Hi everyone,
I've recently purchased two new resources (July 2015 plus one deal), and can't seem to access them on my computer. I can find them on my mobile device, but not on my Macbook running Logos 4. Anyone have any idea as to why this is so?
Thanks,
Marty K.
Are you certain the resources are compatible with L4? Not all resources are backward compatible.
Have you restarted your application? Tried "update now" in the Command box?
Orthodox Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."
Thanks for the reply,
yeah, restarted and updated. No success.
You mean to say for new resources I might need to upgrade?
How do you know if a source is backwards compatible?
Martin Scott Kemp:How do you know if a source is backwards compatible?
There's no easy way to find out, although if you tell me the resource I might be able to find out.
You need to be using 5.2b or above to guarantee you'll be able to access all resources. Is there any reason why you're not on that version (or even L6), when it's free to download?
Ok thanks. I didn't realise that the core engine was a free upgrade. All good.
Mark Barnes: There's no easy way to find out...
There's no easy way to find out...
I'd love to hear what method(s) you use, Mark, for finding out – even if it's not simple. One of my machines (running Windows XP) is constrained to L4. So it wouldn't hurt to know if/how to vet resources for compatibility. Thanks.
Andrew Malone:I'd love to hear what method(s) you use, Mark, for finding out – even if it's not simple.
You have to make a SOAP request to Logos' metadata service. That's what your Logos desktop software does. You'll need the resource ID, too.
If you're not a coder, you can make a SOAP request by going to http://wsdlbrowser.com/
It will ask you for a WSDL URL, which is https://services.logos.com/resource/v3/MetadataService.svc?wsdl
You'll then get a list of functions in the left hand column. Most of them won't work (because you have to be logged into Logos), but the GetMetadata service will work. So click on that.
That will display a Request XML in the right hand panel. In the middle, you'll see <ns1:string>?</ns1:string>
Replace the question mark with the resource ID (e.g. LLS:14.0.4), and click Call Function. (LLS:14.0.4 is the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary)
A bunch of XML will now be displayed. Look for the text <SupportedPlatforms> (use CTRL+F). It will say ldls3, logos4, or logos5 or logos6. (If it says logos4, it will also be OK in logos5 and logos6.) If you want to know the exact version number that's required, scroll up a bit, and look for <ResourceFileMetadata>. That will give you all the versions of this resource. Potentially, different versions of the file will be available for different software versions.
The screenshot below shows the detail for the AYBD. You'll see that if you're running Logos 4.3 you'll get a version of the AYBD from 2011. If you're using Logos 4.5, you'll get a later update from 2012, whereas you need to be running Logos 4.63 or above (i.e. 4.6c) to get the most recent version.
Awesome detailed instructions, thanks Mark!
One final newbie question. How does one locate a resource ID? It's easy for resources that have downloaded properly. But I'm trying to investigate those which won’t load into L4. Is there a source of IDs somewhere?
Andrew Malone:One final newbie question. How does one locate a resource ID? It's easy for resources that have downloaded properly. But I'm trying to investigate those which won’t load into L4. Is there a source of IDs somewhere?
That's much easier, thankfully.
Go to the live product page you're interested in, and look at the very bottom of the page, above the reviews. You'll see a section entitled "More details about these resources". The URL of each resource (which you can see by hovering or clicking) gives you the resource ID. You'll need to replace the underscore character with a colon.
This doesn't work for base packages, because base packages are configured as a combination of products, not resources (at least as far as we see them). But if run a "Compare All", you can hover over individual products, then click on the product cover to go the the product page for that individual resource/collection, then follow the instructions above.
Lovely, thanks Mark. Very helpful.
Time for me to learn more about version numbers. Mark's advice works very smoothly, such that I can find the following for my test resource. It gives me:
<FileName>QSTNSCHRSTNSBLW.logos4</FileName> <MinimumSoftwareVersion>4.63.0.412</MinimumSoftwareVersion> <Platform>logos4</Platform> <ResourceId>LLS:QSTNSCHRSTNSBLW</ResourceId> <Version>2015-01-07T22:14:10Z</Version>
My own platform tells me it's running 4.6c SR-7 (4.63.0.0409). Should I be worried about the finest decimal places? Is there some wiki page somewhere that can introduce me to such details?
Andrew Malone:My own platform tells me it's running 4.6c SR-7 (4.63.0.0409). Should I be worried about the finest decimal places? Is there some wiki page somewhere that can introduce me to such details?
https://wiki.logos.com/Logos_4_Release_Notes has all the build names for Logos 4 - but the one you quote for your system seems to be the latest.
Andrew Malone: My own platform tells me it's running 4.6c SR-7 (4.63.0.0409). Should I be worried about the finest decimal places? Is there some wiki page somewhere that can introduce me to such details?
That's interesting. I've not noticed that before. I therefore can't give a definitive answer to your question, and I'm left guessing . I'd only be 50/50 that my guess is correct.
My guess would be that this resource won't work in Logos 4. I think the final digits do matter. I suspect the higher version number refers to an unreleased build. I would guess that changes were made to L5 to support new resources, and they were automatically merged into the L4 branch, but they've never been tested or released. But that's pure speculation on my part.
Of course, there's only one way to be completely sure, and that would be to try it.
That particular resource was offered for free (or was it for 99c?) a couple of months ago, so there are probably lots of people on the forums who have it, one or two of whom might still be using Logos 4 on one machine. Perhaps you could put a post up asking other forum users who own that resource whether or not they have access to it on L4. Then we'd all know for sure whether those final three digits were significant.
For what it's worth, there are a large number of resources (over 1,600) that state they are compatible with 4.63.0.412 or above (plus a handful with .413 and .414). However, most of them have earlier versions that compatible with earlier builds.
The plot thickens when we look at the newest (August) free book as an example. Resource details read:
<DatePublished>2013-07-03T17:26:35.043</DatePublished> <FileName>PAIDEIA65AC.logos4</FileName> <FileSize>6126123</FileSize> <MinimumSoftwareVersion>4.50.0.1855</MinimumSoftwareVersion> <Platform>logos4</Platform> <ResourceId>LLS:PAIDEIA65AC</ResourceId> <Version>2012-07-17T18:48:04Z</Version>
If I've understood our discussion correctly, the Minimum Software Version value of 4.5 should definitely work under my 4.6(c). But it's refusuing to cooperate; I keep getting 'No Updates Available'. (I know the 'purchase' has processed properly; it's downloading fine to my iPad.)
As Mark suspects, it would seem there may be other factors at work...
Given the apparent grief in decimal places, I've fired off an email to tech@logos. I'll provide any updates I hear.
Andrew Malone:If I've understood our discussion correctly, the Minimum Software Version value of 4.5 should definitely work under my 4.6(c). But it's refusuing to cooperate; I keep getting 'No Updates Available'. (I know the 'purchase' has processed properly; it's downloading fine to my iPad.)
This version should definitely work. It might be worth trying again, as there was a problem with the Logos servers yesterday. But I would turn on logging first, then if it doesn't work, you could upload the logs and we could take a look.
Andrew Malone: Mark Barnes: There's no easy way to find out... I'd love to hear what method(s) you use, Mark, for finding out – even if it's not simple
I'd love to hear what method(s) you use, Mark, for finding out – even if it's not simple
By the way, there is now an easy way to found out. I've created a quick website that gives you the information. There's no search facility which hampers things slightly, but you can use a URL like this one: http://www.mylogoslibrary.com/resource.php?resource=LLS:PAIDEIA65AC, or go to http://www.mylogoslibrary.com/newtome.php and enter the product page URL.
Again, thanks Mark. Being able to subtitute the requisite product ID into the URL of your site produces very readable information.
(No news yet on the 4.6c compatability issues. I'm still waiting...)