 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Quick Verse 4.0 Family Reference Bible Bernadette Houghton bernieh@iaccess.com.au |
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If you study the Scriptures, QuickVerse 4.0: Family Reference Bible can help to make your task easier. Released by Parsons Technology, QuickVerse is actually several products rolled into one:
- QuickVerse for Windows helps you read, search, take notes and otherwise
study the Bible. Parsons Technology offers several Bible translations, as well as various Concordances, Study
Bibles and add-on products that all work with QuickVerse and with each other
- New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible. This is an updated edition of
the King James Version that uses more modern terminology (e.g. "you" instead of "thou")
- Believer's Study Bible (abridged version), a study tool offering background
information and commentary on the Bible
- Maps, study charts, photographs and additional pictures.
When you open QuickVerse, the full text of the active Bible (in this case, NKJV) appears in a scrollable window. If you're taking notes or using a study tool (e.g. the Believer's Study Bible), a Notes window appears underneath the Bible window. QuickVerse tags any Bible passages, chapters or books that have corresponding notes; you display the notes by just clicking the tag. Conversely, any verse references in the Notes window appear in green text, and you can display the verse in the Bible window by double-clicking on the green text. If you create your own notes, you can choose to attach them to single words, verses, chapters or books. QuickVerse automatically identifies any verse references in your notes and links them to the Bible text without further ado. While you can't link images to notes you create yourself, the Believer's Study Bible (and, presumably other QuickVerse-supported study tools) includes maps and charts that you can view by clicking on green text in the Notes window.
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You can open multiple Bible translations simultaneously, synchronising each window to always display the same verse. QuickVerse offers 12 colours of highlight for marking any Bible text, and enables you to create indexes and place up to 10 bookmarks in each Bible.
| QuickVerse has advanced search capabilities. You can search for
single words or phrases, and combine words using Boolean operators such as AND or OR. Proximity operators
enable you to search for words or phrases that occur within a certain distance of another word or phrase. For
instance, any occurrences of "John" within 5 words of "James". QuickVerse remembers the results of the last
50 searches performed, and includes a Word List that lists all the words in the Bible and the number of times
they occur.
If you study the Scriptures on a regular basis, QuickVerse can help you with a daily reading plan. You choose what you want to read (e.g. the Old or New Testament, the whole Bible, Gospel, Letters of Paul and so on) then select a time frame and the days of the week you plan to read. QuickVerse automatically allocates verses to each day, and monitors your progress. While this feature is quite basic, it is flexible enough to allow you to read at a different pace from your plan, and it won't be too strident if you're behind in your reading! |
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Assessment
QuickVerse has some annoying features, such as rigid toolbars that display add-ons you haven't installed, and
bookmarks that are always named after their verse reference (e.g. Genesis 1:1). If you're simply reading the
Bible, as opposed to studying it, you'll find it much easier to tote around an actual paper Bible. However,
if you're studying or taking notes, QuickVerse has some very handy features that are sure to make your job
much easier; this is particularly true if you use multiple translations or Bible study tools.
Reprinted from the June 1998 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
