Bible! is getting WORSE!

Not only there are more advertisements on the Home page, but Faithlife is ignoring multi-year-long requests for improvements in Library view!

When I open Library tab, I am greeted with a list of 6436 resources. Sorting them by Title, Author, Rating and Recent is useful, but just shuffles them around. it is still a 6436 resources list (for me).

Is there a "downloaded to device" view (an industry standard for pretty much everything)
is there a "recently read on desktop" view?
is there a way to create a subset of books I can have streamlined access?
is there way to display books by book covers only, or by text only?
is there a way to have collection/mytag subfolders or views: Bibles, Devotional, Leadership books, etc.

All of these are pretty much standard on Kindle. As far as dealing with Library management, Bible! is worse than competition in pretty much everything. I wish they copied Kindle in library management 100%.

I mean, who thought these things through?

"Download all" on the entire library listing is pretty dumb for a mobile device with limited storage and software (Bible!) with no filtering capabilities (I take it back - you can filter by search )
Sorting by Recent gives me NOT a "recently downloaded to THIS device" list, but a list of books with no rhyme or reason. I even did a test - closed all tabs in Logos, opened a random resource in L6, then closed L6. opened Bible! Sort by recent list did not display what I read recently. So I finally figured out that it means "Recently purchased." I believe it needs to be communicated more clearly.

FAITHLIFE, please spend considerable time redesigning user interface for viewing/accessing/managing books in your mobile applications, otherwise it is not a Bible! - it is bible

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Comments

Graham Criddle

Is there a "downloaded to device" view (an industry standard for pretty much everything)

Typing "local:" into the library filter will give you this

is there a "recently read on desktop" view?

not to the best of my knowledge

is there a way to create a subset of books I can have streamlined access?

you could tag the books on the desktop and then filter on that tag

is there way to display books by book covers only, or by text only?

not completely but toggling the icon at the top-right of the library comes close

is there a way to have collection/mytag subfolders or views: Bibles, Devotional, Leadership books, etc.

if you tag them on the desktop you can filter them by those tags - e.g. "mytag:paul-life" gives me just the books I have tagged with that tag

"Download all" on the entire library listing is pretty dumb for a mobile device with limited storage and software (Bible!) with no filtering capabilities (I take it back - you can filter by search )

I seem to remember a lot of people asking for the ability to download all - and people on the Android forums complaining that this was limited to 100 resources at a time[:)]

Sorting by Recent gives me NOT a "recently downloaded to THIS device" list, but a list of books with no rhyme or reason. I even did a test - closed all tabs in Logos, opened a random resource in L6, then closed L6. opened Bible! Sort by recent list did not display what I read recently. So I finally figured out that it means "Recently purchased." I believe it needs to be communicated more clearly.

I agree this could be better.

toughski

Is there a "downloaded to device" view (an industry standard for pretty much everything)

Typing "local:" into the library filter will give you this

this is neither intuitive, fast or standard. Is FAITHLIFE going for "software hardest to use award?" Compare to "Device/Cloud" 1 button toggle on better designed apps

is there a way to create a subset of books I can have streamlined access?

you could tag the books on the desktop and then filter on that tag

With this "solution" I would have to 1) remember my tag, 2) filter by this tag over and over. we need a persistent view. 1 touch access would be ideal.

is there a way to have collection/mytag subfolders or views: Bibles, Devotional, Leadership books, etc.

if you tag them on the desktop you can filter them by those tags - e.g. "mytag:paul-life" gives me just the books I have tagged with that tag

as I noted above, the searching has to be repeated over and over. This is bad UI design! I believe it stems from Faithlife not actually using their apps every day.

DMB

My impression is the team is either doing a major re-write (not likely), or is off on new projects.

I agree with Toughski ... a large library and (in my case) iOS Logos apps are not easy to handle. Typing in 'local:' is nutty. Everyone else has a button. Plus 'everyone else' also supports grouping the resources. The sorts are kind of odd. Since I use multiple apps from Logos, it's never clear where they're getting the sort from ('recently').

But to give them a kudos, when I buy a book, it's at the top. After I type in title:xyz that is. Absent that, it doesn't show even on recent. But not a few weeks ago, even title: couldn't pull it. So there's pretty major progress here.

And I'll admit, the unreliable black-stripe-of-death is getting more unreliable, so that's good. It shows up nuttily on my Noet, but the black death-strip doesn't show on my Bible! (I call him 'Mut' from the valley of Hinnom). Noet's pretty buggy (recognizing we're talking the same code).

Donnie Hale

And I'll admit, the unreliable black-stripe-of-death is getting more unreliable, so that's good.

That "feature" is completely useless. The premise that I want Bible to take me to the same location in a resource as I was at in desktop Logos not just flawed, it's outright wrong. Many resources are open in desktop for study (e.g. a systematic theology). They're open in Bible for reading. No relationship between locations. Just open the resource where I last was on that device.

Donnie

Mark Barnes

No relationship between locations. Just open the resource where I last was on that device.

Not for me. I frequently pick up reading from my PC and continue on my iPhone.

But I agree with toughski that a Cloud/Device toggle is pretty much essential.

Rod Bergen

I try to avoid going to Home page or Library view if at all possible. I agree that the app is painful to use in its present state.

Watching the ipad or iphone reload the list of resources is just way too slow. One should have the option of not reloading the list unless you want it updated.

Graham Criddle

What iOS devices do you have?

I don't see performance issues so wondering about hardware etc

toughski

to bring this post back on track, I am not so worried about performance, as much as usability. Bible! is simply not user-friendly for people with large libraries. If Faithlife wants us to continue to purchase resources, it needs to spend time designing a better user experience.

I dare Faithlife to create a simple survey comparing top 10 Bible and Reader mobile software in usability, speed of accessing a Biblical passage, managing one's library, annotating, etc.

Simon’s Brother

Totally agree with you Logos is dropping the ball on mobile apps. Bible! needs a major overhaul as you have outlined. Flashcards is broken in terms of pronunciation feature which they continue to advertise as a feature of this product and the only comment they have is they are aware of the problem but have no plans for a fixat this point in time. All they seem to be focused on is sales, sales, and mor sales.

Not only there are more advertisements on the Home page, but Faithlife is ignoring multi-year-long requests for improvements in Library view!

When I open Library tab, I am greeted with a list of 6436 resources. Sorting them by Title, Author, Rating and Recent is useful, but just shuffles them around. it is still a 6436 resources list (for me).

Is there a "downloaded to device" view (an industry standard for pretty much everything)

is there a "recently read on desktop" view?

is there a way to create a subset of books I can have streamlined access?

is there way to display books by book covers only, or by text only?

is there a way to have collection/mytag subfolders or views: Bibles, Devotional, Leadership books, etc.

All of these are pretty much standard on Kindle. As far as dealing with Library management, Bible! is worse than competition in pretty much everything. I wish they copied Kindle in library management 100%.

I mean, who thought these things through?

"Download all" on the entire library listing is pretty dumb for a mobile device with limited storage and software (Bible!) with no filtering capabilities (I take it back - you can filter by search )

Sorting by Recent gives me NOT a "recently downloaded to THIS device" list, but a list of books with no rhyme or reason. I even did a test - closed all tabs in Logos, opened a random resource in L6, then closed L6. opened Bible! Sort by recent list did not display what I read recently. So I finally figured out that it means "Recently purchased." I believe it needs to be communicated more clearly.

FAITHLIFE, please spend considerable time redesigning user interface for viewing/accessing/managing books in your mobile applications, otherwise it is not a Bible! - it is bible

Kevin Byford (Faithlife)

Flashcards is broken in terms of pronunciation feature which they continue to advertise as a feature of this product and the only comment they have is they are aware of the problem but have no plans for a fixat this point in time.

I responded on another thread about this issue: "The Flashcards app hasn't been updated in a while but we intend to release a new version with some fixes for both iOS and Android. Unfortunately I don't have an ETA."

We are aware of the problem and *do* have plans for a fix. I apologize if I misled you.

Kevin Byford (Faithlife)

"Download all" on the entire library listing is pretty dumb for a mobile device with limited storage and software (Bible!) with no filtering capabilities (I take it back - you can filter by search )

Before using "Download All" you can first filter the library using the below entries in the Find field (these are documented in Logos Desktop's Help section). For example, "author:darby" will show the Darby Bible, and in this case "Download All" will only download the filtered results.

author:
abbrev:
epubdate:
lang:
mytag:
pubdate:
publisher:
rating:
subject:
series:
title:
type:

Sorting by Recent gives me NOT a "recently downloaded to THIS device" list, but a list of books with no rhyme or reason. I even did a test - closed all tabs in Logos, opened a random resource in L6, then closed L6. opened Bible! Sort by recent list did not display what I read recently. So I finally figured out that it means "Recently purchased." I believe it needs to be communicated more clearly.

"Sort by Recent" shows resources most recently viewed in the mobile app in descending order.

Simon’s Brother

A quick look shows there are reports of this problem existing since October 2014. It is now Jan 2015. Two and one half month plus months is an unacceptable time frame to release a fix. Intent to fix with an unknown release date is starting to become a tired response we hear far too often from this company. Technically the app is free but indirectly we pay for it through our purchase of base packages and resources. Logos has expanded its footprint too wide and it's failing badly in being able to maintain a large stable of applications across multiple platforms. Instead of getting fixes out for existing mobile apps Logos has pushed out another 'free' app, the "Everyday Bible App" that will primarily be seen as a way to advertise to users products for purchase and it will too at some point become another broken app that it intends to fix but has no ETA on when it will be fixed. I am sure though if the advertising component of these apps ever broke, or your marketing team had new ways to advertise to us through these apps Logos wouldn't take this long to get an updated app out of the door.

Flashcards is broken in terms of pronunciation feature which they continue to advertise as a feature of this product and the only comment they have is they are aware of the problem but have no plans for a fixat this point in time.

I responded on another thread about this issue: "The Flashcards app hasn't been updated in a while but we intend to release a new version with some fixes for both iOS and Android. Unfortunately I don't have an ETA."

We are aware of the problem and *do* have plans for a fix. I apologize if I misled you.

Kevin Byford (Faithlife)

Disciple of Christ,

Thank you for your input. We are aware of the Flashcard app's audio problem and plan to fix it. We value and appreciate customers that use our free mobile apps and are thankful for any/all bug reports that are sent to us should a problem arise.

Greg

Before using "Download All" you can first filter the library using the below entries in the Find field (these are documented in Logos Desktop's Help section). For example, "author:darby" will show the Darby Bible, and in this case "Download All" will only download the filtered results.

I've been using the iOS app since 2011 and I read the forums every day. I've never known about this.

A dropdown menu would be helpful.

And I second the need for a sorting option that just displays books downloaded on my device.

Paul Gisbourne

It may be argued that this isn't thebright place for this post but, for me, it shows an issue with an app that I actually enjoy using and have used for some time.

this morning at church I pulled out my iPad 2, opened up the bible app and tried to load the NIV(1984) bible, which I've downloaded, only to find it not opening up.. fiund this odd, so I went to the ESV my bible of choice and on that I couldnt navigate to the text being used by the preacher? In fact I couldn't navigate back manually past the beginning of 1 Timothy.

I then restarted my iPad, after I had restarted the app numerous times, to find the same issue, I then connected to my iPhone, as my iPad is wifi only to see if there was any resource updates but nothing showed up. So as it stands, without connecting to my iPhone hotspot I can't open a downloaded bible (NIV), on another (ESV) I can't navigate backwards.. In fact the only bible I can use is the LEB...

How can this be??

Will see if the resources need updating when I get home.. very disappointed by this.

Michael McLane

Before using "Download All" you can first filter the library using the below entries in the Find field (these are documented in Logos Desktop's Help section). For example, "author:darby" will show the Darby Bible, and in this case "Download All" will only download the filtered results.

author:
abbrev:
epubdate:
lang:
mytag:
pubdate:
publisher:
rating:
subject:
series:
title:
type:

This is one of my biggest complaints with the whole Logos search/programming philosophy, the user needs to know then enter some convoluted search/syntax string into a command box. That is so 1970's. And it would help if this stuff was documented by the programmers and a paid technical writer rather than relying on a user created and maintained wiki. I will never understand that.

Rod Bergen

And it would help if this stuff was documented by the programmers and a paid technical writer rather than relying on a user created and maintained wiki. I will never understand that.

[Y]

Lionel B Dyck

Where might one find the complete list of hidden commands for the IOS app?

toughski

Where might one find the complete list of hidden commands for the IOS app?

ha-ha. That's funny!

Doc B

Where might one find the complete list of hidden commands for the IOS app?

If you can Vulcan mind-meld with one of the techs, that's the only place I know of. They sure don't seem to want to write it down anywhere. But then, that's how it is with the software, too.

David Carter

Where might one find the complete list of hidden commands for the IOS app?

It's probably the prize in a Bellingham treasure hunt [*-)]

Mike Childs

I try to avoid going to Home page or Library view if at all possible. I agree that the app is painful to use in its present state.

Watching the ipad or iphone reload the list of resources is just way too slow. One should have the option of not reloading the list unless you want it updated.

This app has so much potential, but it is really a shame that Logos has not done more with it. It is absurd that we have to avoid the Library view, and practically work around problems to get basic functions. In fact, many people are transferring resources to Kindle just to read them.

After all this time, this is most unprofessional.

JT (alabama24)

Why are we avoiding the library again? I don't seem to have any of these problems.

Kevin Byford (Faithlife)

I try to avoid going to Home page or Library view if at all possible. I agree that the app is painful to use in its present state.

Watching the ipad or iphone reload the list of resources is just way too slow. One should have the option of not reloading the list unless you want it updated.

This app has so much potential, but it is really a shame that Logos has not done more with it. It is absurd that we have to avoid the Library view, and practically work around problems to get basic functions. In fact, many people are transferring resources to Kindle just to read them.

After all this time, this is most unprofessional.

Please create a new thread explaining exactly what you are experiencing, what hardware device you are using, how long it takes to "reload" the library list, which basic functions can't be accessed without workarounds, etc. Every day I test with ~53K resources in my library and I'm not seeing the issues you describe.

Tim Taylor

Every day I test with ~53K resources in my library and I'm not seeing the issues you describe.

Wow, that's a lot of resources! lol. The perks of working for Faithlife I guess?