Phil Gons

Bible & Tech

My NT Logos Workspace

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A friend recently asked me how to get the most out of some of the great resources in SESB (now in version 2). My response was that he should create two workspaces—one for OT studies and one for NT studies—and integrate the texts and apparatuses with his other language tools. That led me to revisit my NT workspace and tweak it to take advantage of some newly acquired resources. Here’s a screenshot of my NT workspace, which was inspired by Rick Brannan’s workspace. I’m able to fit three columns comfortably on my 22″ Acer. I haven’t tried this on my 15″ laptop screen, but I imagine it would be a little cramped.

NT Workspace

(Click to view the full-sized image.)

A Note on Resource Associations

To maximize the efficiency of this or almost any workspace, you should create parallel resource associations1 for all the various categories of resources that you use: (1) English Bibles, (2) Study Bibles/Notes, (3) NT Greek Texts, (4) NT Greek Apparatuses, (5) NT Greek Grammatical Tools (not grammars, but stuff like Zerwick, Robertson’s Word Pictures, etc.), (6) Commentaries (by book; e.g., one for Galatians, one for Romans, etc.), (7) Greek Grammars, etc.

The benefit of this is that you don’t have to have all the resources in each particular association opened to have quick access to them. Rather, you simply need to have one in the association opened, and then you can click on the parallel resources button to switch to (or open in addition to by holding down the shift key) one of the others. For example, I keep just one Galatians commentary opened, but can instantly hop to any of my other twenty some Galatians commentaries. Doing this as opposed to leaving many windows in the same association opened will not only make for a less cluttered workspace, but will also save on system resources and keep things running a little snappier.

About My Sections

Region 1: English Translations, Reports, and Bible Speed Search

  1. ESV: The ESV has been my primary English translation for the last couple of years. Obviously I want to have this opened. This is linked with link set A.
  2. NAS: Since I switched from the NASB and consider it to be a very valuable translation, I want to have quick access to it as well (even though its format really bothers me!). This is linked with link set A.
  3. NET Bible: While I would probably never use the NET Bible as my primary translation, it’s very handy for study. This is linked with link set A.
  4. NIV: The NIV is a great translation and its popularity makes it important to consult. Often the idiomatic rendering of a difficult text is helpful at least in letting me know how some handle it. This is linked with link set A. I can access other English translations here by using the parallel resources button.
  5. Passage Guide: Since most of the data from the Passage Guide that I find helpful are already integrated into my workspace, I have unchecked everything except for parallel passages. When I want to see this data for the passage I’m working on, I click the link set A, but then make sure to unlink it when I’m done so that it’s not running and slowing things down when I don’t need it.
  6. Exegetical Guide: Most of the helpful and important data from the Exegetical Guide are integrated into my workspace too, but it is helpful to have the grammar lookup enabled so I can see if my grammars cite or discuss my passage specifically. When I want to see this, I click the link set A, but then make sure to unlink it when I’m done so that it’s not running and slowing things when I don’t need it.
  7. Bible Word Study: If I want to do more in-depth study on a particular word that I’ve looked up in BDAG, I will run a Bible Word Study report. To activate the report I need only to click the link set D (my lexicon link set). But, again, I make sure to uncheck it when I’m done or it will run reports for every word I look up in BDAG, which will really slow things down.
  8. Bible Speed Search: Though you can access the Bible Speed Search from the right-click menu, it’s nice to have quick access to it. This is especially handy when the word or phrase is not in the passage with which you’re working. I realize that you could just open it from the menu, but it takes a little bit longer that way.

Region 2: Study Bibles/Notes and TSK

  1. MacArthur Study Bible: The MacArthur Study Bible is helpful to have on hand for a quick summary of a text. This is linked with link set A.
  2. Reformation Study Bible: The Reformation Study Bible is also good to consult. If I want to check out another study Bible, I can do that here via the parallel resources button. This is linked with link set A.
  3. NET Bible Notes: The NET Bible notes are very valuable to consult when you don’t want to wade through a more detailed grammatical commentary. Having them as a separate resource is very nice. Unfortunately, you have to buy the NET Bible separately from a place like Rejoice to get the notes as a separate resource, since the Logos collections contain the notes only as footnotes in the Bible text resource. This is linked with link set A.
  4. New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: On occasion it is helpful to glance at the New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge to find that related passage that you just can’t remember. This is linked with link set A.

Region 3: Greek Texts

  1. NA27 (SESB): The SESB NA27 is the only copy of the NA27 that has all the textual apparatus marks in the text, so it is great to use as your primary Greek text when you are concerned about variant readings. This is linked with link set A.
  2. UBS4 (SESB): SESB 2 now includes the UBS4 with all the apparatus notes. This is great to have on hand, and I prefer the more detailed apparatus in the UBS text. Three frustrations with this resource: (1) the apparatus is not a separate resource (even though it was advertised that way) but only available through pop-up footnotes, (2) it forces you to use BibliaLS instead of your default Greek font (mine is Gentium), and (3) it has no morphology associated with it, so you can’t get parsing information on a hover over. I hope all three of these change, but it is nice to have access to the data, even if in an annoying way. This is linked with link set A.
  3. Westcott & Hort, Tischendorf, Majority Text, Textus Receptus: I keep one of these opened and use the parallel resources button to jump to the others. It’s nice to be able to compare these with the text of NA27/UBS4. This is linked with link set A.
  4. TENTGM: It’s also helpful to be able to check the text of the earliest manuscripts. This is linked with link set A.

Region 4: Apparatuses, Textual Commentary, and Greek Grammatical Tools

  1. NA27 Apparatus: The NA27 apparatus comes with SESB 1 and 2 and is a must for serious study. I used to keep these linked with link set A, but it caused some problems when I would click on a variant from the NA27 Greek text. Now all my apparatuses are linked with link set B. This way they all stay together, but it gives me a little more flexibility.
  2. Metzger’s Textual Commentary: As I mentioned, the UBS4 apparatus is not available as a separate resource, but Metzger’s textual commentary makes up for that. For the most important variants, he discusses in detail the reasoning behind the choice of one reading over another. This is also a must for serious study of the text. This is linked with link set B.
  3. Tischendorf & Majority Text Apparatuses: It’s also nice to check out Tischendorf’s apparatus or the Majority Text apparatus. I switch back and forth between them in this window. This is linked with link set B.
  4. Zerkwick: Here’s where I can access Greek grammatical tools (not grammars) like Zerwick and Robertson (and occasionally Vincent and Wuest). This is linked with link set A.

Region 5: Lexicons, Commentaries, Grammars, Clause Display, and ESV

  1. BDAG: This is my primary lexicon, so I have it opened here. I can access others (like LS, EDNT, TDNT, LN) with the parallel resources button. This is linked with link set D, primarily so I can quickly run a BWS report by clicking the link set D there.
  2. Commentaries: I keep one commentary for the book that I am studying opened in this region and use the parallel resources button to jump to my other commentaries on the book. This is linked with link set A.
  3. Grammars: I keep a grammar opened here in case I want to look something up—primarily after using the EG to see if my grammars mention the passage I’m studying.
  4. OpenText.org Clause Display: I keep this opened so I can take a quick look at the syntax of my passage. This is linked with link set A.
  5. ESV: I have a second copy of the ESV opened, which I use for looking up cross references and other passages. I make sure to click the “Reference Target” button so that any Bible links will go here by default. This is linked with link set C.

Region 6: Pseudepigrapha, Josephus, Philo, Apostolic Fathers, and NA27/LXX

  1. Pseudepigrapha: It’s nice to be able to click on the examples in BDAG entries and see how words were used in the OT Pseudepigrapha. Once the Greek text becomes available, this will be linked with link set G (currently, it only goes up through F) in case I open the Greek text alongside of the English and want them to scroll together.
  2. Josephus: It’s nice to be able to click on the examples in BDAG entries and see how words were used by Josephus. Once the Greek text becomes available, this will be linked with link set H (currently, it only goes up through F) in case I open the Greek text alongside of the English and want them to scroll together.
  3. Philo: It’s nice to be able to click on the examples in BDAG entries and see how words were used by Philo. This is linked with link set E in case I open the Greek text alongside of the English and want them to scroll together.
  4. Apostolic Fathers: It’s nice to be able to click on the examples in BDAG entries and see how words were used by the apostolic fathers. This is linked with link set F in case I open the Greek text alongside of the English and want them to scroll together.
  5. NA27/LXX: I have a second copy of the NA27 opened here and linked with link set C so I can look at the underlying Greek for the cross references and other passages related to the passage that I’m studying.

Final Considerations

If I ever want to view two resources side by side that are sharing the same space, I can temporarily drag one over to the adjacent space and then put it back when I’m done. If I want to view two resources side by side that are not displayed at the same time and accessed only through the parallel resources button (e.g., BDAG and LS), I will need to make sure to hold down the shift key when I click the parallel resource. This way it will open in an additional window rather than opening in the same window.

Well, I think that just about covers it. Have fun creating your own!

For more ideas, you may want to check out others’ workspaces:

  1. If you’re wondering what a resource association is and how it differs from a collection, maybe this will help: A collection groups books together for the purposes of viewing in My Library and searching. An association groups books together primarily for the purpose of quickly jumping from one book to the next through the use of the parallel resources button or the left and right arrows on the keyboard (e.g., if you group and order all of your Greek lexicons in an association, you can scroll through each one’s entry for, say, δικαιόω.). [↩]
The New Logos

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Comments

  2. Phil, I have to admit that I am somewhat envious of your 22 inches.

    I’m going to be buying a new computer in the next year. I spilled hot cocoa on my keyboard back in January and now it won’t read DVDs and none of my arrow keys work (which is just about the most frustrating thing you can imagine). Perhaps I’ll have to go for something a little larger than my 15 inches.

    In order to maximize space on my workspace, I tend to stick with only two columns (with one split in half sometimes) and I keep my zoom at 75%, which while smaller, is typically still larger than the font size in print books.

  3. Hey Phil, I was wondering if you could tell me what the command line is for inserting a Libronix link into a blog post.

    Thanks.
    Mike

  4. Hi, Mike,

    Sorry for the delay. We were up in OH for my sister’s wedding, and I’m just finishing catching up.

    I don’t do anything special to create a Libronix link. I navigate to the location in the resources where I’d like to link, click on Favorites, and then click on Copy Location to Clipboard. It generates a link like this: libronixdls:jump|ref=page.200|res=LLS%3A29.53.6 (I stripped the position part of the link so it would fit; it’ll still work, but will just take you to the top of the page rather than to the exact location on the page), which I paste into the link for the word or phrase in the blog post. I haven’t had any trouble doing it this way.

    If you’re wondering how I get a Libronix icon to appear following the link, I do that with the Link Indication plugin for WordPress. It requires some minor modifications to get it to support the Libronix links.

    Hope this helps. Let me know if I didn’t answer your question.

    Phil

  5. Hi, Donn,

    Sorry this is a couple months late, but I thought of you when I responded to a friend and figured I’d pass this along in case it could be of some help.

    I scrapped the default toolbar and created my own, including only the buttons I use on a regular basis and adding other buttons that are not included in the default toolbar. Unfortunately, the default toolbar cannot be modified or copied. Creating a replacement or additional toolbar is fairly easy to do. Here’s my toolbar. Feel free to modify it or use it to get some ideas for creating your own.

    Put “My Toolbar” (and Change Font and Shortcuts) in C:\ . . . \My Documents\Libronix DLS\CustomToolbars.

    Put “My Markups” in C:\ . . . \My Documents\Libronix DLS\VisualMarkupPalettes.

    Right click on the toolbar area, click “Customize,” and then click “New” or select a toolbar to modify. You should be able to figure it out by playing around with it a little.

    Let me know if you have any questions.

    Hope this helps.

    Phil

  6. Phil

    Your suggestion are helpful but I am surprised by your arrangements. I would have thought that you would want the window that you use the most “Notes” or whatever you are currently reading top and center. I would find it a distraction to always be looking down and to my left to record my notes. I only use two columns but i think that I will try the three I have a 17″ laptop from dell. I also decided that creating two workspaces (OT, NT) is mandatory.