Adding Personal Books to the Logos App on iPhone/iPad

Logos currently cannot load Personal Books onto the Logos App because of the way personal resources are segregated on their servers.

Currently, Personal Books don't sync at all, except for the metadata (author, title, etc). Logos is working on this capability for a future release, but no time table has been given.

Has anyone figured out a work around to manually add a Personal Book to an iPhone or iPad? I suppose one way to do it would be to PDF the personal book and put it on the iBooks or Kindle App, but would love to be able to add it to the Logos App with the scripture reference hyperlinks.

The only way currently is to do what you just suggested… Of course, since the source documents are in .docx format, you don't need to convert them to anything… as long as you don't go changing the text. If you wanted to highlight, etc, you would need to convert it to another format. Personally, I use dropbox to sync my source documents. The benefit of this is that I always have access to them (Desktop, Laptop, iPad, iPhone). HERE is a tutorial I created if you aren't familiar with drop box.

Here's an idea for Logos - create a Personal Books App that will utilize the scripture reference hyperlinks

There is no need for that… Since the documents don't sync currently, there isn't a need for an app. When the documents do start to sync, Logos intends for them to be accessible directly through all the mobile apps (like any other resource).

Check this link for a method to hyperlink personal resources on ipad. http://community.logos.com/forums/thread/435201.aspx

A really good upgrade to the present App would be full integration of personal books into the main library.

Hi John! [:)]

A really good upgrade to the present App would be full integration of personal books into the main library.

I'm not sure what you are saying… Are you just hoping that Logos adds personal books to the mobile app? If I'm not understanding right, what do you mean by "full integration" and "main library"? (Personal books DO have "full integration" on the desktop app and NO "integration" on mobile).

Full integration includes Logos 5 and means personal books are included in the library containing ebooks purchased from Logos. They would have all the functionality of Logos format books because they would be reformatted to Logos' format. This is not difficult as there are many Apps available to convert ebooks to almost any popular formats. I suspect a monetary obstacle, as one can buy an ebook from Amazon or direct from the publisher for less (often much less) than the same ebook sold by Logos. The problem is technically solvable. But, would require Logos to compete with other ebook vendors. Of course we recognize Logos is a for profit company and has every right to make a profit. Perhaps they could provide a conversion service for a fee. Upload your ebook to logos and they would do the reformatting and add it to ones' library.  

HI John

You might find the discussion at http://community.logos.com/forums/p/44022/327559.aspx interesting in this context.

Some of the potential issues here are copyright, conversion utilities and the level of tagging required.

Note that if one does this work themselves and creates a Personal Book then at the moment (as per comments above) these are not available in the mobile apps and we don't know when this functionality will be provided.

But, would require Logos to compete with other ebook vendors.

Logos is offering an alternative to other ebook vendors via its Vyrso store (https://vyrso.com/)

Graham

John - To be honest, I think you lost me. It sounds like you are not familiar with Logos' Personal Book Builder. For more than a year now, personal books HAVE been available to import into Logos. They are fully integrated with L4/L5. Scripture references are automatically hyperlinked. You can choose to tag and/or format these books to near Logos quality if you so desire. There is no cost for this, but it is "do it yourself." (Having Logos do it for you to make it a "Logos edition" would be cost prohibitive... You might as well hire an assistant yourself!)

You also need to be aware that Logos also owns VYRSO, an eBook store for "Christian Trade Books" (the kinds of books sold at the local "Christian book store). These books are not the same quality as "Logos editions," but they are somewhat comparable to Amazon. Sometimes, they are cheaper! There are also daily & monthly deals (and freebies).

FYI - this thread is in the mobile iOS forum, and was specifically about syncing of personal books to mobile. This isn't currently possible, but logos is working on it. 

True, L5 does a good job with the .docx file one provides. But the vast majority of personal ebooks are not in .docx. So, one has to go through a number of conversions. Say, you have an .az3 book. Then you have to convert to EPubs using Calibre, as Calibre does not have a .doc or .docx output format (and is not interested in adding them). You can go from EPubs to .docx using say AVS'c document converter. Or if your book is .pdf you can use AVS's Converter to go straight to .docx. Unfortunately, for some ebook formats when one finally gets to .docx the file is distorted from it's original form making it difficult to read. So, L5 might offer more input formats for personal books.

If the file is DRM protected L5 can rejects the file. Also, a number of books that one wants are out of copyright and can be located in various ebook formats. I commend Logos in the latter case since when such collections are offered it's typically for a very low price.

John - I'm still confused by your comments. At first, you said converting was "not difficult," but now you share how difficult you think the process is. [:)] I concur that the process isn't always "easy," and it can certainly take a lot of work to get a document up to the quality of a "Logos Edition." When Logos creates a "Logos Edition" of a public domain work, the cost can run well into the thousands. I'm not sure what you are recommending, but it sounds very expensive. By the way, calibre can convert to the .rtf format, which word does recognize. Once you open the .rtf file in Word, you can immediately save a copy as a .docx file. The result is fairly clean.

So, L5 might offer more input formats for personal books.

I can't imagine Logos is going to do this. It isn't a matter of Logos "letting" you import resources from other formats, it is a matter of converting the resources into a useable format. You have that now with Calibre & Word. For Logos to accomplish the same thing, they would have to write thier own version of calibre & word… two things they aren't going to do.

If the file is DRM protected L5 can rejects the file.

Microsoft Word .docx files aren't DRM protected and therefore the PBB doesn't reject files because of it. If a resource you have is DRM'd, you will need to 1) determine the legality of breaking the DRM in your locality and 2) figure out how to convert it to .docx. 

Add me to the list of people that would love to see Personal Books come to the iOS Logos App!

Welcome to the forums! [:)]

Add me to the list of people that would love to see Personal Books come to the iOS Logos App!

It's coming… but no timetable has been given. [:(]

The lack of Personal Books on the iPad is a promise not kept. 

I think that is a bit harsh Michael. Can you point to anything that lead you to believe it would be here by now? On the other hand, when people from our "neck of the woods" complain about things moving too slow, that's really saying something. [:)]

Auburn24 (sorry but I can't say that other school's name), with respect to the difficulty of conversion; in the first use I'm speaking in the context of "technological capability". Logos would not be reinventing the wheel. I suspect AVS4YOU or some other company would be happy to subcontract as a consultant if needed.

If adding the capably for multiple input formats, say the top 3 (which would cover the majority of ebooks) negatively impacts Logos' balance sheet, then of course my suggestion is not feasible.

Thanks for the rtf tip. I'll give it a try.

Finally, I also support the ability to have access to personal books on the iOS App. Any limitation will pass through to the iOS App. But I can live with it - as it hopefully will strengthen my patience.

the top 3 (which would cover the majority of ebooks)

Which 3 are you talking about?

For free ebooks: ePub and pdf. For the popular readers: ePub, pdf, mobi. This is my gut feel! By the way I tried the rtf route and it works quite well.

I think that is a bit harsh Michael. Can you point to anything that lead you to believe it would be here by now? On the other hand, when people from our "neck of the woods" complain about things moving too slow, that's really saying something.  

Perhaps you are right, my friend.   "A promise not kept" may be too harsh, and I am not "down" on Logos.  They are a great company and I love my Logos Bible Software.  Note that I did not say it is a promise that will not be kept... eventually.  I stand rightly corrected.

[:)]

I am starting to get anxious too. I have a number of PB's that I would like to read... And nearly 100% of my "reading" (rather than "study") is done on my iPad. My most recent project: I am adding all the blog posts from a "family ministries" website geared towards parents. I have finished my "rough draft" of one years worth of material... I want to read through each post, both for my personal edification as a dad, but also to then add topics to each post. The current document is about 125 pages... Originally I was going to make just one book... I don't know if I will do that, or create a new one for each "year." I have a couple more years before I am caught up." [;)]

Any updates?

Any updates on this? I really want to see this feature soon

Any updates on this? I really want to see this feature soon

Logos is typically 'mum' on releasing info about time frames. I do have some knowledge, but it is limited:

• Syncing between computers must come first
• the current beta cycle for L5 has hinted that this is 'around the corner' (users were able to upload compiled files, but not download them)
• only after syncing is up and running between computers should you start to anticipate this new feature added to mobile

News on this? Its been almost a year... or did Logos 6 provide this and I've just missed the best reason to upgrade ever!?

Welcome Joshua! 

The mobile apps will need an update before personal books will be accessible. At this point, we don't have any idea when that might be. Faithlife is typically tight lipped about new features and release dates.

me too!

So, still no personal books on mobile? I thought this should work at least for those PB's that we have uploaded...[:O]

So, still no personal books on mobile? I thought this should work at least for those PB's that we have uploaded...

Please see https://community.logos.com/forums/p/126859/825408.aspx#825408 .

Ten years later.. . . 

Is this a thing? I just want to read my PBs on my tablet, in Logos.

This forum applies to software that has not been supported for years. For the current software, use the mobile app forums.