Overview

View synchronization is a feature that attempts to bring you related material as you study the Bible or read a book. The main idea behind it is to use the current Bible view as a starting point and try to update all available Book views to display topics that are related to the current verse and word you are reading (Type 1). A secondary function is to update the current Book view tabs with indicators (colored dots) that show you whether other modules on the same view have relevant information (Type 2).

Type 1 synchronization

There are two pieces of data that are used to provide relevant information as you read through your Bible:

These two pieces of information are used to update your book views in the following way:

Now, depending on the options set on each book view, the following might happen:

•	The module tabs of your book view are updated with some colored dots (e.g. , , ) on the top-right that give feedback on whether the module has related information or not (a yellow light also appears, depending on options).

The whole behavior is controlled from the Synchronize icon that you can find on the book view toolbar (the red paper clip icon ). In order for any book view to be synchronized this icon should be checked/pressed. If you click on the small black arrow on the right you will get three options:

Type 2 synchronization

This only occurs within a single Book view whenever you change the current topic. What happens here is that all other module tabs of the same book view are updated with the colored dots described above to show whether they have relevant information to what you read. The only difference is that in that case:

The Synchronize icon settings are irrelevant in that case since only the red-dots are affected with this type of synchronization.

Status Bar indication

At any moment, the status bar at the bottom of the main window will display the current verse and current word:

The Dct entry is updated from both Type 1 and Type 2 types. The Cmt entry is updated only from Type 1 actions.

What do the colored dots , , mean?

These dots appear on the book view buttons/tab on the tab bar, and indicate whether the associated module has relevant information to the current verse or current word. Notice that there are total six dots, 3 pairs: The different colors (blue, red, green) are just used to match the color coding used for the tab button text (that changes according to the module type). Yet, for each color there are two different shades, a dark one and a light one. The dark one is used when there is a direct match on the current verse or current word being examined, the light one when there is an indirect one.

In the case of non-commentary modules, the faded dots will appear only if the Fuzzy matching for topics option is turned on. You may also read the topic How word lookups are performed to get an idea of how the Fuzzy option affects word matching.

The following table summarizes the cases:

What about the yellow glows?

The yellow glow that appears on the button tabs is just an extra optional indication to help you identify more easily the modules that have a match on the current verse or word. It can be turned on/off from the Highlight buttons' background for matching modules. There are two different shades of the yellow glow, that represent the two different types of match that are available (according to the table above):

Remember, that the different colors of the dots have no meaning other than identifying the module type (e.g. commentary, dictionary, general book, etc). The only two different states that you need to differentiate are the dark glow/dots and the light glow/dots:

How commentaries are synchronized

Type 1: A commentary is a module that has content related to a verse, a range of verses (passage), a chapter or a book of the Bible. The View Synchronization feature works only for verse and passage comments. Let's suppose that you have a commentary that has comments for Gen 1:3-10; Gen 1:8-10; Gen 1:9; Gen 1:9-20. Now, as you change the current verse of the active Bible view, the commentary will display:

Notice that a verse level comment is preferred over a passage level comment (see Gen 1:9: there are matching topics: one for topic on Gen 1:9 and one for topic on Gen 1:9-20).

Type 2: The logic is identical with Type 1, the only difference is that the current verse changes when you change the topic of a commentary. The colored dots on the tab bar are updated to display if other commentaries have relevant information according to the table above.

How books are synchronized? (books refers to all non-commentary modules)

The logic is identical to the one used for commentaries. Reading the example below will help you understand how this is helpful

The dark/light dots are displayed according to the Fuzzy matching for topics option (if this is off, only dark dots appear). You can read the How word lookups are performed topic on how the matching occurs.

A notice on clicking on word links in the Bible view and elsewhere

Apart from the Bible text, the Bible view may also display several links (like Strong numbers, Morphology codes, Commentary links) which, when clicked, will cause a Book view to display the target topic. In a very practical way, clicking on a link is very similar to syncing to the current word. The major difference is that when you click on an actual link, theWord may need to resort to change the current module of one of the book views in order to display the content (if no book view exists, a new one will be created; if none of the current book views can display the target of the link -due to settings-, a message will ask you whether you want to create a new view to do so)! Remember, that standard view synchronization will never cause the current module of any book view to change!

Two exceptions/additions on matching

There are two important exception on the how theWord performs the matching:

Putting it all together - examples

Keep in mind that Type 1 synchronization causes the current topic to be changed when clicking on a word/verse. Also, when clicking on a link the current  module may also change to display the target. These techniques can be proved very useful in order to use multiple book views and synchronize each one with a different module.

The following examples use standard modules and abbreviations that should come with a default installation of the program. It is a good idea to try out some of these examples since they will give you valuable ideas on how you can organize your views and use the potential behind this mechanism.

To follow the examples, remember that:

•	Sync on/off means that the Synchronize icon is pressed/checked

Example 1: syncing on Strong and Morph codes, 2 commentaries following

Setup (omit some book views at a time to make it simpler):

Try:

Notice: Since Strong numbers are links, even if none of the Book view 1 and 2 where displaying a dictionary capable of displaying strong numbers, one of the two would be used to do so. Remember, clicking on a link is like 'commanding' theWord to display the content.

Now, click on Book view 4 and 5 and turn off the Link EiI. Now, click again on Matt 1:1, Matt 1:2, ... Notice that ONLY if one of the Book views 3 and 4 is active it will follow you.

Now, turn off the Sync from Book view 1 and change the module of both Book view 1 and 2 to something else. Click on the strong number again and you will notice that Book view 2 will switch to Mickelson to display the Strong definition. Book view 2 has still Sync on, so it will be used.

Now turn off Sync from Book view 2 also and change the modules to NOT display Mickelson: click again on the Strong link and you will notice that theWord asks you to use a Bible view to display the definition.

Example 2: syncing on Strong and actual word on a single click

An interesting feature of theWord is that it can hide Strong numbers, Morph codes and lemmas behind the words (see Bible view options and check the Show no link, just show in a popup the ... option in the Strong's number and Morphology codes pages). In this case, clicking on a word in the Bible view actually sets the current word according to the Bible view options -> Word click options settings.

Setup:

Go to Matt. 1:1 and click on the 4th word generation. Notice that one Book view will show the Strong's number, while the other one will display the topic Generation from ISBE.