VerseWise News

iPad 1.0.1 coming soon

2012-01-15T18:06:00.003-07:00

This will be an update to RSV-CE. It will be an initial iPad release for RSV, KJV and Douay Rheims.

Four crashes fixed:

Swipe chapter or reading text after "back" button has been hit in left pane
Swipe to delete a bookmark's tag
Settings (infrequent)
History (infrequent)

Thank you to those sending in the crash reports!

One enhancement:

Formatted text for RSV

Plus a bunch of minor tweaks and enhancements that didn't make it into 1.0!

UPDATE #1:

Added two more crashes that were fixed.

UPDATE #2:

Now in the store! Working on getting other iPad versions submitted soon!

VerseWise Bible RSV-CE for iPad now available

2011-12-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

VerseWise Bible RSV-CE for iPad is now in the App Store! Download it, tell your friends and let me know what you think! I hope you like it.

RSV, KJV, DR and RV will follow in the upcoming weeks.

I did find some bugs since submitting it:

Deleting a bookmark does not always dismiss the popover
Bookmarks in Plans sometimes cause a delayed redraw of the screen

For both of these problems an extra tap fixes things, but they're annoying nonetheless and I'll get a fix out soon. In the meantime, if you find anything else, please let me know in the comments or in email.

I also plan to add formatting now that we have all of that iPad real estate. This will bring the text layout more in line with the published page. My top priority is the RSV and RSV-CE.

And, yes, we have an iPhone/iPod update waiting in the wings. As soon as all the iPad editions are out the door I'll work on this.

VerseWise Bible RSV-CE S submitted

2011-12-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

The first iPad version of VerseWise Bible has been submitted to the App Store! Apple's Christmas break is only a week away, but that might be enough time to get it approved before they're off. They've been speedy in past holiday seasons.

Since this is a 1.0, I'm only releasing the RSV-CE version for now. Once I feel comfortable that there aren't any big issues (nothing like having to fix a bug and then re-submit 5 or 6 apps at the same time), I'll roll out other versions.

In the development of the iPad version, I've also been updating the iPhone/iPod code base. Nothing real fancy as far as features go, but a lot of under-the-covers stuff like a crash reporter that will allow you to send crash reports with a single tap. I hope to use this to improve the quality of VerseWise, so please tap "Send" when asked! (Ideally you'll never even see a crash, of course.)

That said, I don't want to send an iPhone/iPod update with nothing "new", so I'll see what I can do.

Thank you for your support and I hope you all have a blessed Christmas season.

iPad sharing & bookmarks

2011-10-31T12:05:00.000-06:00

Time for another iPad update!

Got Facebook Sharing working on the iPad the other day.

That, and Bookmarks, were the final bits of functionality I needed to implement. (I'm saving new features for after I get initial iPad app out.)

Now comes a bit of "tuning" to make everything work better and more intuitively. Oh, and better tab bar buttons.

Crashes while running on iPad

2011-10-03T10:03:00.000-06:00

A couple users have noticed crashes when running VerseWise (which is currently an iPhone/iPod app) on an iPad. I unfortunately introduced this problem while adding code for the upcoming iPad release.

The problem occurs when VerseWise tries to rotate. One quick fix is to go into Settings and turn Autorotate "off". Or you can just try to be careful and not rotate your iPad while running the app. :)

Of course I will release a fix for this in the next update. I hope to also include some new reading plans.

iPad search & history

2011-08-01T06:42:00.000-06:00

With the usual apologies for the time this is taking. :)

(See screenshots below.)

I did recently get a question about whether the iPad version of VerseWise will be bundled with the iPhone/iPod version as a "Universal app" (as opposed to being listed in the App Store separately). Here is my response.

As an update, it would be real nice if I could just release the iPad version for iOS 5, which is due to be released in September (which is good timing for me at the rate I'm going). The "popovers" you see in the screenshots below just don't always behave right in iOS 4. I can work around these misbehaviors for the most part, but they still don't act exactly right.

That could mean two things:

Release of iPad app in September?
Won't be bundled as a Universal app, but will need to be purchased separately.

iPad settings

2011-07-04T15:32:00.000-06:00

Still plugging away! Here's Settings.

iPad bookmarks

2011-06-17T11:57:00.003-06:00

Another preview of the upcoming iPad app.

iPad actions

2011-06-10T16:27:00.000-06:00

Had a little spare time to work on the iPad this week. Since the last update:

I've added the "Additional" tab on the left (below Bible and Reading Plans) for things like a Preface or other additional materials.
I've added the Action button.

Most of the actions are working as-is, but there are a couple that need to be tweaked for iPad.

So ... it's coming along! I apologize for those who were hoping for a speedy iPad release (I certainly was!) but it is what it is. I very much want to get this in the store and will keep you updated.

4.1.1 update

2011-05-28T21:08:00.005-06:00

I have submitted an update to the store. Issues addressed:

Updated share-to-Facebook logic so that scriptures are displayed correctly when viewing from official Facebook app; single-sign-on also now supported
Fixed infrequent crash that could occur when rotating device after displaying footnotes
Fixed minor search bug that excluded words with footnotes

Will let you know when it's available in the store!

UPDATE 6-JUN:

Now available for download from the store!

Viewing shared scriptures in Facebook app

2011-05-11T17:25:00.000-06:00

Thank you to Mike B. for pointing out that if you view scriptures you shared from VerseWise in the Facebook app, the text of the scriptures are not displayed.

This was certainly working before! Perhaps Facebook is getting back at me for not keeping up-to-date with the FBConnect libraries. Updating to the latest should solve the problem.

3 Maccabees in KJV

2011-05-06T11:40:00.022-06:00

A King James Version of 3 Maccabees is available, so why doesn't VerseWise KJV include it?

~~The source I used for KJV did not include it, so I did not know it was available!~~

Update:

Turns out my original conclusion was correct. The 3 Maccabees source I thought I found turned out to be 1 Esdras. And viewing this list of books in the King James, 3 Maccabees is not there. Case closed.

3 Maccabees is in the Revised Standard Version, so if you are interested in it take a look at VerseWise Bible RSV.

iPad reading plan

2011-05-03T11:31:00.000-06:00

Still plugging away on the iPad. The "tab" interface is now fully implemented so you can easily bounce between Bible and Reading Plans.

Having the extra real estate does make the interface more complicated. The hooks that I have in the iPhone app for saving your place when a screen was exited do not apply here because that portion may very well stay visible on the screen while you do other things.

Search bug

2011-04-22T12:54:00.000-06:00

Thank you to Jon S. for pointing out that if a word has an "*" attached to it (denoting a footnote), it will not turn up in search results. Will fix this for the next release!

4.1 update

2011-04-12T13:29:00.002-06:00

The 4.1 update has been submitted to the App Store. Hope to have it available in about a week.

Included in this update:

Added backup & restore of Bookmarks and Highlights for iOS 4 devices (see product page for details)
Fixed lingering Reading Plan bugs; improved Reading Plan performance
Fixed two start-up crashes experienced by some older devices
Tuned how & when books search bar is hidden; fixed infrequent crash

Hidden in this update are under-the-hood changes made in anticipation of the iPad release. Hopefully these did not introduce additional issues!

UPDATE 14-Apr:

This update is now available in the App Store.

Backup & Restore preview

2011-04-01T13:25:00.000-06:00

You can read about the new Backup & Restore functionality coming in the 4.1 update.

This new functionality is ready, and I've been able to fix yet more Reading Plan and Footnotes bugs since 4.0.2, but there are a couple of crash bugs that I want to make sure are gone. I was in a big hurry to fix things in the 4.0.1 and 4.0.2 updates and want to be more deliberate this time around.

Thank you for your patience!

Crashes on older devices

2011-03-28T10:05:00.001-06:00

Two issues to report.

On devices using iOS 3, trying to Share verses causes a crash.
On older devices using iOS4 (like the iPhone 3G), a crash can occur on start-up. For those affected, it happens repeatedly.

Working on both of these, will include them with the 4.1 update.

Highlights/Bookmarks backup & restore

2011-03-25T21:50:00.000-06:00

I've received a couple emails asking questions about protecting one's Highlights and Bookmarks in the case of having to delete and re-install VerseWise Bible.

User data is included when your device is backed up during a sync with iTunes. So one could do a device restore to get Highlights and Bookmarks back. But this can be complicated and sometimes one doesn't want to restore an old device backup, losing what one has done in other apps since that backup. This can be particularly so if you don't do regular backups.

So I am working on a way for a user to save Highlights and Bookmarks files from VerseWise Bible, view and edit these files on your computer if desired, and re-import them. I am planning on a 4.1 update that will include this and a couple bug fixes.

iPad update

2011-03-24T07:47:00.000-06:00

If you've been wondering what's been happening on the iPad front, unfortunately I've been occupied with other things! This won't last forever, however, so I hope to work soon.

Crash reports

2011-03-24T07:44:00.000-06:00

I've gotten some emails about VerseWise Bible crashing in some circumstances. I'm collecting crash report files, which are very helpful in tracking the problems down. If you're experiencing crashes, please contact me!

Another Reading Plans issue

2011-03-07T12:41:00.003-07:00

Thank you to Judy D. for reporting another issue with Reading Plans.

Readings such as "Genesis 1-3" start at 1:3 rather than 1:1.

I am working on a fix and am also working on writing tests to verify this area of the app as it's obviously fraught with peril!

UPDATE

This update is now in the store.

4.0.1 submitted to store

2011-02-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

Has two bug fixes:

Not all Reading Plan footnotes displayed
Some Reading Plan entries were empty except for a colon ":"

Reading Plan entries bug

2011-02-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Karen H. for pointing out that some Read Plan entries are not displaying correctly, showing only a single colon. Will try to have a fix for this (and other pending bugs) submitted to the store within a couple days.

Footnotes bug in Reading Plans

2011-02-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

Just found a bug where not all Footnotes display for some Readings. Will be fixed in next release!

iPad Day 4

2011-02-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

Tab bar like functionality on the far left. You'll be able to select between Bible, Plans, Search, Bookmarks and History. This will affect the left column.

When you drill down and make a selection in the left column (be it a chapter, reading, search result, bookmark or history entry), it will appear on the right. Otherwise the right will remain unchanged until you make another selection on the left or swipe left/right to go to previous/next.

Book introductions and footnotes now appear as a popover instead of a modal that flips and takes over the entire screen.

iPad Day 2

2011-02-11T21:15:00.001-07:00

OK, split screen, making some progress. If you're familiar with iPad mail, you have some idea how this will work. In landscape orientation, you'll have the left column. In portrait, the text will fill the screen and you'll access the left column via a popover. Except mail only has one thing that can occupy the left column: the mailbox/folder/message hierarchy. VerseWise will have books/chapters, search/results, bookmarks or reading plans. Fun fun!

iPad Day 1

2011-02-10T17:54:00.001-07:00

Just a big version of the iPhone app right now. But it's a start!

4.0 submitted to store

2011-02-10T09:14:00.004-07:00

Changes in this new version:

Reading Plans
Improved swiping between chapters on iOS 4
Type part of book name to filter list
Minor bug fixes

Thank you to all who submitted bug reports. Thank you to Jason P. for help with the Jewish reading plans and beta testing.

And thank you to everyone inquiring about the iPad version of VerseWise. Work starts today!

UPDATE 2/17/11

Now available in the store!

Changing History

2011-01-31T17:19:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed in my previous post that the History button has moved from middle-right to the far left.

My thinking is that with the Reading Plan functionality, the History button has become a lot more important. It is now the quick way to bounce between a plan and the main scripture area.

It's always acted as something of a "back" button, but I think it'll be used a lot more as such when people start using the Reading Plans. So having it had the far left made more sense to me. I'm tempted to make it look more like a back button (something like ◄), but am not sure that's a good idea.

You'll also notice a new "Home" button at the top left of the History screen. What do you think that does?

Every once in a while I've had a request for some way to quickly go to the "top" of the screen navigation. Normally if you've tapped "Holy Bible / Book / Chapter X", it takes three "back taps" to get back to the first screen.

A good way to shortcut this has never occurred to me, nor did it seem like a big deal, since one was usually browsing among chapters and books and rarely needed to return to the Home screen.

This changed with Reading Plans. I may be reading in Holy Bible and want to go to a Reading Plan. If I'm lucky, I've already been in that plan and can just use History to quickly go there. But if I haven't, it could take three taps to get to Home, then possibly three more to navigate into a plan. That seemed a bit much. And it occurred to me that the top left space of the History screen isn't being used for anything. So there you are.

Comments are welcome! It'll probably be another week or so before I send the update to the store, so if you have something to say, say it now!

Typing book name

2011-01-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

Minor enhancement coming next update, the ability to start typing in a bookname to quickly find that book.

Side scrolling between chapters in iOS 4

2011-01-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

If you've noticed that scrolling between chapters became more difficult after upgrading to iOS 4, you're not alone! Sometimes it could take two or three tries to get it to work.

As I've been working on the same kind of functionality in Reading Plans (in this case, side scrolling to go between different days in the plan), I got the chance to re-visit code I wrote in the early days for iOS 2, which also worked in iOS 3 but seemed to deteriorate a little in iOS 4.

I'm happy to report that I've been able to make adjustments for much easier side scrolling. This will be included in the Reading Plans update that I hope to deliver to the store within a couple weeks.

Thank you to Matthew S. for putting the bee in my bonnet at exactly the right time!

RSV-CE footnotes

2010-12-21T14:22:00.001-07:00

Thank you to John M. for pointing out that the latest release of RSV-CE is missing some of the New Testament footnotes!

I'll submit a fix to the App Store today but since Apple is closing for a week starting the 23rd, there may be a delay in its approval. I'll keep everyone updated.

Update 12/23: The fix is now available in the store. Thanks Apple for the quick turnaround!

Reading Plans

2010-11-06T10:58:00.002-06:00

I'm starting to work on Reading Plans. I have a couple already in mind (Bible in a year, Bible in 3 years, Orthodox Christian lectionary, Torah Weekly portion), but if you have one you'd like to see, please email me!

If it's a long plan (ie, 100+ readings), I'd prefer to have it sent to me in the format I need (spreadsheet or JSON). If you think you're up to the task, email me.

Deuterocanon in KJV

2010-11-05T15:10:00.004-06:00

Working on fixing Daniel in RSV-CE got me in the mood to finally add the deuterocanon to VerseWise Bible® KJV.

What? You didn't know that the King James Version of the Bible originally included the deuterocanonical books? Most printings did, until the 19th century.

Much like the VerseWise Bible RSV, KJV will default to the 66-book Protestant canon with an option to turn the deuterocanonical books on. Will let you know when this update is in the app store.

Update: Now available in the app store.

Daniel in RSV-CE

2010-11-04T13:13:00.001-06:00

Thank you to Kayle for pointing out some chapter and footnote problems in the book of Daniel in RSV-CE. I have sent an update to the app store and will let you know when it has been accepted and released.

One of the challenges in Daniel is that there is some deuterocanonical text (from the Septuagint) inserted in the middle of chapter 3. In the print version of the RSV-CE you have chapter 3 verses 1-23, italicized verses 1-68, then non-italicized verses 24-30. To make things a little easier logic-wise, I named those italicized verses 1-68 "chapter 15". It helps to not have two sets of verses in chapter 3 with the same numbers.

Unfortunately, what works logic-wise, can sometimes be initially confusing to the human eye.

But, I assure you, the above listing is as intended! The first "chapter 3" is verses 1-23. Then the 68 verses of "chapter 15". Then the second "chapter 3", which is verses 24-30.

Not an ideal solution, but hopefully not too confusing now that it has been explained.

For even more fun with chapter numbering, see what happens in the book of Esther.

Update: Now available in the app store.

3.0 (and bookmarks) in store

2010-10-15T16:08:00.001-06:00

As many of you have noticed by now, 3.0 is now available in the App Store. Along with some bug fixes, the biggest new feature is Bookmarks. You can now bookmark verses for easy reference later.

View screenshots and details on the new product page.

I hope you find Bookmarks easy and intuitive to use.

Reina-Valera & RSV crash in 2.2.x

2010-08-15T13:24:00.002-06:00

Several users have reported crashes in 2.2.x. I have tracked the problem to a section of code that does not deal correctly with those that have the 1909 text selected in Settings. I will fix this for the next update, which I hope to have available in a week or two.

In the meantime, the best way around this bug is to select the "Sagradas Escrituras" text in Settings before upgrading from 2.1 to 2.2.x. If you did not do this and are currently experiencing crashes, delete and re-install VerseWise from your device to restore functionality. Or you can wait for the next update.

I am very sorry for the inconvenience this is causing!

2.2.2 in store

2010-07-14T07:34:00.003-06:00

This update includes:

Updated for iOS 4, supporting fast app switching
Updated assets for iPhone 4 screen
Minor bug fixes (including network indicator)

On to the 2.3 update, which will include user bookmarks!

iPhone 4

2010-06-26T07:17:00.001-06:00

I hope those that got the new iPhone 4 are enjoying it!

I am working on updating the assets, including the application icon. As you can see, it will be quite an improvement over what is currently displayed on the iPhone 4.

I hope to have this out soon, along with the iOS 4 fix.

iOS 4

2010-06-21T08:43:00.001-06:00

Those of you updating to iOS 4 today, you may notice a minor bug in VerseWise! The first time you run the app every day, the network indicator does not turn off.

This is slightly annoying, but nothing is happening -- the indicator is just erroneously staying on. I'll have a fix (along with some other minor fixes I need to do) in the store soon.

Bug fixes

2010-05-18T05:17:00.005-06:00

Thank you to Andrew, John, Henry and Fr. Patrick for reporting bugs that will be fixed in the next update.

Incorrect search results on more common words
Chapter header sometimes incorrect when viewing text in landscape mode
"Message of the day" under some ISP conditions causes app to redirect to Safari, unable to run

2.2.1 on the way

2010-04-28T10:50:00.002-06:00

Hey all, sorry for the recent lack of information!

Working on a 2.2.1 release for all translations. I had released 2.2 for RSV and RSV-CE, but Apple asked me to change a certain function call I was making for future releases. I've addressed that and decided to work on the 3 or 4 (minor! :) bug reports users have sent me in. Hope to have something in the store soon!

Facebook for RSV & RSV-CE turned on

2010-02-23T22:39:00.003-07:00

For those of you that have downloaded the 2.2 update for RSV and RSV-CE, I have just taken the Facebook interaction out of "sandbox mode". So now scriptures should be appearing correctly as you post them. My apologies, it was an oversight of mine when the 2.2 update appeared in the store.

RSV & RSV-CE 2.2 now in the app store

2010-02-17T08:39:00.003-07:00

Added features:

Email selected verses or post to Facebook
Highlight verses
Easily copy verses (with reference) to clipboard

I will submit the other Bible texts in the upcoming days.

2.2 update

2010-01-04T10:54:00.003-07:00

Has it really been that long since my last update? Unfortunately "real life" intrudes on my VerseWise development. I'm still here and am starting to ramp up a real 2.2 update to the store.

I had been considering Twitter integration, but at this time it's too much work for too little gain. Maybe later! In consolation, I have added an easy "copy to clipboard" option that you can use to paste scriptures into your favorite Twitter client (or whatever other app you'd like to paste scriptures to).

Still debating what else to include in 2.2. I'd like to add user notes and reading plans, but the more stuff I add the longer it takes before release! I don't want it to be another two months before I can surface for air. There's always 2.3.

2.2 preview #3

2009-10-13T06:29:00.002-06:00

2.2 preview #2

2009-10-11T08:03:00.002-06:00

2.2 preview #1

2009-10-09T21:38:00.005-06:00

RSV in the UK

2009-09-14T10:48:00.002-06:00

For those looking for the RSV or the RSV-CE in the UK, my apologies, but I do not have permission to distribute the text there, so it is not available in the UK store. I often forget about this exclusion, so I've neglected to bring it up.

I will inquire as to what the licensing terms would be.

RV 2.1.1

2009-09-04T14:01:00.001-06:00

I have submitted an RV update to the store. Will let you know when it's available.

Update 9/16: RV has been approved for sale. Should be in the store soon.

JPS 2.1.1

2009-09-04T07:26:00.002-06:00

I have submitted a JPS update to the store. Changes made are the same as the KJV. I'll let you know when it's available!

Update 9/16: JPS has been approved for sale. It should be in the store within a couple hours.

Douay-Rheims notes

2009-08-27T17:34:00.008-06:00

I'm on a roll! Somebody stop me!

In addition to updating Douay-Rheims to v2.1.1, I've also integrated the book introductions, chapter headers and footnotes. Take a look.

Introduction button in the upper-right:

Introduction text:

Chapter header, "*" after verses with a footnote, footnote button in upper-right:

Footnote text:

I have submitted this update to the store.

Update 9/11: Now in the store!

KJV 2.1.1 submitted to store

2009-08-27T10:06:00.003-06:00

I just submitted a KJV update to the store. (DR, RV, and JPS should follow in the next couple days.) It includes an OS 3.0 fix, a text correction (2 Chronicles 7:17 -- thanks, Scott!) and:

- Restored autorotation
- Improved low-light mode

For those wondering when fun new functionality will arrive: I promise, some will arrive in subsequent updates! Thank you for your patience!

Update 9/11: Now in the store!

RSV now in store

2009-08-04T07:47:00.005-06:00

I'm happy to announce that VerseWise Bible^® RSV has now been approved for sale and is available in the iPhone App Store.

I'm excited about its release because I think it is one of the few iPhone Bibles that include the deuterocanon, the books that were in the common Bible of Jesus' and the apostles' day (the Septuagint) but have since been removed from the Protestant canon. (Don't worry, it defaults to "off" if you only want the Protestant Bible!) And there are even a couple not in the Catholic canon.

There's the running joke about people who have an incredible preference for the King James Bible saying, "If it was good enough for John the Baptist, it's good enough for me!" (The joke being the KJV didn't come around until 1611.) Well, in the case of the Septuagint, the saying might be true!

Feel free to email me or leave comments about this release.

RSV-CE now available in store

2009-07-18T17:11:00.009-06:00

RSV-CE (Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition), aka "the Ignatius Bible", is now available in the iTunes App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch. Please tell all your friends and write plenty of good reviews for it. :)

Thank you for everyone's interest and support.

RSV almost ready

2009-07-16T08:19:00.006-06:00

I have completed the text processing for the RSV deuterocanonical books. When that option is turned on, the Old Testament books are ordered according to the Septuagint, from which the deuterocanonical text comes. (Makes a certain amount of sense to do it that way, doesn't it?)

Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
1 Ezra
2 Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Judith
Tobit
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
3 Maccabees
Psalms
Prayer of Manasseh
Job
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Wisdom of Solomon
Sirach
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Baruch
Lamentations
Letter of Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel

Along with some additional books, there is also additional text in a few books.

Psalm 151
Prayers, other narrative elements in Esther
Susanna, Song of the Young Men, Bel & the Dragon in Daniel

Even if you're a Protestant, I think these texts should be of interest, their being in the Bible of Jesus' and the Apostles' time.

I only need to finish the logic for switching the deuterocanon on and off. That shouldn't take more than a day. After some testing, I hope to have it submitted to the store (to be approved after a week?) by the weekend.

Update 7/19

I have just submitted RSV to the store. Hopefully it will be approved as quickly as RSV-CE was.

RSV-CE submitted to app store

2009-07-13T08:26:00.004-06:00

I submitted VerseWise Bible RSV-CE (Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition) to the app store last night. My past experience has been for it to take about a week for a submission to be approved and appear in the store, but I hear on the grapevine it may be taking longer these days. We'll see! I'll post when it's been approved.

I am now working on the "regular" RSV release. As I've said before, this will include an option to display the deuterocanon, so I think it'll be of interest to Eastern Orthodox readers as well as Protestants. I have some code work and text processing to do, but I hope it won't take more than a week to get it submitted as well.

RSV update (& deuterocanonical text)

2009-07-01T09:38:00.006-06:00

I now have most of the text parsed and ready for RSV and RSV-CE and have adapted VerseWise to be able to handle the RSV's deuterocanonical numbering. I will making deuterocanonical text an optional setting in the RSV release. (It will, of course, be standard in the RSV-CE release.)

This is my first exposure to how the RSV numbers deuterocanonical text. My basic understanding of it is that when Jerome translated/assembled the Vulgate he appended the deuterocanonical text onto the end of canonical books. Canonical Esther has 10 chapters, so the deuterocanonical text began at Esther 11. The problem with this is that the content of Esther 11 is actually supposed to be at the beginning of the book!

RSV maintains Jerome's numbering, but returns the text to where it belongs chronologically in the text. This is what the chapter list looks like in VerseWise:

And it's more fun than that -- the first verse of Esther is 11:2!

Needless to say, there were some logic changes that had to be made to VerseWise to be able to handle books that did not begin with chapter 1 and chapters that did not begin with verse 1.

I've seen other Bibles with deuterocanonical text handle the numbering in different ways. Some label chapter 11 as "chapter A", another labels chapters 11 & 12 as "chapter 1" but with verses "1a, 1b, 1c, ..." until you reach the standard chapter 1:1.

I think I have a slight preferences for the "chapter A" scheme. At least I imagine users would find it less confusing. (Though, not completely so -- you'd still have two "chapter3s" broken up by a "chapter C".) But it is what it is, and I'm just happy to have the full text available!

OS 3.0 bugs

2009-06-24T21:44:00.004-06:00

Just noticed a bug in VerseWise when running under OS 3.0. When selecting a search result, the window does not automatically scroll to that verse.

I am working on an update for OS 3.0. If you've noticed any other problems with the current release of VW, please let me know!

RSV and RSV-CE

2009-05-02T19:57:00.004-06:00

Just a note to let everyone that I am at this very moment working on Revised Standard Version and Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (aka "Ignatius Bible"). I'll keep you updated as progress continues and will let you know when they've been submitted to the store.

More JPS delay

2009-04-05T14:44:00.005-06:00

Since I last wrote, the JPS version of VerseWise has been rejected two more times! (Or is it three?) I believe I have remedied all of Apple's concerns and just uploaded a new binary.

Of course, this also affects the other versions of VerseWise. Users of these other versions will noticed fewer graphics in the History section.

Sorry for the delay!

I am also working on a 2.1 update. At this rate, JPS users may see 2.1 within a week or two of 2.0. :\

Landscape

2009-03-18T05:32:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to let you know that I am working on restoring Landscape mode. Unfortunately, it is not as trivial as I'd like, what with the new toolbar, which is why I released update 2.0 without it. But iPhone OS 3.0's extended use of Landscape has given me new motivation!

JPS delay

2009-03-18T05:21:00.004-06:00

For those of you waiting for JPS to be updated to 2.0, I apologize! I encountered my first application rejection!

Even though JPS looks exactly like my KJV, RV and DR releases, the reviewer did not like the fact I was using the Bookmarks button to activate View History. Even though Safari accesses its View History through its Bookmarks button. I even re-submitted the app to give the reviewer a chance to see the error of his ways. (Alas, he did not.)

I do intend to add full bookmark functionality, but until then I've updated the button.

I will update the other versions with this button, unless I add full Bookmarks functionality first.

2.0 released

2009-02-28T10:10:00.010-07:00

Update 2.0 of KJV is now available in the store. I'll be uploading the other translations over the weekend; they should be in the store within the week.

This update includes:

Update 3/3: JPS and RV have been uploaded to the store (and should be available in a couple days). I am now working on updating the DR text (I found a source with fewer typos), and will upload that soon.

View history

2009-02-23T19:13:00.006-07:00

Along with making Settings more easily accessible, I've added View History bookmarks to the 2.0 update. They store up to 100 of your last accessed chapters. Being able to bounce between multiple chapters is very convenient!

Expect more bookmark functionality in the future, including bookmarks you can add and save and reading plans (such as Bible-in-one-year and weekly Torah portions).

Psalms numbering in Douay-Rheims

2009-01-27T12:23:00.004-07:00

I've had a couple questions come in recently about how the Psalms are numbered in the Douay-Rheims Bible. In some places it can appear they're off by one or two. There is a good explanation on Wikipedia.

Basically, the Douay uses the numbering from the Septuagint, which is the Bible that Jesus and the Apostles used. So, no need to feel bad because you're different! :)

Low light mode refinement

2009-01-18T14:43:00.004-07:00

Refining low light mode a little for 2.0. Oh, and is that a new icon down on the toolbar?

Update 3/3: I've had a request to return the navigation and toolbars back to black. I'll work this into a future update.

Settings moving into app

2009-01-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Feature #1 of the v2.0 update:

Update: I'm moving VerseWise's settings internal to the app. No more exiting the app to go to Settings.

Scrolling performance

2008-12-16T06:57:00.002-07:00

OK, I guess it's time to start talking about the v2.0 update. Among the new functionality (more on that later), I fix a minor scrolling performance problem that happens under the following scenario:

Select book
Select chapter 1
Scroll right to chapter 2
Scroll right to chapter 3
Notice that scrolling in chapter 3 is not smooth

The same thing happens if you select the last chapter of a book and then scroll left two times. The fun thing is that from then on, as you scroll through the chapters, every third chapter will have unsmooth scrolling. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to figure out why. ;)

Douay-Rheims source text

2008-12-08T14:36:00.004-07:00

Wanted everyone to know that I have updating the Douay-Rheims text on my to-do list.

My source text has a few errors, but it appears that all the online versions have the same. For example, 2 Machabees 1:10 has "In the year Bone hundred and eighty- eight". It seems someone scanned the text in from a book, with a number of scanner errors, and *everyone* is now using it.

I did find a source that appears to be error free. I'll try to get that out to you soon.

Update 12/10: The source I found isn't the easiest to work with. Does anyone know of an online version of the D-R text that doesn't include the above 2 Machabees error?

Douay-Rheims notes?

2008-12-01T09:28:00.005-07:00

I've had a request to include the notes from the Douay-Rheims Bible. My source text has summaries at the beginning of each book and chapter. For example, before Genesis it says:

This book is so called from its treating of the GENERATION, that is, of the creation and beginning of the world. The Hebrews call it BERESITH, from the Word with which it begins. It contains not only the history of Creation of the world; but also an account of its progress during the space of 2369 years, that is, until the death of JOSEPH.

Before Genesis 1 it says:

God createth Heaven and Earth, and all things therein, in six days.

If the person who made the original request is reading this, are these the notes you're interested in? Or is there something else?

If anyone else has an opinion about this, please let me know via a comment or email.

Update 12/10: I am looking to add general notes functionality in the v2.1+ timeframe (next update will be 2.0). I'll look into adding the Douay notes then.

Douay-Rheims in store

2008-11-21T22:00:00.003-07:00

The Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible (with deuterocanon) is now in the iTunes App Store.

KJV Titus

2008-11-21T09:41:00.004-07:00

I guess we're not out of the woods yet! Titus is missing from the KJV.

I think this all started when I changed my scripts to remove unnecessary hyphens from names in the text. (Bathsheba was "Bath-sheba".) Obviously I need to scrub through the text and make sure all the books make it through.

I'll try to upload a 1.1.2.2. fix tonight. We've had good turnaround lately, so hopefully it will be approved and in the store in a couple days.

Thanks Scott!

Video demo 1.1.2

2008-11-16T19:45:00.003-07:00

KJV Ecclesiastes

2008-11-14T09:47:00.006-07:00

The book of Ecclesiastes has gone missing in the KJV! I'll look into the problem and post a fix in the next day or so.

Thanks to Timothy and Robert for reporting the problem.

Update: Found the problem and uploaded it to the store. Should be approved within a week.

Update 11/17: The update that fixes this (1.1.2.1) is now available for download from the app store.

RV Hebreos 1-5

2008-11-13T21:52:00.006-07:00

The first 5 chapters of Hebreos in RV (Sagradas Escrituras) mistakenly have the content of the 5 chapters of Santiago. I have fixed this and submitted it to the store. Hopefully the 1.1.2.1 update will be available to you within the week!

Thanks to Carlos for pointing this problem out.

Update 11/16: This update is now available in the store.

Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible

2008-11-13T21:12:00.004-07:00

I am preparing a Douay-Rheims version of VerseWise and am looking for a beta tester or two. I'd prefer someone who is already somewhat familiar with the translation. If you'd like to help out, please email me.

Thanks!

1.1.2 released

2008-11-10T19:05:00.005-07:00

v1.1.2 is now available in the store for KJV and JPS. RV should be in the store soon (still waiting to be approved). New features in this release include:

No surprises there if you've been following the blog the last couple weeks.

Along with working on new v2 functionality, I'll also be posting a small demo video soon.

Update 11/13: RV is now available in the store.

Font setting

2008-11-06T20:42:00.004-07:00

The upcoming update will include a font setting.

Speaking of settings, while we wait for me to add a toolbar to handle all that future functionality percolating in my head (including a Settings pop-up inside the VerseWise app?), I'm adding a direct link in Hints to the page explaining how to reach VerseWise's settings.

Now I know you all know the drill by now, but hopefully it'll mean new folks won't find it as confusing.

The next update should be in the store within the week.

Search word completion

2008-10-29T21:37:00.002-06:00

Just got search word completion working.

And I'm happy to report the word lookup is mighty quick with no special optimization techniques necessary. (Hooray! Less work for me.) Still have a little to do before it's ready for release.

As you probably already know, searches are not case-sensitive. (This is due to how the underlying SQLite database on the iPhone works. But it's kind of handy regardless.) When I construct a word completion list would you prefer "case correctness" or "no repeats"?

In the above screenshot you'll notice the name "Nathan" is all lowercase. This is because I created the entire dictionary with all words all lowercase. This was to screen out repeats (e.g., "THE", "The" and "the"). Repeats are not good because they waste screen space and selecting any of them will return all of the different versions anyway.

But then we lose the capitalizations of proper names, like Nathan and God.

Still, I'm leaning towards "no repeats" -- what do you think? I could also make the words all uppercase if you prefer that more. Let me know!

Search history

2008-10-23T21:35:00.007-06:00

A preview of the search history functionality that will be in the next release. Your last 25 searches will be remembered, unless you delete them individually using the edit functionality.

Next up is search word completion, where starting to type displays a list of valid words that you can select. Anything to save unnecessary typing. :)

With that done, I will move on to 1.2 and fun stuff like view history, bookmarks and perhaps highlighting and notes.

JPS verse truncations

2008-10-13T13:31:00.005-06:00

There are some verses in Job, Psalms and Proverbs that have been truncated. (This due to the formatting of the source text I used.) See Psalm 1:1 for an example.

I am working on an update and will get it out to you soon.

1.1.1 released

2008-10-05T21:09:00.007-06:00

v1.1.1 is now available in the store. In this release:

Added low light mode
Added Sagradas Escrituras to VW RV
Jewish Publication Society 1917 translation now available

Please leave a comment here if you have any comments about this release or bugs to report.

Jewish Publication Society 1917

2008-10-05T21:04:00.004-06:00

VerseWise Bible with the Jewish Publication Society 1917 translation is now available in the iTunes store.

Sagradas Escrituras

2008-10-05T18:44:00.005-06:00

The Sagradas Escrituras Version Antigua text has been added to VerseWise Bible RV. You can select between it and Reina-Valera 1909 in Settings.

After originally using RV 1909 I discovered a number of people preferred the earlier 1569 translation. I am happy I was able to accommodate them. For those that prefer the later RV 1960, I have written the publisher but haven't heard back from them as of yet.

Low light mode

2008-09-26T13:07:00.004-06:00

Every tried reading from VerseWise in the dark? I'm adding a "low light mode", available from Settings.

Yes, it'd be more convenient to have a quick on/off button for the mode within the app. I'll add that when I add a toolbar.

I hope to have this update in the store within a week.

Icon shine in 2.1

2008-09-26T13:04:00.008-06:00

Okay, why didn't anyone tell me that the icon changed when upgrading to OS 2.1?

That shine is not supposed to be there. It'll be fixed in the next update (hopefully in a week or so).

Reina-Valera released

2008-09-14T20:06:00.012-06:00

VerseWise Bible with the Spanish Reina-Valera translation is now available in the iTunes store.

A number of people requested the RV 1960; what I am using right now is the public domain RV 1909. If there is enough interest, I could license the RV 1960. But as I've learned in trying to license my first commercial English translation, these things take time. So I am happy to get a Spanish translation out sooner rather than later.

Feel free to email me or post a public comment about this translation or what modern Spanish translation (RV 1960 or ?) you'd like me to offer.

Update: A couple people have contacted me saying that the RV 1602 would be preferable to the 1909 text. What do you think? Is there enough interest in that for me to track it down?

Update 9/25: I'll be updating the RV app with
Sagradas Escrituras 1569 text. I'll leave the RV 1909 in place for those that prefer it, allowing you to select either text in Settings.

1.1 released

2008-09-12T05:14:00.005-06:00

v1.1 (with search!) is now available in the store.

My first non-KJV translation is also in the Apple approval pipeline. I submitted it at the same time as the 1.1 update, but new apps may take a little longer to get approved. If all goes well with this second translation, I'll work on getting more of the requested translations out. Along with more functional updates, of course!

1.1 & Search

2008-08-26T09:20:00.010-06:00

If you've been following the 1.0.2 comments you know I've been plugging away on search functionality. Rather than waiting to deliver everything I had in mind, I wanted to get a basic search out to you all as soon as I could.

Well, I got a basic search done, but I'm not happy with the user interface so I'm going to refine it a little more before delivering it. Sorry to make you wait longer, but doing so will forestall a lot of "This is ugly!" emails from you with "I know!" replies from me. :)

That's not to say the functionality will not be refined after its initial release. I'm just delaying the initial release a little more.

I think it'll be worth the wait. Thank you for your patience!

Update 8/29: Almost done! Just need to do some final testing over the weekend. Hopefully it'll be in the store late next week. I'll try to post some screenshots tonight.

Update 8/30: Some screenshots. You'll notice that since I had to create a text preview for the search results, I re-used it for the chapter view. I'd been intending to use that empty space to show each chapter's first verse all along, finally got around to it.

Update 9/2: Working on some memory issues that cause VW to crash after heavy search usage. Thank you to my beta testers whose iPhones seem to be more sensitive to the issue than my iPod! I really want to get this out the door to you guys, but I think it'll be worth the several-day delay to make the app as stable as possible.

Update 9/5: Sound the horns of happiness! 1.1 has been uploaded to the store! Past updates have taken 4 days to be approved by Apple, but those were uploaded on Mondays. We'll see if it takes longer due to the weekend.

1.0.2 coming

2008-08-11T21:26:00.003-06:00

A boring 1.0.2 release has been uploaded to the iTunes store. It should be approved in the next couple of days.

Don't feel obligated to download it if you aren't having the Hints pop-up problem. The release adds a setting that lets you turn them off.

Update: Made it into the store on Friday.

Settings

2008-08-05T09:44:00.007-06:00

There have been several questions about exactly where the VerseWise settings are located. They can be found in the "standard" iPhone/iPod settings area. I put "standard" in quotes because despite Apple recommending developers put most of their settings there, many apps have created their own settings areas. I may have to conform to the crowd eventually. :)

But here are where they're currently located. Exit out of VerseWise:

Look for the Settings icon and select it. It's the gray icon with the gears:

Scroll down the first Settings page, there will be a VerseWise selection towards the bottom.

Hints

2008-08-04T21:40:00.006-06:00

I've gotten a couple emails (and a bad review in the app store) about the new hint pop-ups in 1.0.1. I had assumed since each hint only appeared once, they wouldn't be obtrusive, but I guess some people disagree. What do you think?

There's the possibility that the hint functionality isn't working for everyone as I intended. Anyone seeing the same hint appear more than once? Do they *never* go away?

Update: I haven't nailed down the exact problem some people are having (and why it's happening only to a few) but enough people are commenting about dismissed pop-ups repeatedly returning, I'll send out an update that allows hints to be turned off in Settings. I hope to get it uploaded by Monday, August 11th. Sorry for the inconvenience!

v1.0.1 coming

2008-07-26T17:08:00.012-06:00

We're beta testing a 1.0.1 release this weekend. I foresee uploading it to the store on Monday. It may take a while for it to actually appear in the store, depending on what the backlog at Apple is.

Along with some minor bug fixes, I've added pop-up hints to point out some of the possibly less intuitive aspects of the app (like swiping left & right to change chapters).

And yes, this is the first step towards new functionality in a 1.1 release. I just felt I had some 1.0 housekeeping to do before moving on to the fun, new stuff. Thank you for your patience.

Update: Uploaded Monday night.

Update: Released to store Friday night.

v1.0 bugs

2008-07-18T08:27:00.013-06:00

Here's a list of 1.0 bugs that have been discovered and will be fixed in the next release.

Sometimes won't return to proper screen when app is exited/restarted. (Main menu and sometimes Book and Chapter lists.)
Defined defaults (such as autorotation and font size) do not take effect until user visits Settings.
About and Contact pages can be entered (and viewed) in landscape mode.
Hebrews and James should come after Philemon, not after 3 John.

To report a bug, please leave a comment.

If you're having trouble with VW crashing upon launch, this is an OS 2.0 problem. Please read this comment for a work-around.

Translations

2008-07-15T08:56:00.003-06:00

Please leave a comment here with the Bible translation you'd most like to see.

I've had one vote for Reina-Valera (in Spanish), which definitely looks doable as the 1909 version is in the public domain. Which means no licensing necessary.

I've seen some complaints in the iPhone app store about the modern translations costing too much, some saying they'll wait for the "free" version. Unfortunately, the most modern translations will not be free any time soon. Those of us who want our Bibles installed on our devices locally will have to pay a fee to the publisher.

Now, if you're always connected to the internet and are willing to put up with the slower response, there are some web sites (and corresponding iPhone apps) that offer modern translations for free. Good for them! I'm glad such ministries exist. If anyone wants to underwrite, say, the NIV for VerseWise, contact me and I'll let you know where to send your checks. ;)

Not to say I'm not interested in modern translations. I have contacted some publishers. But when released, these versions of VerseWise will cost more than the King James and Reina-Valera versions, not because that's what *I* want but because that's what the licensing fees + app store overhead require.

Anyone know of good public domain Bible translations in other languages? Drop me a line.

v1.0 released

2008-07-13T22:01:00.008-06:00

VerseWise Bible 1.0 has been released to the App Store. Kudos to the Apple employees working over the weekend approving apps!

The main focus of this release was the reading experience. The ability to read in portrait and landscape mode (and turn it off if you prefer), remembering where you last were when reading in a book, and easy navigation (including skipping chapter selection if you prefer and using side-swipes to go to adjacent chapters) all contribute to this.

If you have any ideas on how the reading experience could be made better, please leave a comment or send me an email.

For example, does anyone *not* like the side-swipe navigation? Would simple arrow buttons (as other apps do it ;) be preferable? I know sometimes the device sometimes misinterprets your swipe and goes horizontal when you meant vertical and vice-verse. It can take some practice getting it right every time. Let me know what you think about this. I could make it a configuration option.

By the way, be sure to check out the configuration options in the VerseWise section of Settings. There are several options you can turn on/off here along with changing the reading font size.

Welcome

2008-07-11T09:17:00.003-06:00

Welcome to VerseWise News! I am your host and the author of VerseWise Bible for the iPhone and iPod touch. Come here for information and discussion about upcoming updates and features.

I'd also like to use this as a feedback forum. Feel free to report problems, ask questions or make suggestions. I have a lot of ideas for future versions of VerseWise but would love to hear yours as well.