This isn’t an update on the new Windows project but rather we’re just moving the project FAQ here instead of having it be invisible as a dedicated page on our website. As we make updates to this FAQ we’ll bump its publication date so it ranks higher in the list of articles on our blog.
I haven’t seen an update for a while… Are you still working on this project?
Yes.
Don’t hesitate to post a question to tech support or in the comments below if you’re concerned about our progress or whether or not your favorite feature is going to be included. We’ve been trying to be very transparent about this project (even though you may not see updates here every day or every week) because you all contributed to it and thus made it possible.
Can I help with testing?
We’ll announce a call for testers once we get to the point where we can use them. Those who supported the project during the fund-raising period will be the first to know.
Will I need to have Internet access while using PocketBible to be able to use my Bibles and reference books?
No. And we apologize on behalf of our friends at other popular Bible software companies who have designed their apps to require full-time Internet access. “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Obviously, you need access to the Internet to initially download the PocketBible app and an of your Bibles and reference books you want on your device. Once you have done that, you don’t need Internet access to use the program. The exception is when you’ve chosen to sync your notes, highlights, and bookmarks to our server for synchronization to other devices you own. Obviously you need Internet access for that. But even then, if the program discovers you’re disconnected it will just wait and sync once you reconnect.
Is PocketBible for Windows going to be a subscription service?
No. As it is on all platforms (Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows), the new PocketBible for Windows will be free.
We will offer an Advanced Feature Set (AFS) containing additional features such as Autostudy. The Advanced Feature Set is a subscription service. It gives us a way to generate revenue from our apps. Despite the fact that developing our apps is our single greatest expense, realities of the marketplace make it impossible to charge anything for software these days. The AFS gives us a way to do that without resorting to more intrusive monetization schemes, like putting ads in the program.
The current version of PocketBible for Windows Store shifts a couple very important and very basic features into its AFS: The ability to install more than 20 books, and the ability to sync notes/highlights/bookmarks with our server. These will be part of the free features in the new version, and the features of the AFS will match those of PocketBible running on other platforms.
Will my current Windows Store Advanced Feature Set subscription apply to the new version?
Your current PocketBible for Windows Store Advanced Feature Set Subscription will apply to the new version. However, if you own the Permanent Subscription to the Legacy Advanced Feature Set, which you purchased before the AFS became a subscription, you will only be entitled to the features of the new version that are in your current Advanced Feature Set. Some of those features will be moved into the standard features in the new version. Here’s a break-down:
Current Legacy Advanced Feature Set features that will become standard features:
- Install more than 20 books at a time on your device
- Split the screen up to five times to view multiple books at once
- Quick access to recent verses
- Add your own notes to any verse
- Highlight verses in a variety of colors
- Synchronize bookmarks, notes and highlights to the Laridian Server and between your other devices
Undecided:
- Quickly download all the books you own
These will remain AFS features:
- Save and re-use multiple layouts, enabling you to save the layout (panes and books) exactly as it was and come back to it
- Listen to Bibles and books
If you own what we call the Permanent Subscription to the Legacy Advanced Feature Set, your existing AFS will only give you access to those features listed under “These will remain AFS features”. Most of the other features that are currently in the subscription will become standard features. Within the new program, we will refer to this as the Advanced Feature Set for PocketBible 2.x for Windows. The new version will be referred to as version 3.
Again, if you have an active Advanced Feature Set Subscription, it will be honored on the new version.
When you say you’ll “start with the Windows desktop version” does that mean you’re going to make it difficult to use on tablets?
We’re not starting with the user interface elements of the Windows desktop version, but rather we’re starting with the internals of that version of the program — the stuff you don’t see that makes PocketBible do things like search, store notes, sync with our server, read our LBK files, etc. The user interface for the new version will borrow from concepts in the macOS and iOS versions to be more usable on both the desktop and mobile devices.
There is no code from the current Windows Store version in this new version, nor is any code in the new version based on code in the current Windows Store version. We think of this as an upgrade to the older Windows Desktop version that takes the latest version of the code for that program and adds to it a new user interface inspired by our more recent editions of PocketBible.