A revolution of sorts has taken place in the world of IBM compatible computers in the past few years. Once confined to the complex commands of DOS and its infamous “C:\” (the C prompt), the PC world has welcomed the Microsoft Windows operating environment.
The Windows environment has brought with it a bevy of programs redesigned specifically for use with it. One such program is Quickverse by Parsons Technology. Quickverse is a Bible concordance program similar to the Online Bible (see review in UPLOOK, November 1992). Unlike the Online Bible for which there is no Windows version, Quickverse is tailored to Windows and takes advantage of many of Windows simplified commands and functions.
Quickverse for Windows includes a toolbar loaded with icons–clicking on one of these icons with the mouse allows fast access to features such as word or phrase searches or opening a Bible translation. The program takes advantage of the graphical abilities of Windows by allowing the user to open several windows at once–thus one could open and view several different Scripture passages at the same time or even view the same passage in two, three, or even four translations at once.
Features of Quickverse that will prove useful include: Bookmarks, Searches, Notes, Indexes, and transferring verses or files to your word processor.
–Bookmarks are just that. Quickverse allows one to place up to 10 bookmarks within a Bible translation, allowing you to easily return to a passage during study.
–Searches include searching by words or phrases. They can cover the entire Bible, the Old or New Testament or even specific chapters (such as finding out how many times “love” occurs in 1 Corinthians 13). Notes allow you to write in the “margins” of your Quickverse Bible. This is a very useful feature as each note can be up to 8,000 characters in length. Notes are stored in files which can be moved to a word processor and incorporated into your documents or letters.
–Notes can be attached to a single word or an entire verse. After a note is initiated Quickverse inserts a symbol to remind you that a note has been placed around that verse or word.
–Indexing. Use of Quickverse’ Index function allows the user to group a list of verses together and save them. These may be verses under a topical heading. For instance, a list of verses which mention the Second Coming of Christ could be grouped and stored for future reference.
–Quickverse allows several methods for transferring of verses to word processors. Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) is the simplest. DDE allows moving files directly to programs, such as Microsoft Word or Lotus Ami Pro, which use this format. Another method of copying verses is to copy and paste them to Windows Clipboard and from there to your word processor. A third way is to store the verses in a text file which can then by transferred to any word processing program.
Quickverse offers many other options. It allows printing of single verses, multiple verses, all verses in a search, an open index of verses, an open note file or the entire Bible (better stock up on printer paper before trying that!).
Do you prefer a red-letter Bible? Quickverse provides a menu which allows the user to select words of Christ in red or all black letter. You may also select to show the translators’ added words (to clarify English meaning) in italics. The user can also select from a variety of fonts and point sizes in which the Bible text is displayed. You can save the desktop setup of Quickverse. So, if you were doing a study of Romans 1, saving the desktop would cause Quickverse to open to that passage each time the program is started.
The basic program comes with one translation of your choice, but you can add additional versions. Available translations presently include: the King James, New King James, New International, New Century, Revised Standard, New Revised Standard, and The Living Bible. Also available are Nave’s Topical Bible, a Greek and Hebrew Transliterated Bible (with Strong’s numbers) and the New Scofield Study Bible.
In conclusion, we can heartily recommend Quickverse for Windows to any PC user that would like to have a Bible study program designed for use with Windows. Quickverse offers an array of helpful features, completes searches in milliseconds, and has Parsons Technology’s excellent support and documentation.