Installing User-Created Versions
A brief word before getting into specifics: I cannot emphasize enough the importance of actually reading your BibleWorks help files! For you to get the biggest bang out of the bucks you shelled out to buy BibleWorks, reading the help files is a necessity. I have been using BW since 4.0, and I still learn things from the help files when I review them. The instructions below are meant to be a supplement to the help files. They do not serve as a replacement.
Follow the instructions below to install the BibleWorks versions from files hosted on this blog.
- Unpack. Once you’ve downloaded the file, you will need to unpack the zipped folder. There are several free programs available for “decompressing” files. Lifehacker has put together a list of the “Five Best File Compression Tools.”
- File the files. This is where things can get complicated given the way we have presented files here at the BibleWorks Blog. There are two general places to put files depending on what their file extensions are.
- If you unzip the folder and see files that have ddf or txt extensions, you need to copy these files to the C:\Program Files\BibleWorks 7\userdb directory. If there is a file with a bww extension, then copy that to the C:\Program Files\BibleWorks 7\databases directory.
- If you unzip the folder and see files that have the dbx, wdc, vmf, bww, or dbu extensions, simply copy these files to your C:\Program Files\BibleWorks 7\databases directory. If you are able to do this step, you’re done. Restart BW, and look at your new file!
TIP: It’s a good idea to save each version’s group of files in their own directory in the \userdb directory. This will help you keep things straight for installation, backups, etc. For instance, if you have abc.ddf and abc.txt, then copy them to the \userdb\abc directory. You may need to change the file paths listed in the Database Definition File (DDF) using the Version Database Compiler (VDC).
- Compile the version.
- Open the Version Database Compiler (VDC). To do this, go to “Tools” in the menu bar and then select “Version Database Compiler…”.
Or click the VDC button in the main tool bar (see the small pic to the right). When you open the VDC the following window will open:
- In the box labeled “1. Database Description File (DDF)” click the Open button and navigate to the folder in which you’ve placed your ddf and txt files. Select the ddf file. The settings for this particular version will now appear in the VDC.
- There are two main things to check on now.
- First, make sure that the file path labeled “2. Database Raw Text File” is correct. If it is not pointing to the proper txt file, the database will not compile. Make sure that the file path does not have the wrong version of BibleWorks listed (for instance C:/Program Files/Bibleworks 6/… rather than C:/Program Files/BibleWorks 7/…), and that the file path points the the directory that you created for this particular version.
- Second, make sure that the “Install after Compiling” checkbox is checked.
- Click the “Compile” button.
- Open the Version Database Compiler (VDC). To do this, go to “Tools” in the menu bar and then select “Version Database Compiler…”.
If you have any questions or if you have suggestions to make these instructions clearer, please comment below.
13
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Thanks for posting these directions. You may also want to add some directions about adding book names. You did provide some info on the forum once, where you said:
In a general text editor like Notepad copy and paste the following into your books.bna file (in the BibleWorks 7\init\ directory) in order to get the names to appear in the Browse Window. (In BibleWorks go to Tools:Options:Book Names This will tell you what .bna file your BibleWorks is using. That’s the file you want to attach the following to)
11
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I wonder about the Chrysostom works, which has an HTML help file with all the works in it, a .sdx and .chd file. Is this meant just to be read in the html help file?
11
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Sorry - forgot to mention that it’s recognized by BW, but still is coming up as a help file.
16
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Matthew, the works of Chrysostom module is intended to be a CHM module with Scripture references linked to the Resource Manager in BibleWorks. It’s not considered a “version” per se, so it’s not installed the same as a version. Rather you copy all of the files to your c://program files/bibleworks 7/databases/ directory.
28
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Can the user created databases and versions be use in BW version 6?
29
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Paul,
In general, versions will work in BibleWorks 6, but HTML modules will not.
20
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ola gostaria de saber se tem como traduzir o bibliework para a lingua portuguesa brasiz, obriagado se souber me manda um email!
hello he/she would like to know if he/she has as translating the bibliework for the language Portuguese brasiz, obriagado if he/she knows it orders me an email!