TW Logos Quickstart Guide
This is page is for Basic training specific to Bible translators in Translator's Workplace Logos. It is meant to be a supplement to the training, videos, and information available at https://www.logos.com/support and http://wiki.logos.com/ . The tasks outlined here in the Quick Start Guide are crucial to effective use of TW Logos.
On This Page
Installation
When SIL Sales issues your TW Logos license, they will send you a detailed set of instructions to install Logos. Basically the steps are as follows:
- Respond to the email invitation to join the SIL Translator’s Workplace group on Faithlife.com. (Faithlife.com is the new name of the company that sells Logos. Besides Logos, they also sell several software packages useful for churches). When you join the Faithlife group, this notifies Logos that you qualify for the set of TW resources. Don't leave the group or you may lose your TW resources from Logos.
- Install the Logos software. The Logos setup file will want to download more files so don't disconnect from the Internet after downloading. All you need is the "Basic" version which has the software. Logos will inform you of base packages it offers for additional cost that will include additional databases or resources. These are not necessary to run Logos and access TW resources.
- If you have completed the first two steps, when you run Logos, it will detect that you qualify for TW resources, and download them to your computer.
Versions
The latest version of Logos is version 7. Logos 7 requires Windows 7 SP1 or later; or Mac OS 10.10 "Yosemite" or later. If your OS is earlier than these, you can still install Logos, and the procedure is the same. Download and run the same Logos installer (LogosSetup.exe for Windows, LogosMac for Mac) as described for Logos 7. It will download Logos 5 for you if your operating system cannot manage Logos 7.
Installing with limited Internet
By default, Logos activates over the Internet when you install the software, and then downloads the resources, which is two or three gigabytes of data. Unfortunately, there is no good way around using the Internet to activate, but there is a way you can skip the downloading of resources if you have a computer near you with the resource files already downloaded. See this page for the procedure: Low Bandwidth Installation.
Installation problems
1. Several Windows users have seen the Logos setup report an immediate problem, where the program says "Unable to download a required file." Consult this Faithlife support page for help:
https://www.logos.com/firewall
If your firewall settings are not the problem, look at the section on that page about troubleshooting the Microsoft BITS service.
2. Perhaps dated: Several users trying to install Logos 5 or 6 have encountered an error, where the Logos setup starts, then says "The installation of Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 did not succeed.."
If you encounter this error, here are two things you can try:
- Go to Windows Update. Look in your list of updates for Microsoft .NET 4.5.2. If that update is in your list, check it and apply it. When this update has installed, Windows will probably tell you to restart your computer. Afterwards, try the Logos setup again.
- You can download and install manually Microsoft .NET 4.5.2 from this page:
www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42642
After downloading and installing this package, (and restarting your computer if Windows asks you to), try the Logos setup again.
Getting to Know Logos
Luckily, Logos will explain your screen in text and voice at any time. Just press F9, or choose Explain the screen from the Help menu and press the Right Arrow key.
Nevertheless, this table is included to define terms used throughout the training.
Getting to Know the Logos Home Page
This is Logos default startup screen, full of information and news. If you do not find it useful, you can choose to automatically open any saved layout (or your previous open resources) by default at Tools>Program Settings>General>At Startup Open to.
- Home: This button switches between the home page and any open resources.
- Library: Click here to choose and open a new resource.
- Search: Click hear to open a new Search Window.
- Command Box: If you prefer to use the keyboard, you can use this box to navigate Logos by typing commands.
- Shortcut Bar: You can add your own shortcuts to resources and even external websites and programs.
- Help: Access built-in Logos help.
- Banner: The Banner contains links to your active reading lists, lectionaries, and prayer lists. You can configure the Banner by clicking Configure Home Page.
- Home Page: This is a "news" screen that shows Devotionals, resources and images from your library at random, and Logos news that change daily. You can configure the Homepage by clicking Configure Home Page. The Logos experience is better with internet, but if you must, you can turn off all internet access at Tools>Program Settings>Use internet: No.
- "GO" Box: This seems to be Logos' favorite feature, but I rarely use it. Type in a verse, name, or Topic and it will display resources to get you started in Bible Study.
- Configure Home Page: Use this to configure the Banner and home page.
Getting to Know a Resource Tile
Each Resource you open will show up in a Tile. Tiles may have multiple overlapping Tabs. The image below shows the parts of a tile, and items noted in red may not appear in every resource.
- Book Cover or Panel Menu: This resource will be called the Book Cover in this training, as it usually contains an image of the current book. Click here to access many options for the current resource, such as text-size.
- Reference Bar (Optional): This text box allows you to jump to a new location in the reference. Type in an appropriate location, such as Book and Verse (i.e. Mat 5:3, Revelation 2:2) in Bibles and Commentaries or the word to search in a Dictionary.
- Visual Filters: This menu allows you to see custom highlights that you create, or other notations from the internet.
- Parallel Resources (Optional): If appropriate, you can see other resources that are similar. This means that clicking Parallel resources in a Bible will suggest other Bibles.
- Display (Optional): Some Bibles (LEB, NIV, etc.) have Interlinear notations that can be shown. Clicking the Display Button allows one to select rows of the interlinear to show throughout the text. If this makes your text difficult to read, try the Interlinear Button Instead.
- Interlinear Button (Optional): Some Bibles (LEB, NIV, etc.) have Interlinear information that can be shown. The Interlinear Button allows you to view one line of interlinear at a time in a small window called the Interlinear Pane.
- Back: Go back to the last location visited in this pane.
- Forward: Go to the previous location visited in this pane.
- Information: Click here to view Bibliographic information about the current resource.
- Table of Contents Pane (Optional): Shows all headings in your resource. You can click in the Table of Contents to navigate the resource. If the Table of Contents is not shown, you may show it by choosing Show Table of Contents from the Book Cover Menu.
- Locator Bar (Optional): This shows the current Heading and Subheadings. To view this bar, choose Show locator bar from the Book Cover menu.
- Navigation Bar (Optional): Based on your choice of Article, Book, or Verse, these buttons allow you to jump forward or backward to the next section or paragraph. To view this bar, choose Show locator bar from the Book Cover menu.
- Interlinear Pane (Optional): Some Bibles (LEB, NIV, etc.) have Interlinear information that can be shown. This Pane is the result of clicking the Interlinear Button, and can be customized by clicking in the first column and choosing rows to view.
- Red Items are optional, and may not appear on every window.
Opening Resources
To open a resource, click the Library Icon, that looks like an open book . Start typing the name or abbreviation of the resource (i.e. NIV or New International) and your results will be filtered. When you find the resource you want, just click the title of Book icon, and it will open in a new tab.
Creating Shortcuts to Common Resources
If there is a resource that you use often, you can create a link to it in your Links Toolbar.
1. Click any tab and drag it up to the Links Toolbar
That's it! Next time you want to open that resource, just click the book cover shortcut you just created.
Closing Resources
To close a resource, click on the Tab for that resource to select it, then click the X that appears. If you want to close a whole group of tabs in a Tile, right-click on a tab and choose "Close all tabs".
Navigating Resources
Navigating a resource is depends on what the resource is. Please read through the different categories.
Navigating Bibles and Commentaries
If you open up a Bible or Commentary, you can choose a verse, go to the next chapter, or jump for another book and chapter entirely.
To jump to a specific reference, the easiest way is to type the reference in the bar at the top of the resource. Type Rev 5:3 for example, or Rev 5. You will see below that the text changes to "Go to Revelation 5:3", which means that the reference was recognized. If you have changed the interface language to, for example, French, then you must type the book title in that language (i.e. Apocalypse).
If you do not see the Locator Bar as below with your current location, click the book icon, and choose Show locator bar. Once open, you can use this bar to jump around. As you can see, Chapter is selected at the right, so the up and down arrows will jump to the the previous and next chapters, respectively. Verse and Book are also available. Based on your choice, you can use Alt Down and Alt Up to jump chapters, verses or books.
To browse the Table of Contents of any resource, click the >> icon on the locator bar or choose Show Table of Contents after clicking on the book cover. You can now browse the headings and select the portion you want to read.
Navigating Books, Journals, and Articles
Non-Bible books are not often arranged by verses, but by Chapters and Articles. Use these selections if you would like to jump forward or backward in these resources. Note: if the resource does not have specific articles, Logos will just jump to the next paragraph.
To browse the Table of Contents of any resource, click the >> icon on the locator bar or choose Show Table of Contents after clicking on the book cover. You can now browse the headings and select the portion you want to read.
Navigating Dictionaries
Dictionaries have both a navigation bar, as the others, and a search box. By typing a word into the search box and pressing enter, you can jump directly to that word in the dictionary.
To browse the Table of Contents of any resource, click the >> icon on the locator bar or choose Show Table of Contents after clicking on the book cover. You can now browse the headings and select the portion you want to read.
Customize Logos
Prioritize Resources and Default Bible
You know what resources you use most. You have a favorite dictionary, bibles, bible dictionaries, and commentaries, and you want those resources to appear near the top of the list when you do searches. This video will show you how to do it. I recommend prioritizing at least 5 Bibles, 3 Commentaries, and a Dictionary.
For many things to work in Logos, you must choose at least one Bible, this is referred to as your Default Bible. To set your default Bible, this can be done in at least two ways. The first is resource prioritization, which is highly recommended.
Watch this Video:
Prioritizing Resources by Logos
This video will be summarized here later.
Alternately, you can use the change preferred Bible option on the homepage.
Find Information
The power of Logos is in searching. This section touches on general tips for each search, but the reality is that each search is unique and based on a specific need.
Simple Search
You may choose to watch the following video or follow these instructions.
Basic Searching by Logos
Overview:
To do a basic search, simply click the Magnifying Glass icon
. This will open up a new Search tab. We are doing a general search here, so we will choose Basic from the choices in the top-right corner.
Next we need to tell Logos what resources to search. We'll leave All Text for now, and choose Entire Library.
Notice that there are hints in this window on how to search for specific information.
Type faith in the white Find box, and press Enter. Immediately, search results will start to appear, grouped by resource. If Ranked is selected in the window, you will see your prioritized resources sorted first if they contain the term. You can also sort By Count to find out which resources mention your term the most.
Note: The next time you search, you can either re-use the window you have, or click again to open a new search tab.
Bible Search
Logos can generate a concordance search of any Bible or multiple Bibles on demand. We'll start with an easy one.
You may choose to watch this video or follow the instructions below.
Bible Searches by Logos
To do a Bible search, simply click the Magnifying Glass icon . This will open up a new Search tab. We are doing a Bible search here, so we will choose BIble from the choices in the top-right corner.
The blue text in this window contains drop-down choices. We will leave Search and All Bible Text for now, and choose Old Testament from the In menu. This time, we will choose NASB from the final drop-down menu. You can type NASB to search in the Box as below, then click "New American Standard Bible" to select it.
Type faith in the search box and press Enter.
You will see Logos building a concordance for this word in the NASB. Click any verse number to jump to that verse.
From the blue links in the top of this window, click Verses, Aligned, or Analysis to see the results in different ways. If you had chosen to search several Bibles (i.e. your top 5 Bibles), Grid would allow you to see which Bibles contained your search term in each verse.
Customize Search
Lastly, you should know that you can change the way Logos searches.
As described in the search help, you can search for multiple words or phrases.
- Searching faith hope love would find any verse that contained all 3 words.
- Searching faith, hope, love would find verses that contain one or more of those words.
- Searching "faithful love" (with the quotes) will find only results where these words appear side by side and in this order.
In English, you can turn on Match all word forms from the menu shown below, and searching for insert also retrieves search results for inserted, inserting, or inserts. This can be a very handy feature, but it does not seem to be available in other languages.
Guides
In Logos, you don't have to know that a specific resource exists in your library to find useful and relevant information. You can have Logos easily search your entire library, or just a relevant portion, for information on a specific passage, word, person, or topic using Guides.
Managing the Guides
- Each Guide has different headings (i.e. Commentaries) that can be be expanded or hidden by clicking on the black triangle next to each heading. If the triangle and title are grey, then there are no available resources of that type for this passage.
- You can rearrange the headings to move the useful ones to the top.
- Individual resources that you prefer can be moved to the top when they contain relevant information, see Prioritizing Resources.
Passage Guide
Imagine you were reading a passage, and that a mighty wind blew through your library. Every book containing information on that passage opened to the correct page, and they were arranged on your desk by your preference. That's kind of like using the Passage Guide in Logos. I recommend keeping either the Passage Guide or Exegetical Guide open whenever you use Logos.
To Get started with the passage guide, you can watch this introductory video:
Passage Guide at Logos.com.
Exegetical Guide
Much like the Passage Guide, the Exegetical Guide researches your dictionaries and grammatical resources for information relevant to each word in the current passage.
Notice below how there are links to each greek word in several dictionaries. Click on the blue links in the Exegetical Guide if you want more to continue reading in each resource.
Hint: If you want the passage guide to continually show the relevant verse, Set the scroll group (i.e. A) to match on the Exegetical Guide and Bible by clicking each Book Cover and choosing the "A" Link Set.
To get started with the Exegetical Guide, you can watch this introductory video:
Exegetical Guide at Logos.com
Bible Word Study
Bible Word Study at Logos.com
Interlinear Bibles
TW Logos contains Interlinear Bibles. These Bibles may be English-Greek, English-Hebrew, Greek-English, or Hebrew-English.
An English Reverse interlinear (i.e. English Standard Version) shows the English Text at the top, and can show information about the Greek or Hebrew text underneath.
List of Interlinear Bibles in TW Logos
This is not YET an Authoritative list.
Interlinear Bibles
- Lexham Greek-English Interlinear New Testament (LGNTI)
- Lexham Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible (LHI)
- Lexham Greek-English Interlinear Septuagint: H.B. Swete Edition (Lexham)
- Lexham Greek-English Interlinear New Testament: SBL Edition (Lexham)
- Lexham Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible (LEB)
Reverse-Interlinear Bibles
- English Standard Bible
- New International Version 2011 (NIV)
- New International Version 1984 (NIV84, NT only)
- King James Version (KJV)
- Lexham English Bible (LEB)
- New Testament New American Standard Bible (NASB)
- New King James Version (NKJV)
- New Living Translation (NLT)
- New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
- AGNT Plus (Not Yet Converted)
Reverse-Interlinear Bibles are not yet in Logos for other languages, with one exception, the Spanish Bible Reina Valera 1960, which is unfortunately not included in TW Logos for this release.
Using Interlinear Bibles
Please visit:
Using Interlinear Bibles at Logos.com
An overview will be developed here later for users with troublesome Internet, but the linked site also contains a text version.