Welcome

Thank you for trying our Online Bible App.  We have used the very latest web technologies to create a platform which makes available the Society's reliable translations of God's holy word in digital form.

Our hope is that you will find the app intuitive and easy to use, nevertheless we have prepared the following notes to help you get the most out of the software.

Accessing the Online Bible App

The Online Bible App can be found at www.tbsonlinebible.com, and takes the form of a website which can also be installed as an app on a mobile device.

Installing on a Device

On supported devices, the Online Bible can be installed as an app.  If your device supports this feature, then after a while of using the website you will see a message asking if you want to Add Bible to Home screen (the same option is also available on the Menu).  If using an Apple device, installation has to be manually initiated. Simply go to the Share menu and use the Add to Home Screen option.

Install on device

Depending upon your device, an icon for the Online Bible App will be placed on your screen and/or in your app drawer.  Once installed, there is no further need to visit the website, the functionality of the app is identical to the website.

Accessing the Main Functions

The icons at the top of the screen provide quick access to the main functions of the software.

Selecting a Bible

The Online Bible App should start by loading a Bible in your own language, and if none such is available, the English Authorised (King James) Version.  You can switch to one of our Bible translations in another language by using the Bibles icon in the top header (or on the Menu).  This brings up a list of all our translations available on the Online Bible App.  The most recently used translations are placed at the top of the list.  Over time, in the will of God, we hope to make all our translations available in the Online Bible App.

Downloading a Bible for Offline Use

If supported by your device, the switch next to each Bible language allows you to download that Bible to your device for use offline when you have no internet connection.  Depending upon the size of the Bible and the speed of your internet connection, downloading can take some time.  You can close the Bibles window and continue to use the app while the downloading takes place in the background.  To remove a downloaded Bible, simply set the switch for that language off.

Note that an internet connection is still required for searching.

Finding a Passage

If you know where the passage is in the Bible, just click or tap on the reference in the header bar to bring up a window allowing you to select the Bible book and chapter. Alternatively use the navigation buttons either side of the reference to take you to the previous chapter , or the next chapter .  On touch screen devices, you can also swipe right and left across the screen to move forwards and backwards by one chapter.

If you don't know where the passage is, you can look it up by clicking on the Search icon.  This opens a window where you can enter a few key words from the passage. As you type, the Online Bible App will suggest words to you from the selected Bible.  These words are color-coded to indicate how many times each occurs in the Bible.  The more times the word occurs the deeper red it is coded.  Rare words appear with a green color.  If searching for a common (red color-coded) word, then it is advisable to add a further word to help reduce the number of results you will receive.

If you are unsure of the ending of your word you can finish it with an asterisk *. So, for example, to find all occurrences of the word "talk" and its variants in the English Bible, you would type in talk*.  This would then find results for talk, talked, talkers, talkest, talketh, and talking. (Note - You must enter at least the first 3 letters of a word before you can use the asterisk.)

Copying & Printing

You may copy or print a selection of verses from the currently displayed chapter or from the search results.  Tap the copy button, , or if you have a keyboard, press Ctrl + C / Cmd + C.  Please note that there is a limit on the number of verses which can be copied and/or printed at any one time in line with the Terms and Conditions for using the Online Bible App.

Linking a TBS Account

To unlock additional features such as maps, cross references and bookmarks, it is necessary to connect a TBS account.  Accounts can be created for free here: Register.

When you have an account, you can use it to login by clicking the Sign in link at the top of the main menu.  Once logged in, menu options previously marked with a padlock become accessible.  By default, Text helps (cross references and notes on verses in supported Bibles) are switched on for account holders. You can disable these in the settings if you wish.

Bookmarks & Notes

To add a new bookmark, select some verse(s) and click the bookmark icon .  A popup will open allowing you to select a colour and provide an optional descriptive title.  If you wish, you can also create a note by clicking the ADD button further down the popup page.

To add verses to an existing bookmark, select some verse(s) and go to the Bookmarks panel (the quickest way to do this is to click on the reference in the header bar, and go to the second tab in the popup).  Find the bookmark you wish to add the verse(s) to in the list, and click the title of the bookmark to open it.  When editing the bookmark, you will find an Add selected verses button after the current references, which will allow you to add your new verses to the bookmark.  Finally SAVE the revised bookmark.

To remove verse(s) from an existing bookmark, Find the bookmark you wish change in the bookmarks list (see above), and click the title of the bookmark to open it.  Then uncheck the box next to the references you no longer require, and SAVE.

Tips & Tricks

• On a small screen device some items are hidden because of a lack of space. Often rotating the device to a landscape orientation will re-enable these. Particularly useful might be the menu button , which will stay on screen in the header bar as you scroll down the page if there is sufficient room for it.
• The search suggestions which appear as you type a keyword contain all the possible words in the currently selected Bible, so that you can avoid searching using terms that won't yield results.
• Each search suggestion indicates the frequency of that word in the selected Bible. To avoid a very long list of results, be sure to include at least one lesser used word (indicated by a green color-coding).
• The navigation window (accessed by clicking on the reference in the header) also contains a tab showing History.  Use this list to quickly return to a previous place.
• Search results are remembered so that you can return to them and click through to another found verse.  To clear the results, click or tap the cross icon next to the Search terms.
• Popup windows can be closed by tapping anywhere outside the window.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.  Can I change the colour of the text/background?
A.  Yes, open the Menu and click on Accessibility under the Settings.

Q.  I have the font size set to large but the text is still too small, can I make it larger?
A.  Yes, open the Menu and click on Accessibility under the Settings and adjust the Zoom.

Q.  Can I read the Society's translation in language xyz in the Online Bible App?
A.  We hope in the will of God, that all the Society's Bible translations will eventually be available through the Online Bible App, and are working towards that end.

Q.  Why does my iPad sometimes show on the lock screen that an Online Bible App video is playing?
A.  Unfortunately, this is side-effect of the technique used by the Online Bible App to stop the screen shutting off while you are reading the Bible.  To stop this happening, please switch away from the Online Bible App before locking your iPad.

Q.  How do I upgrade to the latest version of the Online Bible App?
A.  In most cases you will automatically be upgraded to the latest version of the software as you use it.  In some cases, particularly with older browsers, this does not always happen in a timely or clean manner.  To manually check and upgrade to the latest version open the Menu and click on About - you will find the  UPDATE  button about half way down that popup.

Troubleshooting

Got a problem? Try our troubleshooting tips to get you up and working.

Provide Feedback

We welcome your views, questions and bug reports, as we seek to improve the Online Bible App.  Please message us here.  When writing in, it would help us if you could tell us what device you are using to access the app (e.g., Safari v11 on an iPhone X).

Support the Online Bible Project

If you would like to help the Society as it seeks to make the Scriptures available in this digital format, there are a number of ways to help:

• Please PRAY for the Society and its staff involved in this initiative, and that the Online Bible App may be used by the Lord to reach people all around the world who might not have access to a printed copy of God's word.
• Please TEST the Online Bible App by using it on your various devices and letting us know about any problems you encounter.  These can be reported online here.
• Please DONATE to help support the ongoing operation and development of the Online Bible App.  Donations to the General Fund can be made here.
• Please PROMOTE the Online Bible App by making it known to your friends and contacts.  If you have a church website, please consider adding a link to our site on your page(s), or install our reference tagger widget which will automatically turn any Bible references into links like this: John 3v16. To find out how, please contact us.