Android app Notes and Text Comparison functionality issues
Please see this video demonstration of the issues I'm having with Notes and Text Comparison:
Comments
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As per my response in the other thread are you able to summarise the issues please?
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And as per my response in the other thread here is the summary. Sorry to not separate out every issue by Logos 7 Windows vs. Android mobile app. This is just coming from a real-world user who goes back and forth between the two operating systems.
- Note titles do NOT show up in mouse hovers when reading through resources, but they DO show up when using the mobile app. If I'm going to bother making note titles in the first place, they should be consistently visible everywhere.
- Note icons for a Chapter (not a Chapter and verse) show up on Windows but not on Android app
- Only 2 or 3 notes are visible in Documents portion of Android app. Large amounts of screen space wasted. A dozen or more notes should be visible, at least in "Compact view"
- There is no way to bulk-edit notes on Windows or Android that I know of. E.g. select multiple notes and change the font, icon, indentation, etc.
- Touchability needs a lot of work. Resource panel can scroll with touch, Notes panel barely scrolls with touch, and Text Comparison panel doesn't scroll at all with touch.
- Android app Text Comparison tool has a fixed font size while the resource font size is variable.
- Android app Text Comparison could be a lot more useful if it behaved more as a resource than as a separate 'tool'. Allow users to long-press on words to get more info, change resources at the top of the screen like you would otherwise, maybe even swipe left to advance to the next verse. Also, it's very hard to get out of the Text Comparison view on Android.
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Note titles do NOT show up in mouse hovers when reading through resources, but they DO show up when using the mobile app. If I'm going to bother making note titles in the first place, they should be consistently visible everywhere.
Agreed - and I note you have raised a suggestion regarding this at https://community.logos.com/forums/t/141859.aspx In the past there has been quite a lot of discussion around this (I can't find them now) but I think the desktop app may be acting as per design - but still worth asking if this can be changed
Note icons for a Chapter (not a Chapter and verse) show up on Windows but not on Android app
I've just created a note against a chapter (selected the chapter heading and added a note) and the icon appears on Android as well - so not sure what we are doing differently here
Only 2 or 3 notes are visible in Documents portion of Android app. Large amounts of screen space wasted. A dozen or more notes should be visible, at least in "Compact view"
Agreed - the iOS app handles this a lot better so that could be a model for the developers to look at
There is no way to bulk-edit notes on Windows or Android that I know of. E.g. select multiple notes and change the font, icon, indentation, etc.
That is correct - and has been asked for frequently in the past. I understand that Faithlife are redesigning the notes system so wouldn't expect any changes in the current system - and I have no details of the planned one
Touchability needs a lot of work. Resource panel can scroll with touch, Notes panel barely scrolls with touch, and Text Comparison panel doesn't scroll at all with touch.
Is this a comment about the desktop application? Text Comparison in Android seems to scroll fine
Android app Text Comparison tool has a fixed font size while the resource font size is variable.
True - and it would be nice to be able to change this
Android app Text Comparison could be a lot more useful if it behaved more as a resource than as a separate 'tool'. Allow users to long-press on words to get more info, change resources at the top of the screen like you would otherwise, maybe even swipe left to advance to the next verse
Yes - but I wouldn't expect TC to be extended to include long-press type features. It would be nice to be able to change the resources in use.
Also, it's very hard to get out of the Text Comparison view on Android.
The back arrow on my phone seems to do this fine - and tapping the three horizontal bars at the top-left brings up the menu. Are you not seeing this?
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Graham,
Thanks for taking the time to address all of my concerns promptly. As a new user of Logos it does boost my confidence that Logos will listen to their customer feedback and hopefully implement changes.
I'm presently at a crossroads of deciding whether to continue inputting my notes into the Notes part of Logos, explore another option such as putting my notes into a Personal Book, or jumping ship to another software. At first glance I like the look and feel of Logos and the syncability between Windows and Android.
To get down to it, I think my biggest concern is regarding the thought of committing hundreds or thousands of hours of note-taking to a proprietary software. There is currently the option of exporting the notes to a Word document, but then I'm stuck with whatever formatting Logos decides to do.
Is there a better option for me such as creating a Personal Book that would allow me to take my notes on verses while also retaining control over formatting and ability to export to other software?
Note titles do NOT show up in mouse hovers when reading through resources, but they DO show up when using the mobile app. If I'm going to bother making note titles in the first place, they should be consistently visible everywhere.
Agreed - and I note you have raised a suggestion regarding this at https://community.logos.com/forums/t/141859.aspx In the past there has been quite a lot of discussion around this (I can't find them now) but I think the desktop app may be acting as per design - but still worth asking if this can be changed
Okay it's good to know someone did see that post since it is a principle concern of mine.
Note icons for a Chapter (not a Chapter and verse) show up on Windows but not on Android app
I've just created a note against a chapter (selected the chapter heading and added a note) and the icon appears on Android as well - so not sure what we are doing differently here
I see now this seems to be an issue specifically with the NKJV. I just tested with KJV and ESV and the icon appeared fine as you said.
Only 2 or 3 notes are visible in Documents portion of Android app. Large amounts of screen space wasted. A dozen or more notes should be visible, at least in "Compact view"
Agreed - the iOS app handles this a lot better so that could be a model for the developers to look at
It's encouraging to hear this is better on iOS. Hopefully this issue can be addressed soon as I consider it more of a bugfix than a feature request.
There is no way to bulk-edit notes on Windows or Android that I know of. E.g. select multiple notes and change the font, icon, indentation, etc.
That is correct - and has been asked for frequently in the past. I understand that Faithlife are redesigning the notes system so wouldn't expect any changes in the current system - and I have no details of the planned one
Ok, at least it's good to know someone is working on this.
Touchability needs a lot of work. Resource panel can scroll with touch, Notes panel barely scrolls with touch, and Text Comparison panel doesn't scroll at all with touch.
Is this a comment about the desktop application? Text Comparison in Android seems to scroll fine
Sorry yes I was referring to the desktop application. I know touch-optimization is off-topic here but hopefully something the developers are working on because everything on Windows is going touch now.
Android app Text Comparison tool has a fixed font size while the resource font size is variable.
True - and it would be nice to be able to change this
Android app Text Comparison could be a lot more useful if it behaved more as a resource than as a separate 'tool'. Allow users to long-press on words to get more info, change resources at the top of the screen like you would otherwise, maybe even swipe left to advance to the next verse
Yes - but I wouldn't expect TC to be extended to include long-press type features. It would be nice to be able to change the resources in use.
Also, it's very hard to get out of the Text Comparison view on Android.
The back arrow on my phone seems to do this fine - and tapping the three horizontal bars at the top-left brings up the menu. Are you not seeing this?
At first use that seems to be the case. But at 8:54 of the video I posted you can see I had to press the Back button about 5 times to get out of TC. This problem evolves when you start going from verse to verse within TC, or having TC on a split screen that's following a resource. As I continue to read the resource, the TC pane follows along which is great, but then to get out of TC in that pane you have to press the Back button many times. I don't know any way around this.
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Regarding off-app note storage and personal books, remember PBs are desktop only. You appear to enjoy the mobile app a lot.
I keep all my notes off-app. Reasons:
- There's thousands, being generated from Logos, Accordance, Olivetree, Laridian, and of course Kindle.
- I like to store them in two major buckets. Bible verse, sorted by creation date (I often like to see what I thought years back). And major subject, usually grouped by sub-subject, within a subject.
- Ergo, two personal books: commentary format, and dictionary format.
- In my case, my other software also has personal books, so each gets a copy.
Interestingly, the Faithlife CEO, in Logos' early intoduction suggested off-app for greater utility.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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I'm presently at a crossroads of deciding whether to continue inputting my notes into the Notes part of Logos, explore another option such as putting my notes into a Personal Book, or jumping ship to another software. At first glance I like the look and feel of Logos and the syncability between Windows and Android.
To get down to it, I think my biggest concern is regarding the thought of committing hundreds or thousands of hours of note-taking to a proprietary software. There is currently the option of exporting the notes to a Word document, but then I'm stuck with whatever formatting Logos decides to do.
Is there a better option for me such as creating a Personal Book that would allow me to take my notes on verses while also retaining control over formatting and ability to export to other software?
It's a difficult choice and, as Denise has pointed out, personal books only work on the desktop and that is unlikely to change (based on statements made by people from Faithlife).
There are lots of discussions in the forums about this - with discussions of external notes platforms such as OneNote or EverNote. Reasons people advocate them include the extra functionality in those products, they are not tied to a specific Bible software application, greater control over formatting etc, good synchronisation across various platforms, security.
For me, keeping notes in Logos is preferable as they sync well between all the platforms I use and are clearly indicated in the software when reading / studying. That level of integration is important to me. Having said that I don't make anywhere near the number of notes that I know others do.
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Thanks again for the helpful feedback.
Denise, what kind of off-app note-taking software do you use may I ask? Do you split-screen with that software?
Graham, I definitely like the fact that Logos seems to have a solid syncing platform and that note indicators are given inline with the text regardless of what version is being read.
I keep playing with other options available on the market... today I gave Olive Tree another shot and couldn't get their Evernote synchronization to work. Then I see on their website that this is a known issue and they haven't found a solution yet.
Really I think Logos' integrated Notes functionality is good enough for my needs right now, and certainly better than anything else I'm seeing on the market. An important thing to me is that there IS a way to export notes from Logos 7, so even if it's not the exact formatting I would choose, should I ever want to use my notes elsewhere I have this option and could make a macro to reorganize the text in some other fashion.
One more question: Do you foresee any downside to have thousands of notes in one notebook? I'm only making notes on the Bible, not other books. If you have any experience with the Notes slowing down with too many notes, I'd like to know now so I can start separating them by books of the Bible. Or is it bad to have too many Notebooks/Documents? Thanks
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One more question: Do you foresee any downside to have thousands of notes in one notebook? I'm only making notes on the Bible, not other books. If you have any experience with the Notes slowing down with too many notes, I'd like to know now so I can start separating them by books of the Bible. Or is it bad to have too many Notebooks/Documents?
There have been reports in the past of very large notes documents impacting performance but I seem to remember that there were some enhancements to this - but I can't remember specifics. Sorry.
I'm not aware of any problem in having multiple Notes Documents
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I really don't like how the note function works in Logos. I really want something Like OneNote to be added to Logo so I will not have to use 2 different programs. I want a rich note taking and editing and research bible program. So far nothing is like what I want. I might be asking too much LOL! Logos is the best Bible software for research but is lacking in note taking formatting and editing. This is what I'm looking for in my bible study. Right now till they do something different I use OneNote with Logos. I link the passage that I'm studying to the OneNote study I'm doing. So when I do go back to the passage in Logos, I find my link in the form of a note. I did take me a while to figure out but I finally did. Ya for logos to add webpage links to your notes. After I'm done with the study I use the export file to webpage option in OneNote to create a link for Logos. I also love the awesome inductive Bible highlighting panel. One of my main reason why I chose Logos over other programs. I can easily integrate it into OneNote for my study. No program is perfect but OneNote and Logos come pretty close especially if you use them together.
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I know I replying to my own reply, I do want to point out, that now I do understand how the notes works in Logos I do use it. I use it for research. I use it like I would a sticky note. Then I would do all my writing in OneNote. So in that since I do like how the notes works in Logos, but I still would love if they added a rich editor in Logos. Realy adding somthing like OneNote would be awesome! I know the Logos program would be big but I have everything in one place would be worth it.
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