: this could take considerable time because we are not aided by the "passage guide" recommendations since we have not used it).

    6. Click the resource which opens it in the RIGHT PANE

    7. If "sync panels" is not enabled, then one further must click the RIGHT PANE again and search the resource to locate the passage which corresponds to the passage identified in step 1.

     

    So again, I am saying that opening a resource in the SECOND pane for a passage in the FIRST pane is way to cumbersome because we are not aided by the "swipe-up" feature anymore (i.e., because it does not work "across" panes).

     

    PROPOSAL (what I propose the Logos team implement):

    1. Swipe-up on a passage displayed in the bible in the LEFT PANE which causes a modified version of the typical (Passage
    Guide | Comparison | Search) menu to appear. The modified version would read (PG on Left | PG on Right |
    Comparison | Search).

    2. Click "PG on Right" which causes the passage guide menu to appear with the various resources.

    3. Select a resource (e.g., commentary) which causes the resource to be displayed in the RIGHT PANE because we selected "PG on Right".

     

    So what do you think? Also, the idea of a modified menu is only one of many ways one could implement this idea. Another approach would be to leave the menu alone and on the passage guide screen itself have a LEFT/RIGHT checkbox where the user can select which pane they want the resulting resource opened on.

  • Dave Hooton
    Dave Hooton MVP Posts: 35,682

    Maybe I confused you somewhere because I do not propose modifying the back button functionality at all.

    I did understand -  I just posed the question for clarity.

    STEPS (what is currently required to accomplish the above-mentioned goal):

    It doesn't have to be that cumbersome if the panels are linked + you have to use this method when offline (3 taps only!).

    3. Select a resource (e.g., commentary) which causes the resource to be displayed in the RIGHT PANE because we selected "PG on Right".

    You can accomplish this by selecting PG from the commentary panel via up swipe or tap + Action item, provided it is linked to the bible (which would be my method of study).

    Your proposal would be useful to split the screen for the commentary when only the bible is displayed initially.

     

    Dave
    ===

    Windows 11 & Android 13

  • Matt Zimmerman
    Matt Zimmerman Member Posts: 138

    3. Select a resource (e.g., commentary) which causes the resource to be displayed in the RIGHT PANE because we selected "PG on Right".

    You can accomplish this by selecting PG from the commentary panel via up swipe or tap + Action item, provided it is linked to the bible (which would be my method of study).

    Let us say there are 10 passages displayed in the bible panel and we want passage 10 but the commentary is displaying passage 1. A user may have to scroll through 30+ pages of commentary (in something like the TNIC) to get to the appropriate passage in order to perform the swipe-up at the right part. This is even assuming they have sync-panels enabled which they may not, thus making their journey even more difficult.

    Let me ask you, do you read every single page of a commentary when you read the bible? The reason I ask is if you stay completely in sync with the commentary as you read the bible then yes, my proposal has no use to you. However, I don't read my bible like that. I only seek out the commentary when I find a specific passage that I want to further research and so my commentary panel is usually not at the right place I need when I need it (i.e., it might be 30 pages behind).

    Your proposal would be useful to split the screen for the commentary when only the bible is displayed initially.

    I could not respectfully disagree more. The proposal I have suggested would be useful for finding a resource from the PG immediately based on any passage displayed in either panel from any resources regardless of when a bible was displayed.

    At the very least, even if you feel you would find no use from my suggestion, I am sure others would find it useful and it would simply be another value-added feature to the Logos app.

  • Dave Hooton
    Dave Hooton MVP Posts: 35,682

    At the very least, even if you feel you would find no use from my suggestion, I am sure others would find it useful and it would simply be another value-added feature to the Logos app.

    Matt, you asked and I gave my opinion based on my study method. My last comment indicated that your proposal is useful but not in a way you had anticipated; it does not affect your intended use, and I agree that the feature would add value to the app.

    Let me ask you, do you read every single page of a commentary when you read the bible? The reason I ask is if you stay completely in sync with the commentary as you read the bible then yes, my proposal has no use to you.

    I don't need PG to switch commentaries (except for a bug when panels are linked) but commentaries also have issues with their coverage of passages (both lacking and being too inclusive), so the bible would be the resource from which to launch PG with your method. A workaround currently is to launch PG from the commentary and then change the passage & relaunch PG!

    Dave
    ===

    Windows 11 & Android 13

  • Matt Zimmerman
    Matt Zimmerman Member Posts: 138

    Well, I do appreciate the input. It is good to learn how others use the app.