Accordance Made Easy, Part 2

Accordance Made Easy
(Continued)

More basic concepts for mastering Accordance Bible Software.

3. Location! Location! Location!

Once you grasp the idea that most Accordance windows have a section at the top where you define what you want to see, and a corresponding section at the bottom which displays what you have selected, it becomes relatively easy to figure out the function of just about any pop-up menu, button, text entry field, or other control--even when there are two or more controls which look alike. As with real estate, the most important thing to consider when trying to understand any given control is its location, location, location.

Let's look again at the Search window:

Have you noticed that there are no less than two pop-up menus that say "KJVS"? What's up with that?!

Not only do these two pop-up menus look the same, they both do basically the same thing: namely, allow you to choose from every one of the Bible texts and translations you have available. Talk about confusing!

But let's look again at the location of each of these pop-ups. One appears above the black divider line, in the part of the window where you define your search. The other appears below the divider line, in the section of the window where your search results are displayed. Now can you figure out what each of these pop-up menus is supposed to do? The pop-up menu in the top part of the window enables you to select the Bible text you wish to search, while the one in the bottom part of the window lets you choose the Bible text you wish to display.

Let's consider another example. In this same Search window, we see two text entry fields with OK buttons beside them. In each of these entry fields, you can enter book, chapter, or verse references to view a particular passage of the Bible. Yet once again, these similar-looking controls are located in different sections of the window, and therefore have quite different functions. The entry box in the top part of the window is where you enter a search, while the one in the bottom part of the window enables you to jump quickly to a particular section of your search results.

For example, if I want to study the book of Romans, I can click the radio button to search for verses, enter "Ro" in the entry box at the top of the window (in Accordance, you only need to enter enough characters to uniquely identify a book), and then click OK. When I do, the entire book of Romans will be displayed in the bottom part of the window. I can then navigate through my Search result by using the scroll bar; by clicking on the Verse, Chapter, and Book buttons; or by entering a verse reference in the text entry box at the bottom of the window (known as the Reference Box). If, for example, I enter "Romans 8" in this Reference Box and click OK, Accordance will immediately take me to that portion of my search result. It will not, however, change the search result which is displayed, and I can still navigate to any other section of the book of Romans.

If you ever find yourself confused by two similar-looking controls, take a moment to consider where each of them is located. Is one located in the area of the window in which you define a search? Then you can expect that control to affect the outcome of your search in some way. Is the other located in the area of the window in which search results are displayed? Then you can expect that control to affect the appearance of your search result in some way. Location, location, location--it's just that simple!

4. Choosing the Right Palette

My wife and I got cable television not too long ago, and I was excited about the prospect of watching football games on ESPN, great educational programs on Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel, and the History Channel, and yes, the occasional Batman cartoon on Cartoon Network. Little did I know that the channel which would receive the most airtime in our home is HGTV. That's Home and Garden Television for those of you who are not yet initiated, and it's a great place for my wife to get "ideas" about how we can improve our home and our yard! I now find myself wondering at what point I lost control of the remote!

Anyway, the designers on HGTV all spend a lot of time talking about "Color palettes," and whatever these things are, it is apparently crucial that you choose the right one. If you make a mistake here, your home improvement projects are ultimately doomed to failure, and the Joneses next door are sure to turn their noses up at your obvious lack of taste!

In much the same way, your experience with Accordance all depends on your ability to pick the right palette. Choose the wrong one, and you're likely to be frustrated. Choose the right one, and your Bible study experience can become a thing of beauty.

Let's look again at our picture of a typical Accordance screen, and you'll see what I mean:

Notice the two palettes along the top and right edges of the screen. Apart from the obvious difference in their orientation, these two palettes look very much alike, sharing many of the exact same buttons. Both of these palettes enable you to access every Bible text, map, timeline, parallel, User Tool, User Note, lexicon, commentary, and study aid in your Accordance library. Yet there is one fundamental difference between these two palettes, and once you've grasped that distinction, any confusion you might have about which one to use will be completely eliminated.

The horizontal palette at the top of the screen is called the New Window palette. Its sole function is to give you quick access to every available resource in your Accordance library. Each button on this palette represents a particular type of resource. When you click and hold on one of these buttons, a drop-down menu will appear listing every module of that type. Selecting one of these modules opens a new window displaying that module (hence the name, New Window palette). Think of it this way: selecting a module from the New Window palette is like going to your bookshelf, finding the book you want, and opening to the first page.

The vertical palette to the right of the screen is called the Amplify palette. It contains all of the buttons which appear on the New Window palette, as well as about a dozen others which are unique to it. The Amplify palette is designed to make it easy to get more information about a particular search or selection of text. As such, it is a much more powerful tool than the New Window palette.

Here's how it works: let's say you're looking at Romans 8:35 in the KJVS, and you want to find out more about the word "tribulation." Simply select "tribulation," and choose the reference work you want to consult from the Amplify palette. Select Easton's Bible Dictionary from the English Tools pop-up menu and you'll be taken immediately to the article on tribulation. Choose the Greek Strong's dictionary from the Greek Tools pop-up and you'll immediately be given a definition of the corresponding Greek word. Choose Ryrie's Study Bible notes from the Reference Tools pop-up and you'll find every place where Ryrie mentions the tribulation. If selecting a module from the New Window palette is like taking a book off the shelf and turning to the front page, selecting a module from the Amplify palette is like taking that book off the shelf and just happening to open to the page you were looking for !

The important thing to remember about the Amplify palette is that you must select some text or perform a search before clicking one of its buttons. Otherwise, the Amplify palette won't know what "page" to turn to, and you'll be presented with an error message. If you just want to open a resource without jumping to a particular section, be sure to use the New Window palette instead.

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3. Location! Location! Location!

Once you grasp the idea that most Accordance windows have a section at the top where you define what you want to see, and a corresponding section at the bottom which displays what you have selected, it becomes relatively easy to figure out the function of just about any pop-up menu, button, text entry field, or other control--even when there are two or more controls which look alike. As with real estate, the most important thing to consider when trying to understand any given control is its location, location, location.

Let's look again at the Search window:

Have you noticed that there are no less than two pop-up menus that say "KJVS"? What's up with that?!

Not only do these two pop-up menus look the same, they both do basically the same thing: namely, allow you to choose from every one of the Bible texts and translations you have available. Talk about confusing!

But let's look again at the location of each of these pop-ups. One appears above the black divider line, in the part of the window where you define your search. The other appears below the divider line, in the section of the window where your search results are displayed. Now can you figure out what each of these pop-up menus is supposed to do? The pop-up menu in the top part of the window enables you to select the Bible text you wish to search, while the one in the bottom part of the window lets you choose the Bible text you wish to display.

Let's consider another example. In this same Search window, we see two text entry fields with OK buttons beside them. In each of these entry fields, you can enter book, chapter, or verse references to view a particular passage of the Bible. Yet once again, these similar-looking controls are located in different sections of the window, and therefore have quite different functions. The entry box in the top part of the window is where you enter a search, while the one in the bottom part of the window enables you to jump quickly to a particular section of your search results.

For example, if I want to study the book of Romans, I can click the radio button to search for verses, enter "Ro" in the entry box at the top of the window (in Accordance, you only need to enter enough characters to uniquely identify a book), and then click OK. When I do, the entire book of Romans will be displayed in the bottom part of the window. I can then navigate through my Search result by using the scroll bar; by clicking on the Verse, Chapter, and Book buttons; or by entering a verse reference in the text entry box at the bottom of the window (known as the Reference Box). If, for example, I enter "Romans 8" in this Reference Box and click OK, Accordance will immediately take me to that portion of my search result. It will not, however, change the search result which is displayed, and I can still navigate to any other section of the book of Romans.

If you ever find yourself confused by two similar-looking controls, take a moment to consider where each of them is located. Is one located in the area of the window in which you define a search? Then you can expect that control to affect the outcome of your search in some way. Is the other located in the area of the window in which search results are displayed? Then you can expect that control to affect the appearance of your search result in some way. Location, location, location--it's just that simple!

My wife and I got cable television not too long ago, and I was excited about the prospect of watching football games on ESPN, great educational programs on Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel, and the History Channel, and yes, the occasional Batman cartoon on Cartoon Network. Little did I know that the channel which would receive the most airtime in our home is HGTV. That's Home and Garden Television for those of you who are not yet initiated, and it's a great place for my wife to get "ideas" about how we can improve our home and our yard! I now find myself wondering at what point I lost control of the remote!

Anyway, the designers on HGTV all spend a lot of time talking about "Color palettes," and whatever these things are, it is apparently crucial that you choose the right one. If you make a mistake here, your home improvement projects are ultimately doomed to failure, and the Joneses next door are sure to turn their noses up at your obvious lack of taste!

In much the same way, your experience with Accordance all depends on your ability to pick the right palette. Choose the wrong one, and you're likely to be frustrated. Choose the right one, and your Bible study experience can become a thing of beauty.

Let's look again at our picture of a typical Accordance screen, and you'll see what I mean:

Notice the two palettes along the top and right edges of the screen. Apart from the obvious difference in their orientation, these two palettes look very much alike, sharing many of the exact same buttons. Both of these palettes enable you to access every Bible text, map, timeline, parallel, User Tool, User Note, lexicon, commentary, and study aid in your Accordance library. Yet there is one fundamental difference between these two palettes, and once you've grasped that distinction, any confusion you might have about which one to use will be completely eliminated.

The horizontal palette at the top of the screen is called the New Window palette. Its sole function is to give you quick access to every available resource in your Accordance library. Each button on this palette represents a particular type of resource. When you click and hold on one of these buttons, a drop-down menu will appear listing every module of that type. Selecting one of these modules opens a new window displaying that module (hence the name, New Window palette). Think of it this way: selecting a module from the New Window palette is like going to your bookshelf, finding the book you want, and opening to the first page.

The vertical palette to the right of the screen is called the Amplify palette. It contains all of the buttons which appear on the New Window palette, as well as about a dozen others which are unique to it. The Amplify palette is designed to make it easy to get more information about a particular search or selection of text. As such, it is a much more powerful tool than the New Window palette.

Here's how it works: let's say you're looking at Romans 8:35 in the KJVS, and you want to find out more about the word "tribulation." Simply select "tribulation," and choose the reference work you want to consult from the Amplify palette. Select Easton's Bible Dictionary from the English Tools pop-up menu and you'll be taken immediately to the article on tribulation. Choose the Greek Strong's dictionary from the Greek Tools pop-up and you'll immediately be given a definition of the corresponding Greek word. Choose Ryrie's Study Bible notes from the Reference Tools pop-up and you'll find every place where Ryrie mentions the tribulation. If selecting a module from the New Window palette is like taking a book off the shelf and turning to the front page, selecting a module from the Amplify palette is like taking that book off the shelf and just happening to open to the page you were looking for !

The important thing to remember about the Amplify palette is that you must select some text or perform a search before clicking one of its buttons. Otherwise, the Amplify palette won't know what "page" to turn to, and you'll be presented with an error message. If you just want to open a resource without jumping to a particular section, be sure to use the New Window palette instead.